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July 11, 2020 M@D Newsletter - We're Back & We're Open for Orders!
Summertime . . .
Market Chitchat
Grower Notes: Grier Acres, Danny’s Greens, Sandy Valley
AND THE LIVING IS EASY . . .
Or NOT! If you’re a farmer summertime can be anything but easy! There’s crops to harvest, soil to care for when the crop is gone, and prep/planning for what to do next season. It’s a beautiful revolving cycle of LIFE that gives life and quality of life to all who receive from it’s bounty.
One of the unique characteristics of Market At Dothan is that we are SUSTAINABLE. Sustainable and organic are like twin sisters. “Organic” is the pretty twin sister that has the titles and gets all the attention while Sustainable is the twin that that has more dirt under her fingernails from making sure the job gets done right.
“Doing it right” agriculture involves much more than choosing the right seed and not using chemicals. In simplest terms it comes down to nurturing your soil. Nurtured soil will nurture whatever you put into it to grow. Our farmers use a variety of methods to nurture, that is to add organic material to their gardens, using wholesome sustainable materials available to them. Listed below are a few things our market farmers do.
Cover Crops/Green Manure: Buckwheat is a major source of soil nutrition at Danny’s greens. He both tills fresh cuttings into beds and puts it in his compost piles. The bonus is that it attracts pollinators as well.
Permaculture: Mayim Farms has added traditional German hugelkultur to their farm. This method uses WOOD at the bottom of a bed to provide nutrients to soil as it decomposes. Beds created this way get a good rich diet for years. Other permaculture methods are started by layering various organic materials over beds.
Compost: We all have our compost piles. They don’t all consist of the same ingredients but the end result is the same – beautiful rich compost goes that back into the soil.
Animal Manures: The chickens at Avalon Farms do double duty by adding nitrogen back to the garden soil. USDA mandates that all animal fertilizers be applied than 90+ days before harvest so they rotate the areas where the chickens graze.
Mulch: Not the recycled rubber tire type, but the kind shown in Danny’s garden below. It’s especially important in the South as it reduces the amount of water that evaporates from your soil, greatly reducing your need to water your plants. It breaks up clay and allows better water and air movement through the soil. It also provides nutrients to sandy soil and improves its ability to hold water.
This Mother Earth News article has some great info if you would like to learn more.
MARKET CHITCHAT
We’ve got some great grower notes for you this week and I hope you’ll check in on what’s available and what’s going on in the Grower Notes below. Grier Acres has returned with some great products and we’re tickled pink to have clean corn available from Sandy Valley this week. VIP – Please be sure to read the notes under the corn photo if you wish to order any.
It’s a blessing to see so many great vegetables listed on the Market this week. One of the benefits of living in this region is that if you time your planting and crops just right you can grow literally year round. We are thankful for the wisdom and planning of our farmers to make this possible for you to have a year round supply of fresh seasonable vegetables. On that note, kudos to Danny’s Greens for being able to offer root crops in July!
GROWER NOTES
GRIER ACRES: We are back with Asian Pears this week. The tree is absolutely loaded. We have already gone through and thinned out earlier in the summer to reduce the weight on the branches.
We anticipated getting lots of okra but the rain has slowed it down. Before the rain came we had an overabundant supply. We have both varieties again—Clemson Spineless and Emerald. I think it needs more sun.
Peppers are coming in nicely. Will have ghost, tabasco, habanero, jalapeno, and bell peppers.
Eggplant is going ape!!! We have the traditional eggplant and we have ichiban variety. So far the ichiban is the most prolific so far. I think it comes to maturity faster due to smaller size. Jeannie cooks it sliced thin in rounds in an iron skillet with a dash of olive oil and seasalt. We do that method for the okra as well and use the whole okra even the stem. The stem gives you a way to eat it :).
Chickens are doing well. We have a regular personal customer who buys every single one we get. He and his mother swear free range eggs are the cats meow. :)
Speaking of cats we still have catnip grown organically for those felines in need of some stress relief with the corona virus and the humans being around more. Cammie will allow us to sell a small portion of her special stash….;)
We also have beans but probably will not have enough to share for selling. So far we have eaten all we have picked.
Goats are doing well. Jeannie has learned a male baby goat is not as much fun when they get older. Leap has gotten a new four letter name after his many antics. I don’t let her know it but I have gotten some secret laughs watching her with that male goat. She’s stubborn but I think Leap may be a good match for her. Seriously she does love the goats and chickens. One of the goats was a rescue we got from another girl raising goats. She was undoubtedly the most pitiful site. She has blossomed with a lot of love and Jeannie’s treats which includes baked sweet potato bites. We look forward to hearing everyone else’s updates.
DANNY’S GREENS: The garden has caught up and this week Salad Greens, Carrots, Green Onions, Beets and Turnip Roots are listed. Shop early because Danny’s stuff sells out FAST.
SANDY VALLEY: THE CORN IS HERE! Besides Eggplant, Okra, and Sugar Baby Watermelons Scotty’s Golden Queen CORN is finally ready.
(Editors note: Golden Queen is a hybrid corn (not GMO) and like everything else he grows, Scotty’s is grown sustainably without any chemicals and VIP in the case of corn, without any pesticides. What this means for you is that it may be the kind of high quality corn your Market Manager shucked as a child where you had to throw away the extra protein at the top of the ear. In other words, it might have a worm at the top. Modern agriculture has done away with corn worms through the use of pesticides so having one at the top of an ear of corn is a sure sign the corn is clean and safe to eat. Here’s additional info if you’d like to learn more.
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.
Order Saturday 5pm to Tuesday 5pm weekly for Pickup the following Friday
Dothan Pickup: 10am – 12pm, Dothan Nurseries, 1300 Montgomery Highway, Dothan, AL 36303
Daleville Pickup: 11am – 11:30am, Parking area behind Daleville Chamber of Commerce
Enterprise Pickup: 12pm – 12:30pm, Grocery Advantage, 1032 Boll Weevil Circle, Enterprise
Our Email: marketatdothan@gmail.com
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Our COVID protocol is still in place for everyone who wants curbside service.
I. Order Payment:
1. Voluntarily prepay by 6 pm Thursday if possible using this PAYPAL link. This eliminates passing paper currency back and forth or handling debit/credit cards on site. Your invoice will be marked PAID and pickup is fast and easy. In the event of undelivered items you will be issued a Market credit that will apply to your next order.
2. Debit/Credit – One of us will briefly step within 6 feet for you to put your card in the chip reader. We do our best to avoid touching your card or you touching the equipment which means we sign an “x” for your signature.
3. Cash and Checks – You may hand them to us. Exact change is preferred if using cash to prevent a lot of passing back and forth. If you choose curbside pickup you are welcome to put payment in your trunk/tailgate as that would eliminate the need to come near your window.
II. Order Delivery:
1. Curb Service: Please pull up next to the Market Shed. We will direct traffic a little bit if needed. Have your trunk/ hatchback open and we’ll load you up!
2. Walk Up Pickup: Please do not come inside. When we see you coming we’ll put your order near the entrance and step back for you to claim it. This system works really well for those of you wishing to get extra veggies that may be available.
3. Regardless of how you choose to accept your Market order please know that we make every effort to practice safe distancing and ask that you do the same.
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!