GROWER & MARKET NOTES

While we announced it April 9, with all the Easter hustle and bustle we neglected to mention in last week’s newsletter that M@D is holding to a bi-weekly schedule until Open House on May 7.. There are several things that factored into this decision:

1. Several vendors are not listing product till they heal from injuries. This means less yummy selection to order from.
2. More vegetables soon, we promise!
3. Gas Prices

We’re thankful to hear that Viki (Richter Farms) and Kathy (Grows In Rows) are improving and know they will return when the time is right. And those veggies over at Avalon aren’t getting smaller! We have it on good authority Avalon will have lettuce next week.

We’re all using this time to be still and know, to renew, to grow and maybe even plant something else.
Hopefully you are too! And if you are caring for things in your own soil let me throw some ideas your way.

• Dothan Nurseries has a great selection of vegetables including potato and onion sets . . . and asparagus!!!! If you’re into herbs like your market manager consider horseradish too. It’s also a perennial that comes back year after year.

• Don’t get carried away with the latest garden fads as illustrated below. With the World Wide Naked Gardening Day being one week from today just . . don’t. While the technique is safe and even sustainable it’s not necessarily effective and might not be legal.

Just Saying.

• Invest in a citronella plant. Scrappy Chic says moving potted ones to where they’re working or relaxing outdoors cuts down on the need for insect repellent. Potting them also means they can be moved indoors during winter freezes.

• Odd containers are a lot of fun. Recently my grandsons had a fit over a plastic dump truck hauling a load of succulents I had pinched from around the house.
• A little color can go a long way. We were so smitten by the Gerbera Dasies at Dothan Nurseries yesterday a couple followed us home.

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!

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

With this being the weekend we celebrate the Resurrection and new life we’re very aware that everyone is busy with plans/family/activities, etc. So this newsletter will be very brief! Several things to share:

1. Our vendors have been reminded to update their products but if they’re like many of you (and this editor) they may get to it . . . . whenever! So if you place an order over the weekend you may want to check back Monday or Tuesday in case anything has been added. Sometimes this happens normally anyway, but we’re especially aware of the possibility on holidays.

2. The vegetables are coming! Locally grown foods are seasonal and while tomatoes have little blooms right now, they are still some weeks out from being ready to eat.

3. WE APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH! This market exists to serve you and we treasure the trust you continue to give us through life’s ups and downs.

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!

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

I don’t know about you, but April excites me! It’s officially spring, flowers are blooming everywhere, the honeybees are in full swing bringing in nectar, days are warm, nights are cool – life is bursting every which way you turn. For us at Hortons Farm April Fools Day brought a sweet surprise – puppies! We have five sweet little ones, now with fat little bellies, to tend to. There’s nothing like new life to remind us of the miracle of life.

RICHTER FARMS will be offline for the foreseeable future as Viki heals from a fractured wrist sustained in an auto accident. She sends thanks for your understanding and desires prayer for healing and for the family as they cope with the situation. If anyone would like to send cards feel free to message us (marketatdothan@gmail.com) for the address.

AVALON FARMS: And suddenly it’s Spring! Ha Ha The blackberries and blueberries are blooming. The onions and garlic are thinking about bulbing. There might even be a tomato bloom out there. Put the first round of squash and cucumber seeds in the ground. It just snowballs from here!

We’re trying our hand at lettuce this year. We grew a few heads last year, which did pretty well and tasted great. So we are going bigger this year. Lettuce will start in the greenhouse then be transplanted out in the field at 3 or 4 weeks. This means every week lettuce has to be started and transplanted. Currently there are 2 sets in the field and 3 more sets growing in the greenhouse. Hoping the first ones will be ready to harvest in a few more weeks. 

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!

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

Good Saturday Afternoon! We just finished the books for the first quarter of 2022 and had to reflect on how very BLESSED we are to do something we love so much. All of our local growers are so thankful for your support of our sustainable ventures, however large or small. At the same time we’re deeply aware of how much you enrich our lives with your encouragement, your friendship and the knowledge you freely share whether it be chatting at pickup, business calls that turn into great conversations or Facebook posts. Life is better because of you. It’s one of the things about local interactions that you just don’t get in the produce section or a box from FedEx. Of course they have their place – nobody is denying that – but for real community, you can’t beat dealing with real people.

Do You Like Fresh Herbs? The quality of the new herbs at Dothan Nurseries far surpasses any we’ve run across since . . . well, last year when they had them! If a kitchen garden is your thing we strongly recommend checking them out. The Pesto Basil especially is divine!

HORTON’S FARM: One question that comes up at least once a year concerns sourcing for seed, plants, trees, etc. I wish I could say I have an answer for each question. Seed is easy enough as there are multiple excellent suppliers of top quality organic seed. In my opinion starting from organic seed in organic soil is the ONLY way to be sure it’s organic from seed to plate.

And I have not started anything from seed this year. As it is I’m thrilled to have two of my new raised beds filled with fresh organic material and a few bedding plants in them that will live our their fruitful existence in sustainable luxury. This week I added several tomato varieties.

These sets were planted three days apart. I was pleased by how much the first one (on the left) had grown when the one on the right was planted. We have always planted deep and down: the bottom of a 18-24 inch hole is layered with a bit of Epsom salt, chicken guano, and peat moss. The tomato is stripped of all but the top leaves then planted above all that with only the top leaves above soil. This encourages the existing roots to push deep into the soil while developing new roots on the buried stalk.

So far we have Romas, an heirloom Stripey and yellow salad tomatoes growing. There’s another bed to fill as soon as we get the ground leveled.

A Note About Goat’s Milk: As announced a few weeks ago, selling goats milk in Alabama for human consumption is NOT LEGAL. This is why we request the name of your pet when you order. Well . . . it happened – an order without a pet name – for multiple quarts no less! Mighty Suspicious if you ask me! As it turned out Mrs. Debbie will be using her goat’s milk to make SOAP. Say no more! This is a legal and legitimate use for this product and if soap making is your thing what better than fresh from the source!

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!

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

Good Afternoon! We hope you’ve enjoyed this glorious day after the beating Mother Nature gave us yesterday. THANK YOU to everyone who got those orders before the downpours yesterday and you great Enterprise folks who graciously collected your orders today.

AVALON FARMS:

We are trying folks. My inspectors keep me honest. Ha ha These 2 we’re keeping a close eye on the installation of this ground cover. This will be the 3rd season this piece of row cover has been used. Baby lettuce transplants will be going in tomorrow.

Vendor Spotlight: I expect 3C Apiary won’t be happy with us for “outing” them a little, but we felt it only fitting that with the bees a buzzing and Mr. Steve spending many hours every week with his own hives and serving others through beekeeping that we spill a bit of the honey about these great folks.

Steve Loveland started keeping bees in 2017 after retiring from Forestry. It was a natural fit for him and he took to the craft like a fish to . . . no, a better analogy would be like a bee to a flower. He spent a lot of hours studying, learning, working with his own bees and became a conscientious beekeeper within a short time. He and Mrs. Anne have a heart for ministry and service and became lovely friends as well. (no pun intended)

Steve has volunteered with Aunt Katie’s Garden for several years now and recently taught an extended course that included beekeeping to a homeschool group. We have it on good authority that he included God’s original “shake your bootie” dance that honeybees do on comb to communicate where food sources can be located. In addition he is the webmaster for wiregrassbeekeepers.com.

Market at Dothan had a honey supplier (wink, wink) before 3LC joined the Market. We were glad to welcome them as their honey is produced within the city limits of Dothan, making it more LOCAL for some of our customers than the other which is produced in the countryside.

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!

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

Tax Time Blues: It’s that time of the year and it’s a chore we all dread and love putting in the rearview mirror. Businesses are no different, even very small ones like M@D; every dime has to be accounted for. One thing we’ve noticed this year are our electronic payment fees and this is an area you can help us with if you use Paypal to prepay your order. We love it when you do, but have noticed that their fees (if you don’t use friends and family) are HIGH, about 160% higher than the standard fees we pay when you present a debit or credit card in person.

So that’s our request, please use friends and family settings when prepaying with Paypal, or just pay in person at pickup. M@D LLC is structured like a non-profit which means we operate on a shoestring in order to maximize our grower take home payments. The difference will help ensure we can keep the fire extinguisher inspected, purchase business licenses and cover incidentals. THANKS SO MUCH!

So. COLD. At Hortons Farm And it’s about to get worse! Up here on our hill in Echo we’ve had plenty of stuff knocked down and have heard lots of wind howls today. Reminds me of that old saying about March blowing in like a lion! Just finished building a nice hot wood fire and will be going out to cover herbs, brussel sprouts, cauliflower and lettuce in a bit. Many of those plants enjoy some cold but I don’t think tonight’s temperatures will leave them unscathed without intervention.

TWO CALENDAR ITEMS:
1. Dothan Nurseries will be hosting two Saturday events in the weeks to come, Saturday, April 9 and Saturday May 7, our annual Mother’s Day Open House. Both will be fun special days with vendors, sales and lots of cool fun things to do!

2. The 2nd item . . . (you knew it was coming . . .) Be sure to set your clocks tonight!

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!

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

Scroll through Market Pictures: If you click on any “What’s New” or “Featured Products” photo on the Market Page of the website you can use the left and right arrows to view photos of those products without descriptions.

MT. MORIAH FARMS: Wow, talk about a week of beautiful weather! Our bees are buzzing like crazy, egg production is picking up, and the goats are happy to get some freshly picked weeds. I have something to share with those of y’all who enjoy using a bar of soap in the shower! My Grandma introduced me to a “Soap Mesh Pouch” years ago and they are absolutely amazing! For a long time I had trouble holding onto the bar of soap while trying to suds up my body. The mesh material is the same used to make a regular shower poof. There is an opening that you slide your bar of soap in and a string to close it in. All I do is rub the bar against the mesh side and BAM! I have suds galore! I have recently seen some at Ollies in Dothan for $1 and of course you can order them from Amazon! It is a must try, especially for those who might not want to switch from (chemical filled) body wash to a bar of soap! 

SCRAPPYCHIC: It’s been a beautiful week.  Spent some time visiting family and crocheting while sitting in the passenger seat on the way up to Georgia.  Have some lovely new baskets so show you all.  I’m thinking of SPRING with the color combinations.  (Shown under new products)

Editors Note: each of these products are one of a kind creations and are not guaranteed to be available the following week.

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!

GROWER & MARKET NOTES

Have you been outside today? It’s been a glorious day to live in south Alabama! A favorite quote is that sometimes God shows up, and sometimes He shows out. Today has definitely been a “show out” day and this editor is keeping this newsletter brief to get more time outside before the sun sets.

A technical word about ordering: DON”T LEAVE YOUR ITEMS IN THE SHOPPING CART! Market at Dothan’s shopping cart works like other online stores in that you have to click PLACE YOUR ORDER for it to go through. We recommend checking your email after ordering for confirmation.

AVALON FARMS: Greenhouse Update

Most of these were started before the family medical emergency interrupted “the plan”.  We have some experimental greenhouse cucumbers just starting to bloom (top left). Lettuces! Trying lots of lettuces. (Lower left) With tomatoes and eggplants in back. The empty tray (top right) will be more lettuces.  A full tray of broccoli and sprouting broccoli (lower right) with peppers in the back. Some of these will be heading to the field soon.

Thank you all for your prayers and kind thoughts for our son. He is at home now (in West Virginia) but continues physical and occupational therapy. He has a long road ahead but is on the road to recovery.

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!