MAKE YOUR OWN SPICE BLENDS

Last week we mentioned that our next Market Class will be taught by Viki Richter of Richter’s Farm. The Richter’s main farm product is high quality Red Wattle pork, BUT, Viki mastered many kitchen skills in the years before farming became part of her life. Those of you who’ve used her sour dough starter and recipe or ranch dressing mix know what I’m talking about.

On February 17 Viki will be teaching and sharing recipes about making your own clean seasonings and seasoning mixes. She will be covering everything you could ever want to know about making your own spice blends: sourcing ingredients, what’s good to use and what’s not, keeping them fresh, finding good recipes, etc.

With commercial food becoming more and more processed, and more people learning they have serious and life threatening food allergies every day, making your own blends is an easy way to help take back control over what you and your family eat. And if you’re at the beginning of your journey to a healthy diet and lifestyle, this is a delicious place to start!

So mark your calendar for Saturday, February 17 at 10am. The class will take place in the greenhouse at Dothan Nurseries and we hope to see you there!

THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES

We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.

AVALON FARMS:
First planting of Sugar Snap Peas are in the ground and sprouting. There will probably be 2 more plantings over the next month. When April gets here we should have plenty of peas!

Top of the to-do list this week is get the blackberries trimmed and trellised. Trellising and limiting growth creates better air flow around the plants helping to avoid diseases. It also makes them easier to pick. Bonus points.

Also high on the list is to start transplants. I spent several cold hours washing and sterilizing my seed flats. Now I just need to fill them up with soil and nestle those seeds down in there. In a few days there will be tomato, pepper, eggplant and herb babies. Yes, it does seem silly to wash and sterilize and then fill with dirt.

BAIN HOME GARDENS: Hello Market Friends,
    Today I got a little stir crazy. With Mr. Bain Home Gardner and Littlest Bain Home Gardener not feeling well, I decided to get out of the house for just a moment. This allows for them to rest and for me to run some needed errands for the garden. It’s time to amend one of our raised beds so off to the garden supply store. I was saddened by the customer service I received there. Which brings me to the topic of today’s discussion, customer service. When you are a business you are a brand thus everything done & said by you and your employees, like it or not is associated with that brand. Some of us simply take our business elsewhere when we dislike how a company operates but I, for one, believe in letting the issues be known. How else will they improve? We do our very best at Bain Home Gardens to bring the Wiregrass Community a quality product. However, if for some reason you are disappointed in your product, please let us know. We care about you, our market family. Without you there is no us.

Eventually I did acquire the supplies I needed to do a small planting project just for our family. At least I got my hands dirty, right? Till next week, from our family to yours!

HAWKINS HOMESTEAD FARM: At the Market last week, it was nice getting to meet and see some of our other growers and producers. The funny thing is that I had actually dropped off my items earlier that morning, but then forgot to pick up my own order so I had to rush back before I missed it.

I am a person who believes in random acts of kindness. I love to share (perhaps too much sometimes), but that’s a story for another time. This leads me to tell you guys about Rinske of Working Cows Dairy and Wendy of Avalon Farms. Rinske is such a sweet and genuine person. From day 1 of meeting her I think I almost scared her off because I’m a hugger and I’m pretty sure that took her by surprise. Anyway Rinske has been so supportive of us and has went out of her way to not only direct her own customers to us, but also to advertise us at her farm. We are so thankful for her kindness, trust, knowledge, and support! Thank you Rinske.

Now Wendy was one of the growers there last week who showed kindness towards me and others that day as well. I’m sure Wendy thought nothing of it by sharing some onion plants with us, but we definitely appreciate it. When I arrived there were just 2 bunches left and she allowed me to have both. One for us and one for our friends at Bain Home Gardens.

So we want to give a shout out and say a thank you to these ladies for their kindness. We also want to thank to Roslyn who is ALWAYS kind to us plus without her there is no Market. Really thank you to all of the growers yugand producers for sharing your knowledge, skills, and sometimes even what you grow with others! Kindness is something we all have control over. It doesn’t take much to share and wouldn’t you know that what we give out is often given right back to us in return. This happens to me all the time. So if you have extra time, items, or words of encouragement, please share! Help others. Be kind. Good things will come from it!

HORTON’S FARM: We are cutting our product offerings back significantly next week as Ros will be gone for her annual pilgrimage to the Alabama Master Beekeepers Symposium in Clanton. Thanks for your understanding. Viki Richter will be managing Market Pickup on Friday, Feb. 9. Thanks in advance for your kindness and cooperation in these situations.

RICHTER FARMS: As always it is so much fun to be around the the farm doing chores and just watching the animals do their thing. Since last I wrote we have a new addition, Spot, the Nubian Goat, born last month! We love having little ones running around being silly!

As Roslyn has mentioned I will be doing a class on DIY spice mixes Feb 17 in the greenhouse of Dothan Nurseries. I have been making my own mixes for 25+ years. I don’t like to run to the store to buy a little packet or bottle for a recipe and paying a lot of money for a small amount of spice and reading all the ingredients, some you can’t pronounce. I knew there had to be a way to make my own clean mixes. Looking forward to meeting everyone and sharing recipes and ideas.

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

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!

WHAT WILL HE SEE?

Groundhog Day is less than a week away – meaning a certain groundhog’s name is on everybody’s lips. But how much do you really know about Punxsutawney Phil, the great weather predictor? Here’s are 10 “facts” to add to your groundhog trivia.

1. Phil’s full name is a mouthful. The groundhog’s name is Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary.

2. Phil is fat. Punxsutawney Phil weighs about 20 pounds and is 22 inches long, while the average groundhog weighs 12-15 pounds and is 20 inches long.

3. Phil is one old groundhog. Phil is 127 years old, supposedly. The average groundhog lives to be between 6-8 years, but Phil takes a magical elixir every summer to extend his lifespan. The elixir also changes his appearance (much like the Doctor in “Doctor Who”), which explains why Phil may be grey one year and a youthful brown the next. Alas, the elixir does not work on humans. “We’ve tried, it just makes them fat and bald,” said Ron Ploucha, Stump Warden of the Inner Circle of the Groundhog Club and co-handler of Phil. “If you saw some of our Inner Circle members you can tell the ones that tried.”

4. Phil has a wife. Well, make that Phil has had many wives. While Phil has an extended lifespan, his wives do not partake in the elixir so they pass away like normal groundhogs do. Phil always finds love again, though. “He’s probably had more wives than Hugh Hefner.” Ploucha said. Phil’s current wife is called Phyllis – of course.

5. Phil does not have kids. While there is nothing wrong with Phil reproductively (we asked), Phil has no children – he and his wife decided they are really too busy to raise a family. But that doesn’t mean he does not love kids. “He considers everybody his kids, being 127 years old,” Ploucha said.

6. Phil was not in “Groundhog Day.” Phil had a full schedule and was not able to partake in the filming of the movie. In the Bill Murray movie he is played by a groundhog named Scooter – who bit the actor three times during filming. Phil was Murray’s first choice for the role. “He’s treated like royalty and is very well-behaved. A true professional,” the actor told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 1993. “So when they couldn’t get him – a creature who has been hand-raised since birth and is very tame – what did they do? They went out into the woods and caught this Scooter, a groundhog who hated my guts from day one.”

7. Phil loves granola bars. Oat and honey granola bars are Phil’s favorite food, according to Ploucha – in particular Nature Valley ones.

8. Phil has his own car. It’s called the Philmobile and it’s little bus that houses members of the Inner Circle. Phil has a special seat on the outside, so he can be seen on parades.

9. Phil plays dead, occasionally. Oftentimes during summer parades, crowds will panic as the Philmobile draws through. That’s because they will see Phil lying flat on his back, legs in the air looking dead. But he isn’t, this is just how groundhogs cool off, according to Ploucha. One tap on the glass and Phil turns himself the right way round again.

10. Phil doesn’t cause the weather. He just predicts it. “Some people get upset when he calls for six more weeks of winter,” Ploucha said. "But it’s not his fault that he sees that coming.

THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES

We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.

AVALON FARMS:

The chickens are working hard at cultivating Garden 1. They have shredded the cover crop and dug up every weed. I’m hoping they are leaving enough nitrogen rich droppings to supply that garden’s needs. Keeps them happy and less work for me. Win-win.

This week has been the adventure of onion plants being lost in the snow storm in Texas, which delayed their arrival here, delaying me sticking them in the ground. But I did get started on them! I plant onions in a 6 inch grid, with 6 plants to the row. That makes 200 rows per 100 foot bed,  1200 onions per bed. One bed down and my knees need a break. :)

Did you know onions are “Day Length” sensitive? This means their ability to bulb is impacted by the number of hours of daylight they have. Onions are divided into long-day, intermediate-day and short-day. Day length is determined by the latitude of the region. Dothan’s latitude is 32.22, putting us in the short-day range (short-day is latitudes 25-35). Short-day onions will begin the bulbing process when day length reaches 10-12 hours.

I realize this is science, but I swear our summer days are looooo-ng. Especially when there’s work to be done. Just seems crazy that our summer days are “short”.

BAIN HOME GARDENS: Hello Market Friends!
   Today we thought we would talk about something that has been on our minds & that is seed storage.  You see, since we have expanded the garden and have plans to do so even more, we have been collecting & saving seeds. Some of these have been saved from our own garden others have been purchased from resectable sources. So here comes the issue, WHERE DO YOU PUT THEM?!
    Over the course of nine months, our seed storage system has already changed several times but we think we have finally settled on a system that works for our family.

It was very inexpensive being that it was designed from recycled items just hanging around the house! For a video of how it was made and tips on seed storage check out our Facebook page!
    We shared Mache Corn Salad this week for the first time on the market this week Exciting! There are a few more offerings that will be up for grabs this week… from our family to yours!

HAWKINS HOMESTEAD FARM: Chicken, chicken, chicken! Chicken is here! Finally right? We know! We posted a few last week that hubby said we’re ready to go and they went quick. So be sure to grab yours! Thank you to everyone who ordered. If you have questions on how our birds are fed, raised, or housed, check out our Facebook page:

https://facebook.com/HawkinsHomesteadFarm.

We have a great article pinned at the top for everyone to check out.

If you’re not on Facebook, you can still see everything you ever wanted to know about our urban farm on our website:

www.hawkinshomesteadfarm.com

It’s completely brand new and we’re so thankful and happy that it actually works seeing that I had no idea how to create a website. Needless to say there was a lot of research and contacts to tech support (they might be tired of me). It’s not fancy or anything, but it’s ours and if you’d like you can follow our blog on there too.

Did you know that The Market at Dothan has a Group Discussion Page?ref Well now you do. Be sure to join, if you haven’t. It’s a great way for all of us to stay up to date and connected to each other.

HORTONS FARM: We have been overwhelmed with the response to our Elderberry Syrup Kits. There is a history to them that I’ve shared with a few people. Some years ago I was asked by our Market Manager to make Elderberry Syrup for our customers. It looked easy enough to make but because of cottage food laws I declined because it required refrigeration. WHERE WAS MY BRAIN??? Kits take some time and some measuring to do well, (and some of you know about complete instructions too!), but it never occurred to me that it would be simple for anyone else to make as well. And now here we are.

I just ordered another 5 lb of organic elderberries as the many kits we took to Dothan yesterday are GONE. Our own Kelly H of St. Andrews Soap Company took the ones left over from yesterday’s table sales to her shop (Kitty Couture if you’re not familiar with them) and messaged me a little bit ago that they’re out and need more.

So once again I’m sitting on pins and needles hoping my order gets here in time!

MAYIM FARMS: We’re back!
After a wonderful trip to the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference in Chattanooga we are back and starting many seedlings.
We are also announcing our next mushroom growing workshop on February 24 at 10am.
If you missed the last one or if you want to come to another, we will be demonstrating some in unique ways of cultivating mushrooms easily in your home and on logs outside. Get the details on our FB page or on www.mayimfarm.com.
Due to the extreme cold fresh Moringa will not be available but we have plenty of dried, powdered and capsules of powdered and crushed seeds.
If you are having trouble with congestion check out and sign up for Carole’s blog, she has just published a DIY congestion formula you can make in the kitchen.
Also we are listing our new Sweet Gum Tincture in this flu season. Compare to Tamiflu, has the same constituent and it’s all natural.

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

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!

A FEW PHOTOS

I think everyone I’ve spoke with this week has had a tough time of it. People are fighting colds and flu, fixing busted water pipes, dealing with vehicles that don’t like the cold. . . and trying to stay WARM! It’s no secret that people in the southern US are not nearly as prepared for the level of cold we’ve experienced this week as our more northern neighbors are, and sometimes we get so caught up in just dealing with cold/ice/snow that we miss something – the quiet beauty of it all.

So now that’s the worst is behind us (we hope) here’s to appreciating the pretty part of the week.

VENDOR SPOTLIGHT

Hello Marketplace!  I am so excited to be apart of this great group.
Just a brief introduction for those who may not be familiar with me.
My name is Melinda Flynn. I recently moved to Echo, Al.  I had previously lived in Dothan for 24 years with my husband Arthur, who is Santa’s  double along with our seven children. We have six boys and one girl.
I created Simple Life Oils as a way to purchase therapeutic grade, Certified Organic Oils on my budget to fit my life and keep it simple to manage mine and my families health.
I love learning and educating others on the benefits of Essential Oils.
As a former teacher, educating is my passion.
I love being able to help people feel better.
I have been diffusing Fir Needle and Pine Scotch the past few days. It just adds to the wintery feel in the air.

CUSTOMER SPOTLIGHT

Meet Mr. Rossi’s music. Bill and Mary Helen pick up their Market orders in Daleville. Wendy (who delivers to Daleville) and I have enjoyed getting to know this sweet couple. Recently in the course of some correspondence, I had a chance to see and hear Mr. Bills websites and OH MY!

It turns out Mr. Bill is a most accomplished pianist and composer. Some of his compositions and arrangements may be found HERE. I love good piano music and fell in love right away. “Summertime” is probably my favorite on this page.

I hope you’ll give yourself a treat and indulge when you have a mellow moment or want some excellent dinner music. You won’t be disappointed.

You may learn more about Bill on his biography page or visit him on Facebook.

THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES

We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.

AVALON FARMS: Been chasing my tail this week trying to plan the crops for 2018. My goal is to provide you lovely people with a more constant supply of vegetables all year. Sounds simple, huh? There’s actually a lot of math involved and calendars and lots of paper to scribble notes and sketch gardens. Weird to be considering what won’t set fruit when temperatures get into the 90s when there’s ice on my porch!

The first steps for new plantings have begun. Tilled beds for onions that need to be transplanted this week. Sugar snap peas need to be going in the ground too. And beets…have had dismal results with beets, but I keep trying.

BAIN HOME GARDENS: Hey there market friends!
Did you guys happen to get any snow at your homes?

Very little fell our way but we were excited to have more time together as a family being that Mr. Bain Home Gardner was instructed not to go in to work and our kiddos had the days off from school. Aaaah family time!

We used the time to do NOTHING! We watched old movies and ate junk food – our definition of a good time.
Sadly this week brings a close to our Embrace the Winter series. We hope you have room in you beautiful minds for one more benefit of winter on farm life.

Benefit Three: Hibernation time! Just as the bear goes into hibernation so do some of our plants, perennials to be specific. During this dormant phase, these plants store up their fat stores or energy over these extended cold periods enabling them to give bounteous fruitage come spring! Blueberries, asparagus and artichokes – to name a few – NEED sustained cold temperatures or they will generate weaker buds and/or blossoms the next growing season. So while most of us hate the brown gloomy look in the garden during winter months, see past the gloom, see the benefits & EMBRACE THE WINTER!

Sending warm fuzzies from our family to yours!

HAWKINS HOMESTEAD FARM: If you follow our Facebook page then you know that we have a new addition to our urban farm! Meet Coffeecakes! We call her Coffee for short. She is a chocolate lab mix and we rescued her from Southside Walmart just a few weeks ago. If you missed it, we reached out to people online and off to help us with giving her a name. The name Coffee came up several times as did Cocoa, how we settled on Coffeecakes just happened, but it fits! Needless to say she is a handful, but we are excited about having a new puppy and introducing her to the chickens. Labrador Retrievers are “bird dogs.” Hunters often use them to “retrieve” the birds after they have been shot. We know we have our work cut out for us, but we’re always up for a good challenge!
Speaking of birds, chickens should be ready in 2 weeks!

HORTONS FARM: Last year I started a big beekeeping project to move the bulk of my hives to a new location on our property. Part of the decision was logistical and part for safety reasons as I have several in my front yard. I’ve studied and tried all kinds of hive stands through the years and God even gave me a strong steel one last year! You can imagine my surprise last Friday when an old friend showed up with timbers and concrete blocks and told me he was there to help with that project!

These are what my friend built . It took him about 15 minutes and would have taken me . . . I don’t know! Those ties are massive! Each stand will hold 5 hives and should last about 100 years, so I’m told.

So moving bee hives is one of the things I’ll be doing on warm winter days. It will be a much less daunting task now that I have a good new place for them to call home.

On a different note, we have more elderberries coming! Unless they arrive before 5pm on Tuesday when the Market closes we will NOT be listing Elderberry Syrup Kits to order on the website, and if they arrive before pickup on Friday we’ll announce it on Facebook and have them available for Table Sales on Friday.

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

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!

2018 MARKET CLASSES

Market at Dothan and Dothan Nurseries have been plotting for some time to offer classes once a month that are geared to help our community eat healthier and live better. The classes that were held during our Fall Farmer’s market were such a blessing to so many people that it seems both parties had the same thought . . . “why stop?”

So we’re happy to announce that our first monthly class of 2018 will be held on Saturday, January 20 at 10am. Classes will take place in the greenhouse at Dothan Nursery. Wendy Robbins of Avalon Farms will be teaching how to build your own diy seed warmer tray. We know many of you enjoy growing some of your own produce and starting from seed is a great way to enjoy vegetables and varieties not found in purchased seedlings.

Of course we understand that many of you don’t garden and that’s ok. We’ll be having plenty of food classes in the future. With this month being the month for garden planning, it seemed fitting to do this class while there’s time to actually use the information!

So thank you Wendy for your willingness to share from your wealth of knowledge and we look forward to learning more!

THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES

We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.

BAIN HOME GARDENS: Hello market friends,
    So it warmed up some this week. I wonder if perhaps I’m the only one that runs to the garden as soon as it hits 60 degrees to play in the dirt?
  This week in our Embrace The Winter  series we are going to discuss yet another benefit of the winter temperatures.
    Benefit Two: Free Compost!!! Yes that’s right free composting materials are falling or have fallen from the sky and that my friends is very beneficial. Adding leaves to your compost is a nice way to increase the nitrogen content of your compost. This is vital since many of the crops we grow in the South are very dependant on nitrogen. We personally only have a few trees on our property but we have friends! So round up the kiddos, get your winter gear on and for goodness sake, go rake someone’s yard!

HAWKINS HOMESTEAD FARM: How many ways can can we apologize for our orders yesterday? I’m sorry, we’re sorry, we apologize, please forgive us! You guys remember in our last post, I talked about how both hubby and I received some not so nice reports from the doctor, well unfortunately it caught up to me yesterday and I missed the Market completely. I call Roslyn as soon as I could and she was very forgiving and even said a prayer for me. (She is so sweet) We appreciate her and all of you for your understanding. We hope to be able to get through this process and get back to life, but if not then we will just keep praying and roll with it. Again we’re sorry we missed you and we ask that you please try us again!

January is a month of new beginnings. It is also a month where we realize that we have a BIG year ahead of us. There is so much to do! We have talked a lot about how the shorter days and cold have an affect on our animals, but it also affects us too! It’s like we know there’s work to be done. Feed, water, weed, and so on, but when the sun sets before 5 o’clock, it’s freezing cold, and sometimes wet outside you don’t even want to think about farm chores. With us being transplants here we keep asking each other….“This is Alabama right?” “What’s with this weather?” Honestly, all we really want to do is curl up on the couch, wrap in our blankets, eat, and tv binge……or maybe that’s just my family!
We know many of you live very busy lives and we want to stress to everyone that it’s ok to have those days when you just feel like doing nothing. It’s important to take time to breathe, de-stress, and relax. When you’re tired, take time to take care of you. We have had to learn this the hard way lately. So we want to tell you that it’s ok to direct instead of do!

The winter time can be beautiful for some and very upsetting for others. Many people suffer from seasonal affective disorder also known as SAD. This is when you feel moody, anxious, and your energy is nonexistent. The shorter days and lack of sunlight can lead to depression, a drop in serotonin levels and even cause sleep loss. So while a mild case of “I really don’t want to do anything today” is ok, anything above and beyond that could be serious. Look it up, research it, check on your friends/family if it seems like they have been hibernating. SAD can be dangerous and we don’t want anything to happen to any of you. So please hang in there and we will too. Before we know it, Spring will have Sprung!

MAYIM FARMS: Exciting news…Carole and I will be attending the Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group Conference (SSAWG) in Chattanooga Tn. this week. This conference provides a forum to learn about sustainable farming techniques and marketing strategies, community food systems, and promote sustainable agriculture. We are looking forward to learning much and putting it into action on our farm. Unfortunately we will be placing all of our products on “vacation mode” for this week. We’ll be back next week full of new ideas that we can implement to make Mayim Farm better for you. We are working hard and striving to make all our products the most nutrient dense and beneficial for you. “Let your food be your medicine!”

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

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!

Welcome January

When I was a kid I used to thumb through my grandparent’s Gurney’s Seed Catalog and dream of the wonderful things I could grow someday. These cold winter days I find myself doing the same thing . . . planning and plotting my garden and hoping I’ll have the time/energy/resources to do better this year than last.

One of the things I dreamed of growing was blue potatoes. You can imagine my surprise when my high school beau showed up one fine spring day with a bag of blue potatoes he had grown! Talk about going for a farm girl’s heart! It wasn’t enough to hold things together with the guy and I married into an Oregonian greenhouse family instead (still pretty happy with that decision!). As an adult I’ve probably sampled every potato known to man and have practically sworn off them completely at this stage of life. You have to admit it was pretty ironic regardless.

Another thing I read at my grandparent’s house was the various Rodale publications they got monthly. Rodale is well known for Prevention Magazine (which was heavy on health through nutrition) which Mama and Papa N. were getting long before I was born. Even earlier than that, 1942 to be exact, Rodale had launched Organic Farming and Gardening which taught people how to grow food with organic farming techniques. Today, Organic Gardening is the best-read gardening magazine in the world.

But back to seed catalogs . . . .

Gurney’s is no longer my catalog of choice but I have to congratulate them for still being in business these many years. Crazy thing is – one came in the mail a few days ago! In my house however, catalogs like those shown above are the ones that get thumbed through, studied and ordered from.

So if you’re fighting some chilly winter blues, you’ve got options! Check out some potential deliciousness from a seed company online if you don’t have a catalog. Our growers don’t mind suggestions and if nothing else, it will get your mind off the cold a little bit!

Stay warm my friends!

On an almost unrelated note, the last member of Mom and Pop’s family called on New Years Day. Uncle Jimmy is almost 80 and has been selling exotic eggs, blueberries and other farm products on eBay for a number of years. Seriously.

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

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!

2017 in Review

Traditionally all the year end tv specials that examine the year’s history takes place after Christmas and before New Years Day. Traditions though are subject to change. When you consider that we’ll see Easter decorations before the end of February and shake our heads yet again next August when Christmas decorations come out . . . you see where I’m going.

This has been quite a year for Market at Dothan. Your editor has been a part of this Market since a handful of farmers pitched tents every Friday morning in the employee parking lot at Dothan Nurseries. How many years has it been? I should know but I don’t! Somewhere in there the Market changed platforms to use the internet for online ordering which was pretty radical for the time. What I do know is that in 2015 our remaining founder was facing major life changes and in order for Market At Dothan to continue, management had to change hands. It was no small change and a rookie took over in January 2016.

Those of you who were with us then remember the shade tent on the other side of the property. We used coolers in the summer and the greenhouse in rain! Early January this year JD Boone mentioned in an email that he and the staff were looking at changing our pickup location. We had no idea what to expect and were thrilled late February when we moved into what is now “The Market Shed” (and yes, that’s our new location name!). Such a blessing! Maura fixed us up with cabinets and a fence and it’s still a lot of fun keeping it cute and inviting. We celebrated by adopting a logo of our very own.

Internal changes took place as well and on July 1 the Market began operating as an LLC. We really wanted to incorporate as a non-profit, but the time, resources and manpower needed to do that did not justify the benefits of going that route. Thankfully one of our customers (Thanks C!) is a super smart lawyer and set us up in a way that allows us to operate similar to a non profit.

The best changes have been our people. We’ve had the absolute BEST vendors and customer always and though growth has not been by leaps and bounds, it’s been steady and sustainable (there’s that word again!) as more committed growers and health conscious consumers have joined us. More growers has meant a wider variety of wholesome sustainable foods and we love the wide variety of wholesome meats, beautiful produce, etc. on our Market Page.

So yes, it’s been quite the year and we’ve loved every minute of it. Thank you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being a part of it. YOU are the reason Market At Dothan exists and we love serving you.

MARKET CHITCHAT

Another Open House is in the history books now and a big Thank You to everyone came out. It was nice seeing old friends and making new friends. The hot cocoa with peppermint that Dothan Nurseries served wasn’t bad either!

If you didn’t see it above our team of volunteers has settled on a name. Our Dothan pickup location is now henceforth and forever more called “The Market Shed”. I’ve searched and searched my emails to see who sent it and . . . nothing. So it had to be verbal and I can’t remember for the life of me who suggested it. (APOLOGIES!) That’s why I like things in print. Please shoot me an email if it was you so I can get a $5 credit applied to your account.

Our Growers have been BUSY! Fresh, Local, Sustainable and YEAR ROUND food production means that something’s always happening on the farm. We hope our Grower Notes section is enjoyable and beneficial for you.

Weekly orders will resume on January 6, 2018

Wishing You

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR!

THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES

We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.

AVALON FARMS: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year ! No, I’m not politically correct.  Praying blessings on each and every household involved with this market.  Dream big.  Go for it.  There is no failure…only learning what not to do.

Sugar Snap Peas really took a hit in the freeze. Thankfully I remembered to pick them all.  This will be the last ones till spring. Buy lots! Ha Ha

Satsuma are hanging in there. Will be offering a larger size so you can have lots to share over the holidays. These are great for juicing.

Portuguese Kale is coming along. Hopefully I’ll have enough to offer in the market. A chef I  know says it’s delicious!

BAIN HOME GARDENS: Hello market friends, We hope that you guys are enjoying the cool weather.  Here at Bain Home Gardens the cold means that there is less work in the garden.  However, that doesn’t mean that we are sitting idely! To the contrary, we have been quite busy! We are pleased to announce that we are currently filming and producing two new video series that will be featured on our Facebook page beginning in January.  One of these, Our Garden Adventures, will follow our family through the joys and pains of the modern home gardener.  In the other, From Our Garden to Your Table, we will explore new recipes and spice up some old ones with fresh produce from the garden.  If you haven’t already liked and followed our page, now would be a great time to do so & follow us as we bring quality produce from our family to yours!
Till next week!

HAWKINS HOMESTEAD FARMS: Hello everyone! Our family had a great vacation this past week to Las Vegas. No….we’re not gamblers so we didn’t win any money or anything like that, but we actually went out to visit my oldest sister. I had not seen her in about 8 years since she visited us back in North Carolina so this visit was extremely special to me! I actually started writing this newsletter entry from the airplane, but missed the deadline. We were excited to get back home to Mr. Hawkins Homestead Farm. He had been holding down the fort for us. I’m very thankful for FaceTime which allowed me to check in on him and everything else.

So anyway in getting back to the topic of where all the eggs went. We talked before about molting so now we will talk about how shorter days after the bird’s laying cycle. Chickens require a lot of hours of daylight to be able to produce each egg. The figure is somewhere between 14-16 hours of sunlight. As you can imagine with the short days, eggs start to dwindle. Right now half of the birds are molting and the other half are being affected by colder temperatures and shorter days. For us this means ZERO eggs. We have had to buy eggs for the last couple of weeks. While we were in Las Vegas, I was told that there were 7 eggs laid, but when I came home they were nowhere to be found! Guess the egg monster must of eaten them or that was Mr. Hawkins Homestead Farm’s payment for doing all the work. Either way I was happy to hear that we got some eggs, but now all these hens are living rent free. They will have a lot to make up for as the days get longer. Some people use artificial lighting to keep their birds laying, but we believe in giving them a break and letting them go through their natural cycle.

In other news, we hatched 6 baby chicks this week out of the 8 eggs we set under our broody hen. We are always very excited to add new members to our flock. More chickens mean more eggs for everyone as they grow up and we all look forward to that.

HORTONS FARM One thing about honeybees is that they need minimal tending to during the cold winter months. As long as they were relatively robust going into the season and have ample food reserves, there’s very little reason to open the box, doing so in fact can harm or even kill a colony! We like to pick up the back of each hive every week or so to check the weight. This way we can tell when food reserves are getting low in which case we give them additional food so they don’t starve. I’m happy to say we seldom have to do this as one of our management principals is to leave the bees PLENTY of honey to see them through till spring.

MARY’S PEEPS: I just wanted to thank everyone who orders my products and have stuck with me thru my health problems. I’m still not 100% but I hope time and patience will help.  I appreciate all the prayers. I will be offering a few cakes for listing before Christmas so now is the time and first come first served. I hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed  Christmas with your family and friends. That’s what I’ll be doing. Christmas on the Hill in Echo, Al. Our little bit of heaven. MARY,S PEEPS,AND MARY’S BEES. MARY DALE PEEPLES

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

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!

TUESDAY OPEN HOUSE

Days like today . . . you either love them or you hate them, and your thoughts may well depend on whether you are indoors or out! As I type, the sky is clear bright blue, the wind is howling and it’s cold as blue blazes . . . at least this particular 44 degrees fells like it.

As you know, Open House did not take place last Thursday as originally planned. When everything was said and done, rescheduling was the absolute right thing to do! Thankfully it has not been canceled! We are looking forward to much nicer weather next TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12 from 4-7 pm. It will still be chilly and require a jacket or sweater but the weather promises to be warmer and hospitable.

So that’s what’s going on with Open House. THANK YOU for your patience with all the ups and downs dealing with this cold front.

MARKET CHITCHAT

Thank you to everyone who braved Friday’s nasty weather to pick up their orders. Some of you probably noticed that your “refrigerated” items were already bagged. It just made since as the weather felt like a refrigerator! Those of us working were most thankful for the little Coffee Bar inside the Nursery as the warm liquid refreshment was most helpful!

I thought we’d have a name for our pick up area to announce this week, but more names came in on Friday. We talked about them, then got so busy we forgot to settle on one! So its not too late to speak up if you think of anything. Just email to marketatdothan@gmail.com . We’ll try again!

Today is the first of two more order cycles for 2017. Individual schedules allowed us to “stay open” a bit longer this year which means you should be able (weather permitting!) to get FRESH greens and produce almost right up to Christmas.

And if you have not noticed, the Market is offering local seasonal citrus this year! A neighbor in Dothan is sharing his abundance and we are so glad because his fruit is so good!

SEASONAL GROWING

Today seemed like to good time to talk about cold and how it affects crops. Market At Dothan has been very blessed with beautiful and bountiful greens this year. Yesterday I saw several kinds of lettuce, chard, kale, collards and turnip greens come through . . . and brought some home too!

Farmers have dealt with the forces of nature for centuries and have employed many means to deal with it – everything from row covers to blankets and spraying water and in recent years the use of greenhouses and hoop houses. Even those are subject to the whims of nature. At one time Avalon Farms enjoyed the use of a hoop house . . . until a tornado came through. The Lolleys of Mayim Farms are engaged with Auburn developing cold tolerant Moringa Trees . . and hoping theirs survive. No doubt Danny has his hand built bed covers over the lettuce at his farm. We here at Horton’s farm have lost several citrus trees over the years despite drastic measures to keep them alive all the while hoping the cold will help the raspberries set fruit the next spring.

Now that we’ve got this cold front upon us all of our growers are hoping it doesn’t destroy the hard work they’ve put into their winter gardens. No doubt covers and protections are in place, but those things don’t guarantee plants will do well in harsh conditions.

Timing determines a lot of a plants ability to survive tough conditions. Young tender shoots don’t stand much of a chance in prolonged harsh conditions, whereas other plants actually thrive and become tastier on a bit of cold. I’ve heard many an old timer talk about frost making their collards better.

Variety plays a part in it too. While lettuce prefers cool weather , Danny of Danny’s Greens has elevated growing lettuce to nearly an art by careful selection of seasonal varieties. The seed for the winter varieties growing right now wouldn’t even germinate in June because of the soil temperature.

THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES

We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.

AVALON FARMS: One of our goats has learned a new trick…not in a good way. She’s discovered that the temporary fence we used to utilize some extra grass is NOT electrified. So she just politely rears up and sort of falls over it! Smarty pants. Another trip to Tractor Supply for electric fence tape. She loves kale, turnips and snap peas so free range goat near the market garden is a BAD idea.

As far as the garden goes, we’ll  have to see what things look like after this freeze. Farming is so unpredictable.

BAIN HOME GARDENS: Hello market friends, We hope this weblog finds you are yours warm & dry! This has been a difficult task over the last few days and we have concerns about how the garden will fair, especially since the lowest forecasted temperatures are yet to come! Although we didn’t get any snow, friends of ours, north of us in Grady, Al did get some. I made sure to express just how jealous we were!

As a side note, this is good time to make sure that those we love have adequate heating for the winter.  Sometimes our dear friends & loved ones suffer in silence so as to not be a bother. If everyone checks on someone, we should all be ok.

We hope to be sharing some new items with you this week! They have been tried and tested by our family and pass the “deliciousness test”! So look out for our tasty peas & salad blend from our family to yours!

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

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!

RAIN, RAIN, GO AWAY

Remember last week when we said, “Right now the weather forecast is agreeable and our vendors are looking forward to seeing you and getting to know you better. We hope you’ll make plans to come and spend a little time hanging out with us and enjoying the prettiest place in Dothan at the Nursery!”

That’s turning out to be a big foot in the mouth situation! Just a few minutes ago JD Boone of Dothan Nurseries had to make the call to move Open House because the weather forecast has changed since Saturday’s newsletter. Basically it’s going to be cold, wet and miserable . . . not very merry at all.

Our vendors are still looking forward to seeing you, but it will be next week as Open House is moved to TUESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 3-7 pm..

The upside is that it will give our Market People a wee bit more time to prepare. And with it being election day what better way to put another awful campaign behind us!

ENDING ON A HAPPY NOTE

If you are one of those frustrated people who have tried to post on our Facebook Page, this announcement is for YOU.

This week your not-so-web-savvy, struggles-with-html editor took the plunge and created a GROUP Facebook page where anybody can join and anybody can post. Market At Dothan is blessed to have wonderful people on both sides of the table willing to share their vast experience and vast knowledge. We hope you’ll take advantage of it as another resource in you quest to live healthy.

The actual web address is https://www.facebook.com/groups/MarketDiscussion/ and you may go there by clicking HERE.

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!

THURSDAY PICKUP THIS WEEK

Hopefully you’ve got your calendar marked for next Thursday, December 7, 2017 for this year’s Open House and Old Fashioned Christmas at Dothan Nurseries.

One of the values we hold dear is that our customers and growers know each other. Much of what we do almost seems non-personal as so much takes place online. We are so THANKFUL for our webmaster who started the Locally Grown system many years ago, but the REAL transacting is what takes place in real life – real farmers providing real, sustainable food to real people. The Open House events we participate in twice a year with Dothan Nurseries is a way to keep that face to face, person to person relationship alive and thriving. We want that because YOU are important and we want to serve you well.

That being said – Order Pickups take place this THURSDAY from 2 -3 pm in our regular spot. It has been set to this time because of the heavy traffic that will begin around 3pm when the carolers start singing and Dothan Nurseries starts serving up finger foods and punch. We don’t want our regular customers to be inconvenienced by having to park far away or have to deal with the many vehicles that will be coming through next to our location with the refrigerators.

There will be no Daleville Deliveries this week.

Right now the weather forecast is agreeable and our vendors are looking forward to seeing you and getting to know you better. We hope you’ll make plans to come and spend a little time hanging out with us and enjoying the prettiest place in Dothan at the Nursery!

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

We don’t want you to be caught unprepared! Market at Dothan will be closed two weeks starting December 23. Below is our schedule for the remainder of the year and the beginning of 2018. Our hope and prayer is that each of you make blessed and peaceful memories during this season and are filled the knowledge that you are greatly loved.

MARKET CHITCHAT

Just wanted to send a hearty THANK YOU to the customers who hung out with us yesterday as we awaited the arrival of the last of the vegetables. We appreciate your patience and it was fun getting to know you a bit better!

Please note that Meyer Lemons have been added this week from a new grower called “Seasonal”. All kidding aside, for some time we’ve needed a listing for those individuals who meet our guidelines and only offer one crop per year (like the bulk blueberries in 2016). We’re happy to welcome T.L. and his great citrus products.

And we need your help – we need a name. Every week your editor cringes and struggles with the cumbersome phrase “Pickup Location” when there’s got to be something better to call the super cute area where our growers deliver and you come to get your orders every week. If you’ve got a suggestion email it to marketatdothan@gmail.com. We’ll run it by a panel of vendors and give a $5 credit to the person whose title is chosen.

THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES

We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.

AVALON FARMS: Looking forward to seeing everyone Thursday at the Christmas Open House. The weatherman says it’s going to be cold so break out those Christmas sweaters!! We’ll be offering samples of our jams as I’m sure others will be too!  So come on out and snack your way around the market.

Wanted to talk to you about the sugar snap peas. They will be available thru the market at least this next week. If it freezes this week (that weatherman again) I’m not sure what the impact will be on the baby peas. BUT the good news is if you keep them in the  refrigerator, sealed up they will keep fresh for a couple weeks. So buy lots while they are available! LOL

Picture notes: As you can see, the sugar snap peas are grown on a trellis to keep them off the ground. The material I am using is a plastic 6 × 6 inch mess. I used the same piece in the spring and hope to use it again next spring and beyond. Reusing it multiple times makes is affordable and sustainable. Keeping the pea vines off the ground makes for a more and better crop. Plus saves my back a little.

BAIN HOME GARDENS: Hey there market friends,
This week we want to share a family milestone. WE CANNED FOR THE FIRST TIME! Seems like such a simple thing but it’s honestly something I have been afraid of for a while. However, our family managed to end up with bunches of tangerines and had no idea what to do with them. After browsing the internet, I found a recipe on canning mandarin oranges which was interchangeable for basically any citrus. So we decided to give it a try. It was lots of fun and a family effort. The cans are still sitting on the counter for now just because seeing them makes me smile.

As we become more experienced with this new venture, we look forward to sharing and getting your feedback, & exchanging recipes & techniques. It’s a learning process and learning new things and ideas is one way we will continue to bring a quality product from our family to yours! Till next week…

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

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!

CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE

We are so pleased to participate in the Annual Christmas Open House hosted by Dothan Nurseries every year. Hopefully you are on their mailing list or Facebook page and have your calendar marked for December 7, 2017 for this year’s Old Fashioned Christmas. The Festivities run from 3pm – 7pm.

From JD: Please join us for an old fashioned Christmas Open House. We’ll be serving up warm gingerbread and “adult” eggnog while you shop and enjoy our Christmas Carolers.

We’ll also have our full Farmers Market. All the vendors with fresh produce, honey, jams, jellies, meats, cheeses, and lots more. Don’t worry, we’ll have kid friendly snacks as well. So bring the whole family and don’t forget to invite your friends. Everyone is welcome.

As usual, we’ll be giving away prizes including some $100 gift cards.

VIP for Market Customers

• Pickup takes place 2pm-3pm in our regular location.
• No Daleville delivery this week (apologies!)
• We will be set up in the open area next to the Butterfly House
• LOTS of old and new Market Friends will be on hand – 15 so far!

MARKET CHITCHAT

What a delightful treat we had on our last pickup date when Carshenina Bain (Bain Home Gardens) joined Kathy (Kathy’s Cluckers) and Viki (Richter Farms) and Ros. If you’ve not met this dear lady yet we hope you get the opportunity. I’m sure it sometimes looks like chaos as we scurry together orders from coolers and refrigerators, but we actually have a lot of fun and love serving you!

As announced earlier this month, plans are in the works to have classes once a month starting in 2018. While there is a tentative list of topics we’re looking int,o what we really need to know is WHAT DO YOU WANT? So if there’s some aspect of healthy food preparation, preservation, medicinal, or even growing that interests you, please speak up as the whole purpose is to be a blessing to all involved.

MOLTING MADNESS

Thank you HAWKINS HOMESTEAD FARM!

So I know you guys having been reading all about chickens molting and hens on hiatus and you may be wondering what does all of that mean. More importantly, where are all the eggs?!?! Well we would like to help you out.

We have 24 hens. You would think that this means that we’re should be getting at least 2 dozen eggs per day right? Wrong! We actually never get that many in one day. The birds all lay at different times, days, and cycles. So needless to say, we are getting more layers for the Spring because we need more eggs. We had to buy eggs! My children are complaining because there are barely any eggs and my offline customers, like many of you are like what do you mean you have no eggs?!?!

So why? Let’s take Dottie for example. She is a Golden Laced Wyandotte. She used to be a beautiful chicken, but currently she is having a moment because she is going through a molt. Molting is when chickens shed their old feathers to grow new ones. This is a natural process that occurs in adult birds every year. It usually happens during late Summer or early Fall. During this time there are very little to no eggs. I can’t remember the last time Dottie was in the nesting box. Sadly, this process can last for months. Feathers are made of mostly protein, so we try to help the birds out by boosting up their protein in hopes that they can grow their beautiful feathers back quicker. They are already spoiled, but then I find myself buying specialty worms and treats high in protein. I liken it to having someone take care of you when you’re not feeling good. We all appreciate and need that! Speaking of protein, did you guys know that pumpkins are a wonderful source of proteins for chickens?!?! So if anyone wants to donate their used pumpkins instead of throwing them away…..we will take them!

Next time I will talk with you guys about how the sun and shorter days affect their laying cycle. So stay tuned.

THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES

We have the best Growers in the Wiregrass! Please learn more about them on our Grower Page.

AVALON FARMS: We are back from vacation. It is always great to get away, but it’s even better coming back home! The farm seems to have survived without us. LOL

New this week:

• Satsuma oranges.  These are grown by my Dad. No sprays. I have to walk all the way across the pasture to get these. Hope you appreciate it. ?


• Sugar snap peas are back! These bright green jewels brightened up our Thanksgiving plates.


• Broccoli….cheese sauce with Working Cows cheese goes great.


• Baby Goat….ok, she’s not for sale. She was kind enough to arrive a few days before we left. Awesome timing.

BAIN HOME GARDENS: Hello Market Friends,
We missed you guys last week! We did take advantage of the off time to cultivate the ground for new planting as well as beginning the process of filling our raised beds. I read somewhere that in order to have continual harvests, one should be planting SOMETHING in the ground every 2 – 3 weeks.  Well it is a worthwhile goal and although we aren’t there yet, it is a work in progress.

We want to give a nice shout out of appreciation to Vicki of Richter Farms, Kathy of Kathy’s Churpers and of course Ros of Horton’s Farms. Thanks for teaching us the ropes of handling the pick-up on Friday mornings. It was a lot of fun getting to know other growers and the market customers! Thanks also to Dothan Nurseries for giving our junior gardeners,b Jarod & Thai some needed work experience while we were there. We had a special visitor that week that stole my heart, Mr. Francis of the Basford family. Please bring him back to visit us again!

If you haven’t had the pleasure of trying the smoked bacon and ground sausage of Richter Farms you are missing out! Mr. Bain Home Gardener has cooked them both of on Saturday mornings paired with eggs from Hawkins Homestead Farms & the reviews were great! We feel even better knowing the great care that these growers put into caring for their animals.  We will be permanent customers!  

Till next week, from our family to yours!

HORTONS FARM: We hope all of you had a blessed Thanksgiving. We had a different kind of Holiday here. With all the work (translated: MESS) going on we hauled food, fixins and guests down into the woods where we picnicked in the woods. It was so wonderful we’ll probably do it every year the weather cooperates.

MarketWise, we still have a good supply of yummy 2017 HONEY and are in the process of dressing up smaller sizes for affordable gifts and stocking stuffers. Don’t forget that lip balms and Fire Ant First Aid make welcome and appreciated “stuffers” as well.

FOOTNOTES

We would love to hear from you! If you have a favorite recipe, want to write a product review, have an idea or request for an article or information, let us know! You can reply to this newsletter or write marketatdothan@gmail.com.

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!