JD INVITES YOU . . .

Come celebrate Fall coming to Dothan with us! Dothan Nurseries is hosting Market at Dothan vendors, hay rides and live music. Not to mention… have you seen the Pumpkin House!? At least stop by and grab a picture with family or friends in front of the most fall-festive background there is. We can’t wait to see you there!

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

WELCOME NEW VENDORS!

We are pleased to announce the addition of JBW Farms and TranQuil Pastures Farm to our Market family. Please check them out on our Grower Page.

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Speaking of Growers – if you check the Market Page and the Grower Page you’re sure to notice that not all our growers have products listed. This is because some only offer seasonal items or have suspended sales because of inventory, vacation or any number of reasons. In the case of
Restoration Gardens they are in the process of moving. We will miss them! Their fairy tale eggplant was the BEST! Eagle Grove Services will start listing in a few weeks as their satsumas ripen.

Whatever the case we encourage our customers and vendors to get to know each other and interact! Next Saturday’s Fall Festival is a great opportunity to do that as several of our vendors will be on site next to the Butterfly House. They are hoping you’ll stop to visit.

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IT’S PUMPKIN SEASON

And they are EVERYWHERE! Every store I went into this week had some form of fall pumpkins near the door tempting shoppers to welcome the cooler temps into their surroundings. I must admit to giving in to the temptation. If you’re fighting it too, Dothan Nurseries has a fabulous selection in the pavilion on the north side of the property with all sizes shapes and colors.

While I love a real pumpkin, unless you cook and can them (as some of us market folk have been known to do) they don’t last. Many people opt for pumpkins that can be used year after year. My daughter in law is one such person:

Lastly, MY PUMPKINS: They fade in the sun if you use them outdoors but they are super fun to make from recycled materials and once you know how, you can make a bunch in a short time. That being said – if you have an unused something you’d enjoy turning into a pumpkin, let’s do it! Send us an email at marketatdothan@gmail.com with a photo of your item and we’ll tell you how much stuffing to bring and will have the remaining supplies at the Market Shed next Friday. It’s a quick and fun project.

A DAY OF REFLECTION

No doubt most of you remember where you were, who you were with, and what you were doing when the attacks of 9/11/2001 happened. Like the moon landing years before, the event was of such significance that people stayed glued to their radio and/or television for hours. Unlike the moon landing that brought us together in a triumph of achievement, the attacks of 9/ll brought us together in shock, dismay, & grief. The moon landing was over in a short time, but 9/11 went on and on day after day, week after week, stretching into years with search, rescue, funerals, cleanup, memorials – all still fresh in our memories. Our grandchildren will fill its ripples years from now just as we still experience the ripples of Pearl Harbor. Hopefully, prayerfully, by then the Middle East will be allies & friends, just as Japan is a friendly nation to us now.

And hopefully, prayerfully, it won’t take a nuclear incident to achieve that.

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

NEW & RELISTED NEW – Keto Pear Cobbler from Grows in Rows NEW – Pasture Raised Chicken from Grows in Rows ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

WELCOME to our new customers and IT WAS GREAT TO SEE YOU to our regulars. Even with few vegetables available for a while longer it was a great morning to be in the fresh air and we hope each of you are taking advantage of the cooler temps every chance you get.

By way of ANNOUNCEMENT – Wendy of Avalon Farms will be managing Dothan Pickup next Friday as your regular manager will be at the state beekeepers Fall Conference that day.

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BACK IN THE SADDLE

Happy September! I can’t speak for everyone else but it’s GOOD to have August in the rear view mirror. Closing Market at Dothan for a whole month was a scary decision and we still believe it was the right thing to do given the circumstances. In retrospect the timing was impeccable with the spread of the Delta covid variant and going forward we will be observing social distancing, masks and curbside delivery as in the past for those who desire it. Details about that may be found on our Question & Answer Page.

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

AVALON FARMS

Hello All!  Here’s the latest Avalon Farms news.
Growing now:
- We have one last round of summer squash coming; yellow, zucchini and zephyr will be available in a few weeks. (And cucumbers!)
- Green beans and sugar snap peas are on the horizon but farther out.
- Cabbage and broccoli transplants will be going out this week. (Well, that’s the plan anyway.)

Trying to grow:
- Rooting cuttings off tomatoes. Planning to grow in greenhouse.
- Started some radishes and salad turnips in aquaponics.

Big changes:
We are no longer chicken farmers. In an effort to streamline and simplify our operation, the decision was made to get out of the chicken business. There are still plenty of eggs available from our other lovely growers!

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HORTONS FARM: We took advantage of the extra time last month to get some much needed projects out of the way. Several rooms have been emptied, overhauled or otherwise tackled and one area reorganized for additional pantry space. It’s a blessing not to have any more boxes of canned pecans under the bed in the guest room! I was also able to develop a plan and start transforming a large area of our yard into an herb and medicinal garden. The big idea is to utilize and repurpose as much from the farm as we can. Several wild medicinals have already been successfully transplanted and we’re collecting more as time, space and resources allow.

Left: First year Echinacea about to bloom
Center: Gratuitous photo of Spot wooing Mopsi. A 30 second video of this encounter is available on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUINsLYj90k
Right: “Stump Garden” in the center utilizing recycled horse protein tubs and makeshift hugleculture of wood pieces, pecan shells and rich soil. The plan is to put invasive plants (like the peppermint in front tub) in pots.

Rather than wait till Saturday’s regularly scheduled newsletter we decided to let you know early that after pickup for this week’s orders on Friday we will be closed till Saturday, September 4 when our next newsletter goes out and orders resume.

This summer has been hard on our farmers. It almost seems they’re having to unlist and delete more than they deliver because of ongoing damage from weather and problems (like mildew and bugs) brought on by the weather. Nobody fools mother nature, but we can’t fight it either. The plan is to give the growers a much needed break and hopefully start strong in September. We realize that schedule don’t allow for many fall crops to be ready for harvest, but hopefully what is available won’t be ruining daily in the fields by then. Falling prey to local weather conditions is one of the downsides of local sustainable agriculture.

Thank you for your kind understanding and being a part of our Market family! Please do not hesitate to contact us (marketatdothan@gmail.com) if you need anything during this break. We love our customers, we love serving you and want to be here for you.

Our Website: marketatdothan.locallygrown.net
Our Email: marketatdothan@gmail.com

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MarketatDothan
Join our Online Discussions! www.facebook.com/groups/MarketatDothanDiscussion
Be sure to use our hashtag! #marketatdothan

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!

SUMMER FINGER FOODS

Summertime and who wants to cook??? Thankfully the season’s bounty, and help from our Market vendors can ease the burden! The following is inspired by Dianne Herring, D’s Jellies, whose summer Charcuterie was recently featured in Dothan Living.

Top Left: Who doesn’t like a good deviled egg? Our favorite stuffing is mayo, stone ground mustard and dry ranch dressing mixed with egg yolk.

Top Center: Sweet Cherry Tomatoes from Restoration Gardens.

Top Right: Praline Pecans from Avalon Farms

Bottom Left: Pecan Pie Muffins from Richter Farms

Bottom Center: Figs from Avalon Farms

Bottom Right: Baked Jalapeno Poppers.

Be sure to chheck out D’s Jellies for Pepper Jelly, a year round treat, and Nana’s superb cookies. We have many other wonderful foods listed as well.

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

D’S JELLIES: Congratulations to Dianne for another great food spread in Dothan Living magazine! This issue includes a Charcuterie using products from local businesses and Dianne has graciously mentioned Market at Dothan and our vendors in the accompanying article. THANK YOU!

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AVALON FARMS What do you consider an insect pest? Around here I usually consider anything eating or otherwise afflicting my plants a pest and it needs to go. 

It’s sort of like the old saying “anything growing in the wrong place is a weed.” You eat my plants, you die.

I discovered these very pretty caterpillars this week. They’ve been eating their way through my few celery plants, making them a pest. I started to pull them off for chicken treats but they reminded me of monarch caterpillars, so I did a little research. These bad boys (because they ate the celery) are black swallowtail caterpillars. I guess the chickens don’t need any treats today, LOL. We enjoy watching them flitting around the flowers near our porch.

Editor’s Note: Wendy isn’t the only one checking these caterpillars this week! If you find something interesting like this and want to know more Google Lens is a great smart phone app for identifying plant and animal life. Point the camera at what you wish to identify, click the button and Google will search it’s database and tell you what you’re looking at.

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

We appreciate you and your continued support of our local farmers and sustainable food producers. We are keeping the newsletter short and (hopefully!) sweet this week. Thank you for being a part of our Market family!

“Rain, rain, go away!” We were sad to see several items deleted from orders last week and if you’re one of those affected it’s because of mildew and damage from too much rain.

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!

MORE SUMMER SALADS

In honor of a wedding anniversary we’re cheating this week and sharing a great re-run from July 2018. And who doesn’t like salad inspiration in these hot and humid summer days? Enjoy!

While many people automatically gravitate towards salads after the holidays, actually the hot days of summer may be the best time to take a break from grilling and take advantage of the season’s bounty. Salads are one of those versatile dishes that does not have to be dull or boring as there are many ways to make them interesting and satisfying.

Long gone are the days when main-course salads were pretty much limited to chicken or seafood concoctions involving mayonnaise or a virtuous (i.e., heavy and bland) effort composed of brown rice and not much else. These days, they’re far more likely to showcase interesting greens and other pristine seasonal produce, as well as staple ingredients from around the globe. Whether you favor a carefully curated classic like Salade Nicoise or a wonderful jumble of leftovers, main-course salads are an easy way to work healthy foods into your daily routine without being chained to the stove. Also, you get to channel your inner forager, whether you’re on the prowl at a farmers market or staring into your kitchen cupboard or refrigerator.

A word about beans: as far as beans go, we are all aware that legumes are an important (and inexpensive) source of dietary fiber and protein, and they also contain folate, iron, and potassium. In a perfect world, we’d all have a stash of cooked-from-scratch beans in the freezer, but if you don’t, it’s not an insurmountable hurdle. While some of us aspire to keep a stash of home canned beans in the pantry, there is no shame in using a store bought version. Canned beans, a genuine convenience food, will do; just remember to rinse them (to remove much of the sodium) and drain well before using. And for those who would bravely attempt to cook dried chickpeas, add a teaspoon of baking powder to help break down the protein chains and make them soft.

If you enjoy Mediterranean food, with most any combination of salad ingredients, if you add lots of flat-leaved parsley (which is sensibly treated as a vegetable in the Middle East), tomato, kalamata olives, red bell pepper, feta cheese, and lemony-garlicky vinaigrette you’ll have yourself dinner in no time flat.

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

NEW & RELISTED NEW – Figs from Avalon Farms Relisted Early Next Week – Casablanca Beef NEW – Vanilla Bean & Grape Vine Lip Balms from Bella Eden Farms * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

CASABLANCA RANCH: Sends word that they will be restocking and listing their Grass Fed Beef Monday and Tuesday of this order cycle. So you’re invited to make a 2nd order this week if you have been waiting for their return. Sherry and the family send their thanks for your understanding as they look forward to serving our Market family again.

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AVALON FARMS: You probably have noticed that many of my vegetable listings have very limited quantities or worse, have been removed altogether. It’s terrible, I know. The reason is the heavy rains we’ve been experiencing.  I should have a new planting of squash starting to produce, but I don’t. Due to the wet soil conditions I was not able to prepare the soil and plant. So when these old plants (the second planting of squash, actually) succumb to the mildew caused by heat and wet, I’m out of squash.

In desperation, I’m going to try some “creative” unorthodox planting methods to get more summer and a lot more winter squash going. I’m going to try planting seeds on the old broccoli/cabbage/greens rows. The plastic is still in place on those raised beds, I’ll just poke new holes and plant the seeds. Gotta try something.

It’s also time to start fall transplants. More broccoli, cabbage, kale etc that will be planted in the field late August, early September. These transplants will be started in the house where it is cool enough for the seeds to germinate well. Then I’m hoping I can move them out into the greenhouse to grow. Assuming I can keep the greenhouse cool enough. I gets complicated.

On the plus side, the figs are ripening and the trees are loaded. They will be listed this week.

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