THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES

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

AVALON FARMS: Well our first “real” crop of garlic has sold out! Last year’s crop was very pitiful and small, but I learned some things and this year’s was great. Wish I had planted more! Have already ordered seed garlic that will be planted in September.

Onions are still storing very well. That’s the area of improvement I focused on this year. We lost so many to spoilage last year. But they won’t keep forever, so enjoy them now.

For those that attended my heat table workshop last Spring, you may recognize this setup. I removed the heating parts and moved it all inside in the a/c. I needed cooler temperatures to start cool weather crops like spinach.  Plus this way they are protected from hungry critters and all the mold and fungus spores floating around. I lost half my fall transplants last year to bugs and fungus because they were outside. More lessons learned!

BAIN HOME GARDENS: Hello Marketeers!
    How goes it? Back to school season is upon us. Have your little ones started back to school? Our youngest is in 6th grade this year and our oldest will be beginning his freshman year of college on the 20th. I really wonder just where the time went?! Before Jarod, gets all tied up with the rollercoaster of college life, our goal is to finalize our early fall plantings. We had a very productive fall season last year and this year we want to kick it up a notch! Planning, planning, and more planning coupled with lots of hard work – ah that should get us off to a good start.

So far we have cleared and tilled only one of our smaller beds. There are yet two larger areas not to mention the growing boxes that currently are demanding attention. We have not a moment to waste! Till next week!

DANNY’S GREENS: Danny’s commitment to utmost quality has forced the tough decision to suspend sales for a few weeks till the current weather conditions ease up. His greens are tender and most vulnerable so he’s papmering them till they’re ready to take off again.

GRIER ACRES: We are excited to offer you all some of our baking pears. Jeannie and her mom have put up some canned pears and Jeannie has also made some cobblers with the pears. We have also enjoyed our hot banana peppers and will be offering these to you all as well. They are great in salad or to cook with to add some heat and texture to foods. We also have been getting a lot of the yellow pear tomatoes, we enjoy cutting these in half to add to a salad. We also have a tabasco plant with peppers that are starting to turn.

Jeannie was so excited as she got a new composter. She loves the box kind and moves it around as she fills it with green and brown compost in a layered fashion in our garden. We have one on our field where we have okra growing-we have clemson spineless and emerald okra growing. Hopefully we can list some okra. We eat it roasted in the oven or grill. When Harry has time he likes to make a gumbo with the okra. c It really is the secret to gumbo. As you get ready for cooler weather and smoking meats, we will have a variety of smoking woods.

HAWKINS HOMESTEAD: Hello Market Friends! I really enjoyed meeting a lot of you yesterday at the Market pick up.Since I work Full-time it’s not often that I get a day off on Friday, but yesterday was a good day to be off. It was very nice putting faces with the names I see from week to week. We even got to hear some customer feedback which we welcome. We hope you guys know that you can always reach out to us. Either through messenger on Facebook, phone, or even email. Our email address is info@hawkonshomesteadfarm.com. We would love to hear from you!

This week on the Market enjoy our bone broth kit, basil pesto, fresh basil varieties, salsa fresh, and pear jams. As always we thank you and hope you have a good week.