The Weblog
This weblog contains LocallyGrown.net news and the weblog entries from all the markets currently using the system.
To visit the authoring market’s website, click on the market name located in the entry’s title.
Augusta, GA: THE MARKET IS OPEN!
GARDEN PARTY DINNER at WALKER FARMS! Tickets are now on sale for the glorious anniversary occasion that we call a “Garden Party Dinner” for organic veggie farmer Relinda Walker! Held on a Sunday late afternoon, Apr 15. We’ll be dining between the garden rows on her lovely farm in Sylvania. And if that’s not tempting enough, here’s the all-local menu that Chef Charleen has just announced:
- crostini with fava beans and fresh pecorino cheese
- grilled wild-caught Georgia shrimp skewers
- applewood smoked pork with spicy North Georgia apple cider BBQ sauce
- roasted fingerling potato salad with radishes, scallions and arugula-pecan pesto
- organic greens salad with spring peas, sugar snaps, beets and pistachios with lemon herb goat cheese dressing
- carrot ginger and minted beet ice cream with Relinda’s sweet onion sorbet
All proceeds after costs will be donated to Walker Farms for Relinda’s continued efforts as a model sustainable farmer and land steward.
See you all at the market on Tues!
-Kim
Conway, AR: Market Reminder
Good Morning-
This is a pickup reminder for those of you who ordered this week. Thank you for your order. You can pick up your order from 4:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Friday at Saint Peter’s Episcopal Church at 925 Mitchell Street. Please try to bring your own bags.
Have a great day.
Statesboro Market2Go: The Market is OPEN!!
We have lots of exciting events taking place:
WHAT: CAMPUS FARMER’S MARKET
WHEN: 3/20 10AM-1PM
WHERE: WILLIAMS CENTER PLAZA
Purchasing fresh, locally raised meat and other products is now easier than ever! Enjoy fresh produce, artisan baked goods, jams, honey, meat, eggs, ice cream, live music, cooking demos, tastings and more! The University Wellness Program & the Center for Sustainability have partnered with the Mainstreet Statesboro Farmer’s Market to bring the market to campus now twice per month, 1st & 3rd Tuesdays! Hope to see you there!
Check out the Farm Dinner Tickets being offered at Statesboro Market2Go! This promises to be fun and educational! The date for this is SUNDAY, APRIL 15, and the location is Walker Farms (our own Relinda Walker!) in Sylvania.
The Mainstreet Statesboro Market re-opens on Saturday, April 7, and will run EVERY Saturday until Thanksgiving. The market is open from 9:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. on Saturday mornings behind the downtown branch of Sea Island Bank.
Joyce Griffin of Heirloom Farms will be our featured farmer next Thursday at Sugar Magnolia. Happy Shopping! See you Thursday…Eat Fresh…Eat Local…KNOW your farmer!!
Local Farms First: The Market is OPEN!
Greetings local food lovers!
The market is open now through Monday at 7 AM!
Order up some fingerling potatoes from Elemental Farms for St. Patrick’s Day! Roast them in the oven with some fresh herbs and olive oil for a delicious side.
Thanks for supporting local family farmers!
Chelsea Bookout
Market Facilitator LocalFarmsFirst.com – a 501c3 non-profit
303-775-5318
click here to start shopping on the website
www.LocalFarmsFirst.com
Henry County GA: Ready, Set, GO!
Well, we have some GREAT news to share with you all! We have found someone who is willing to host our market! It is Cross Fit Pulse in McDonough on Dailey Mill Road. We are going to be setting up our drop there on Tuesday nights from 4-7pm! We are able to start this weekend! This Friday evening, the market will be on and ready for orders! I am so excited! I hope that you all will find something that you like and will tell a few friends! Crops are coming in and changing a lot this time of year. We just planted 1400 row feet of potatoes and are putting lettuces, broccoli, cauliflower and more in the ground! I hope that you all are as excited to see this start as I am. I look forward to meeting and working with you all!
Sincerely,
Maggie Mills
Statesboro Market2Go: Pickup orders today and other news!!
Don’t forget to pick up your orders today, and please, please be on time! Remember, we cannot leave orders at either pick up location. All orders must be picked up during the market hours of 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.
B&G Honey is the featured farmer of the week at the Sugar Magnolia location! Come meet the Colsons and find out more about their delicious honey and other products!
We have Farm Dinner tickets for sale this week. The dinner is April 15 at Walker Farms in Sylvania. It promises to be a delicious, memorable event! Purchase your tickets early!
Plattsburgh's Winter Farmers Market: Baby kale, lettucy mix, fresh leeks, etc
Clover Mead Farm will be at the market with their cheeses. Caton Acres has a great selection of pork and lamb. Hid-in-Pines has a full line of wines. And Rehoboth Homestead harvested baby kale, arugula, baby and teenage spinach, lettucy salad mix, mild and tangy greens mixes, a few bunches of baby leeks, and has crunchy carrots, celeriac, fingerling potatoes, gorgeous large sweet potatoes, and I don’t remember what else. Have to get back to washing spinach for you.
Hope to see you at the market, 3 to 6.
ASN Little Rock Local Food Club Midweek: Open!
Fresh eggs, grassfed meats, and more!
Log onto www.lrmidweek.locallygrown.net – order by Monday evening for pick up after work (4:30 to 6pm) on Wednesday evening.
Community Fund, Dollar-to-Dollar Match Opportunity
Beginning in Spring 2012, in cooperation with Conway Locally Grown, ASN will help fund small-scale agriculture or community-based projects that support local food in Arkansas. A generous donor has agreed to match every dollar we raise—up to $2,000! This is an exciting opportunity to support our community. To date we have raised $1670 dollars. THANK YOU for supporting this initiative.
Please help us meet our goal. Donations are accepted at food club pick up or may be mailed to ASN, 509 Scott Street, LR, AR 72201. ASN is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Your donation is tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.
For more information about the Community Fund visit www.conway.locallygrown.net. For even more information or to donate, contact EmailASN@gmail.com
Thanks and see ya Wednesday!
Homegrown Co-op: Online Market Now Open! RSVP For Our Saturday Farm Tour Now!
Contact Us
2310 N Orange Ave, Orlando
(407) 895-5559
info@homegrowncoop.org
www.HomegrownCoop.org
Online Market
Place your order today in our online market!
Saturday Market:
Order online Wednesday 5pm – Friday 9am for pickup or delivery Saturday afternoon.
Wednesday Market:
Order online Sunday 10am – Tuesday 9am for pickup or delivery Wednesday afternoon.
Farm Store
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK!
Monday – Saturday
10 am – 7 pm
Sunday
11 am – 5 pm
In The News
Market News
ONLY TWO MORE FARM TOURS FOR THE SEASON!
Our growers and producers in the Homegrown network are at the height of their season; and, it is a wonderful time to meet them and their farm operations before the spring growing season ends. For an added twist of merriment, this Saturday, March 17th we will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day during the Bamboo Leaf Tea Farm Tour. Details are below. See you there.
MARCH FARM TOUR
(for Homegrown members and their guests)
Shanti Pierce, Bamboo Leaf Tea, is preparing something extra special for you during this farm tour held on St. Patrick’s Day. Please join us for some fun hands-on bamboo leaf picking for the children/youth and some bamboo beer tasting for the adults, plus tastings of bamboo tea for all. Shanti will cover how the process of making bamboo tea and other products work and whether the dog bamboo products are the same as those for humans. Five acres of green lush St. Patrick’s Day giant bamboo garden fun. RSVPs are required. Detailed instructions and directions for this tour will be sent once your rsvp is received.
Location:
Bamboo Leaf Tea
8500 Nature Hammock Trail, Kissimmee FL 34747
(a 30 minute drive from downtown Orlando)
Date:
Saturday, March 17, 2012, 10:00 a.m.
Tour will last 2 hours.
Cost:
Free for members. Suggested donation for non-members.
RSVP:
Jackie McFadden, 407-637-2461, eeant@mac.com
When leaving an rsvp, please, list your name, number in your party, a contact e-mail and/or phone number in order to be sent directions and final instructions to this tour.
Notes:
Pets should be kept at home during this tour. We will send you specific driving directions to this farm.
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Recipe of the Week
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 medium shallots or new red onions, thinly sliced
fine grain sea salt
2 medium zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch thick coins
a good handful of dill, chopped
1/4 cup Marcona almonds or toasted almond slices
In your largest skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the garlic and cook until it starts to take on a hint of color. Stir in the shallots and a big pinch of salt, and cook until they start to soften, a couple minutes. Add the zucchini, stir to get it coated with a bit of oil, and arrange the coins in as much of a single layer as your pan permits. Dial the heat up a bit if needed, add another pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally until the zucchini browns – ten minutes or so. Remove from heat and fold in the dill and almonds before serving. Taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Serves 2 – 4.
Prep time: 5 min – Cook time: 15 min
Shop at the On-line Farmer’s Market.
www.homegrown.locallygrown.net
Place your order before Friday 9am for pick-up or delivery on Saturday March 17th.
Your order is FINAL once placed, and you are responsible for pick-up and payment on Saturday.
Pickup is from 12-7pm on Saturday. Sorry, we cannot accommodate early pickups at this time.
Don’t forget, orders for the following items must be placed by 4:00pm Thursday
Fresh bread orders from Olde Hearth Bread Company
Prepared foods from Venetian Gourmet and Pure Mobile Cafe
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Upstate Locally Grown Greenville: Harvest News: Thursday, March 15-Monday, March 19
Upstate Locally Grown Market
www.upstatesc.locallygrown.net
To Contact Us
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TO CONTACT US
Market Administrator
Donna Putney
HARVEST NEWS EDITOR/ CLEMSON MARKET MANAGER
Heidi Williams
GREENWOOOD MARKET MANAGER/VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR
Recipes
Beautiful Breakfast Strata
“*” Denotes ingredients available at USLG now!
by Heidi Williams
- This and many other healthy recipes are available from our Market Page under "Recipes"*
Ingredients
1-inch-thick cubes French bread (about ¾ of a loaf)*
6 large eggs*
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups half and half (or milk)*
2 cups (packed) grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 8 ounces)*
(optional) 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 lb. ground sausage*
2 tablespoons diced onion
Chopped fresh parsley
Method:
Butter 13 × 9 × 2-inch glass baking dish. Put bread cubs in prepared dish. Brown bell pepper, sausage, onion and allow to cool. Whisk eggs, mustard, basil and salt in medium bowl to blend; whisk in half and half. Mix sausage, egg mixture, and 1 ½ cups of cheese then pour over bread in dish. Cover; chill at least 2 hours or overnight. (If overnight in fridge, allow to come to room temperature for about an hour.) Preheat oven to 350°F. Sprinkle mixture in dish with black pepper and remaining ½ cup cheese. Cover loosely with foil. Bake 20 minutes. Remove foil. Bake until strata is set and springy to touch, about 20 minutes longer. Cool 5 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.
Market News
Featured and Fresh Products to Look for this Week:
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Seeds |
Baked Goods |
… plus much, much more! (350 active products as of today)
IMPORTANT USLG UPDATES
Plant Sale
Save The Date! Saturday, April 14
After you plant too many seeds from the Seedy Saturday, you will be wanting to participate in the plant swap and sale on April 14th, 10 AM: At the Honea Path home of Donna and Lenard Putney, owners of Putney Farm Herbs N Eggs. Whether you are a seasoned Master Gardener or just beginning; whether you have a full-fledged farm, an urban plot, or a balcony with flower pots, you will glean priceless info and meet some great folks to hang out with.
If you have plants to sell, or need organic plants, you will enjoy your day here. Visit our little farm in the scenic rolling hills of Friendship Community, Honea Path and see our healthy hens at work in the pasture. Easy to find from Greenville, 25 S, from Clemson/Anderson; HW 76, From Greenwood, 25 N or 252. “RSVP here:”puneyfarm@aol.com or on Upstate Locally Grown under “EVENTS” on the Market page.
Home Vegetable Gardening
Food Accountability Begins at Home
By Lloyd E. Willis, PhD
Image Courtesy of Life on the Balcony, a container gardening blog.
I have recently written about how the garden is calling my name. I can’t wait to start building my garden and planning this year’s crops. But I am clearly not alone. All the big box stores have been gearing up for the Spring planting season since early February, at least.
Judging from what has popped up in these stores, this year’s trends seem to include seed starting kits and organic seeds. The Greenwood, SC, Lowes has seed starting kits in every conceivable combination of size, shape, and quality (even some designed for children), and our Walmart has a huge display of certified organic seeds from Seeds of Change.
What I have witnessed in Greenwood, however, is indicative of a national surge of interest in vegetable gardening. Last Fall, the New York Times and the National Gardening Association noted that home vegetable gardening has increased steadily since 2008, and various news reports from every corner of the nation attest to the fact that this is, indeed, a national trend. In the latest publically available figures from the National Gardening Association, 36 million American households had home vegetable gardens in 2008, and the number was expected to go up 19% in 2009 to 43 million. The NGA sells their research findings to businesses that market lawn and garden products, and because of this it does not freely distribute extremely current data; nevertheless, the resources it does make available indicate that the trends observed in 2008-2009 are continuing apace.
From the evidence I’ve been able to dig up, it seems that the recent increase in home vegetable gardening is the most dramatic increase since the Victory Garden campaign of World War II, which peaked in 1943 with approximately 20 million American families planting such gardens.
While the popularity of home vegetable gardening is increasing, various methods of gardening are also proliferating. I subscribe to two gardening magazines and both of the recent issues included plans for building raised beds. “Container gardening” is now so popular that a Google search for the term yields over two million hits, and vertical gardening veggie gardening.doc also seems to be increasing in popularity. I have even read an account of someone converting shipping pallets into attractive patio planters.
The bottom line is that when we talk about gardening today, we think of more than hauling out the old tiller and a bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer. More people than ever are gardening and doing it in a variety of ways; there are more informational resources available for home gardeners than ever before; and, with the simultaneous rise of interest in organic gardening, I expect home gardeners are using more earth-friendly and sustainable practices than they have in the past.
In a month that has brought us disturbing stories about pink slime (NPR edition of the story) and Ag-Gag legislation, we should all celebrate the good news that home gardening is alive, well, and growing.
About the author: Dr. Lloyd E. Willis, PhD, is an assistant professor at Lander University. He has published one academic book, “Environmental Evasion,” and a number of academic articles on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and John Steinbeck. He blogs on issues related to environmentalism, agriculture, teaching, higher education, and food.
We encourage you to “follow” Lloyd Willis on his blog, The Green Prof, which has been newly published at Blogger.com.
Coming Events
Swamp Rabbit Cafe: Winter Farm to Table Event
Four-course dinner from SRCG’s beloved farmers, prepared by Project Host Culinary School.
7:30 p.m., Thursday, March, 22, 2012
Tickets, $30
For more information or to order tickets, call (864) 255-3385 or email swamprabbitcafe@gmail.com
Appalachian Regional Commission’s April 2012 Growing the Appalachian Food Economy: A Forum on Local Food Systems and Sustainable Agriculture
Registration is open for this multi-state event, to be held April 3-4 at the Renaissance Asheville Hotel in Asheville, North Carolina, will focus on how Appalachian communities can expand the role that food assets and sustainable agriculture play in local economic development to increase employment opportunities, spark entrepreneurial ventures, and build local wealth.
The registration fee is $75.00 and includes optional local food and farm tours immediately following the forum on Wednesday, April 4.
Register soon! Space is limited. Visit www.arc.gov/localfood to register and to get detailed information on the agenda, lodging, and more. Contact ARC at conferences@arc.gov or 202.884.7700.
Greenville Organic Foods Organization
2012 Urban Farm Tour
On Saturday, May 12, the second annual Urban Farm Tour, hosted by GOFO will feature extraordinary examples of city residents who are making our city more sustainable by growing their own food, raising chickens, keeping bees, catching rain water, implementing energy saving solutions and much more. Best of all, these wonderful hosts are willing to inspire others with their knowledge, their successes and the lessons that they have learned.
This self-guided tour will include over 25 sites to visit, all within 10 miles of downtown Greenville. The goal is to show city residents just how easy it is to practice sustainable living by growing food and implementing energy efficiency right where we live, work and play.
GOFO is now accepting applications for the 2012 Urban Farm Tour. If you’re interested in becoming a UFT site you can apply online here or via the GOFO or UFT website by Feb 20. (Please note that submitting an application does not guarantee inclusion in the tour. Applicants will be notified by March 1st whether or not they will be a featured site).
We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally produced foods possible!
Have a wonderful week, happy shopping on USLG, and good family meals from all your goodies! Donna and Lenard,Heidi, Courtney, and the whole gang of Market helpers.