THEN & NOW

Did you know that the first Thanksgiving in the United States has some strong similarities to the biblical Feast of Tabernacles? The Feast of Tabernacles is described in the book of Leviticus in the Old Testament of the Bible.

Although the pilgrims did not consciously observe this biblical feast, it is interesting to study the parallels between these two celebrations that share the common spirit of thanksgiving to God. Both were celebrated in the autumn in the northern hemisphere, and both were a time for giving thanks to God for the blessings of the harvest season.

“Though it’s a uniquely American tradition,” adds a Jewish Web site, “the roots of Thanksgiving go back to ancient Israel. In a real sense, the Jews invented Thanksgiving. (I) count 28 references to the word thanksgiving in the King James Bible—all but six in the Old Testament. For the ancient children of Israel, thanksgiving was a time of feasting and fasting, of praising God, of singing songs. It was a rich celebration—and still is for observant Jews today. Just like it is for many Americans.

Regardless of its origins, psychologists today recognize that gratitude is a powerful force for good regardless of one’s beliefs. Psychology Today lists 7 benefits of Gratitude:

• Gratitude opens the door to more relationships. 
• Gratitude improves physical health.
• Gratitude improves psychological health.
• Gratitude enhances empathy and reduces aggression. 
• Grateful people sleep better. 
• Gratitude improves self-esteem. 
• Gratitude increases mental strength. 

MARKET CHITCHAT

New & Relisted Products Some of these may be familar as they were added to the Market after last week’s newsletter went out.

• Hot Pepper Sauce from Hawkins Homestead
• Broccoli from Avalon Farms
• Hydroponic Micro Bibb Lettuce from Smart Doc Resources
• Old Fashioned Skillet Bread from Mary’s Peeps
• Asian Stir Fry Greens from Hawkins Homestead
• Stewing Hens from Avalon Farms
• Microgreens Musclun Blend from Smart Doc Resources
• Shena’s Pepper Jelly from Bain Home Gardens
• Mary’s HONEY Cornbread Muffins
• Pak Choi cabbage from Hawkins Homestead
• Stuart Pecans from Smart Doc Resources
• Rosemary Salt from Avalon Farms
• Gift Baskets from Hawkins Homestead
• Hawkins Organic Bone Broth Kits are relisted

THIS WEEK’S GROWER NOTES

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

SMART DOC RESOURCES: Greetings from SmartDoc Farm  It has been a busy week. Yea, we sold out of our hydroponic veggies so I hope you enjoy.  We were holding our breath since we had to start fresh after the hurricane and being out of power and water for 7 days!  This weekend we are enlarging so we will have more and a variety of items to offer over the winter. We are experimenting on more techniques and seeds too.  In the next few weeks we will have swiss chard and hopefully okra and of course lettuce and microgreen mix. I will be giving several talks over the next couple of weeks….Saturday at the Market (actually earlier today) about stress. Then on Dec 5th at the community room at SEC church I will be demonstrating easy and inexpensive ways to hydroponic in your kitchen!  Flu and cold season is coming up(maybe now with all this crazy weather) so check out the CBD oil. It’s good for many things …check out my smartdocresources page for some scientific studies. I also completed the cottage law course so in the next few weeks I will be offering some special dried herbs and Christmas candies! Til next time….stay healthy and eat well.

BAIN HOME GARDENS: Are you feeling a little crazy due to the time change? We are! We’ve been so totally confused! It’s just one hour yet it makes all the difference in the world! Personally, I can say I have never struggled so much to adjust as I have been struggling this with this time change. I wondered why so I did a deep dive into the web and found some awesome tips on how to cope with the time change:
1. Adjust Alarms. About 10 or so days before time changes, wake up 10 to 15 min later (earlier for Spring forward). This helps the body slowly adjust to the time change. It’s too late for us to implement this one but when we spring forward we will.
2.Nighttime Routines. You have likely had one of some sort since you were a kid. Put down the phone and tablet and quiet things down! These routines help slow the body down and prepare it for rest – rest that would be otherwise be interrupted by the time change.
3. Light. Expose yourself to light during the waking hours of the day only. At night, LEAVE THE LIGHTS OFF! Install night lights, they are much easier on the eyes and allow one to get right back to sleep!
Although we have had difficulty adjusting, we haven’t allowed the Fall back to stop progress. New & last plantings of peas are done. We are experimenting with a new variety this year so we are excited to see what the yields will be. There is so much more going at Bain Home Gardens! Follow our Garden Adventures on Facebook , Instagram or our more extensive blog posts on ourWebpage . Till next time – from our family to yours!

MARY’S PEEPS: Hello Everyone. Thank you for those of you who have stood by me this year. We’ve had ups and downs and are happy to have made it through to continue baking the same delicious cakes for you that we make for our family. Please check out my selection of baked goods that are listed on the Market Page. There’s sure to be something that will make your Thanksgiving easier and more delicious. Thank you for your support. Mary Dale Peeples

Editor’s Note – you can use the Display Options on the left side of the Market Page to see an individual vendor/grower’s items exclusively.

AVALON FARMS: Onions will no longer be available as they are starting to sprout and that is not good eats. (Bummer. I love onions.)

Broccoli is doing well this year. Wish that second batch of transplants hadn’t been destroyed, then we’d have 4 times as much growing.

You’re going to be needing some rich broth for your Thanksgiving cooking and I’ve got just the thing! Stewing Hens. These pasture raised, clean eating and living girls have reached the end of their egg laying lives. Somebody’s grandma needs to make some chicken and dumplings.

Due to the farmers market on Saturday we won’t be able to process them till Sunday, so I’ll be listing them in the Market late Sunday.

HAWKINS HOMESTEAD: A huge thank you and a shout out to everyone who supported the Fall Farmers Market Day today. We always love getting to meet and putting faces with the names of our customers! With all the events happening around town, we appreciate you showing support to us!

This week we have got a lot to offer! It will be your last Market pick up before our break so please get what you need for 2 weeks instead of one. Of course, you can always contact us offline too, but we know how important it is not to be without.

Ok onto the new stuff right?

• We’ve got our organic hot pepper sauce up just in time for that pot of greens!
• We’ve added gift baskets that include a variety of our pear jams and you can even get one with pepper jelly. These gift baskets will be offered throughout the season.
• Asian organic stir fry greens are listed for you to cook up something wonderful.
• We’re also offering a listing of our Pak Choi cabbage. Just this on its own is delicious, but of course you can add it to your favorite meal.
• Not new, but why buy broth from the grocery store when you can make your own? Delicious and so much better for you! We know a lot of you will be making plenty of meals over the next few months, so we’ve got our organic bone broth kits listed and ready to go.
• Last, but certainly not least our stewing hens are back up on the Market. Remember to cook these low and slow…then enjoy!
  Organic peas will be up soon and if I can get my family to stop eating all the green beans (well maybe it’s just me) I will list those too! See you in 2 weeks if not before.