Availability for May 17

We welcome not one, not two, but three new growers to Athens Locally Grown this week!

First, Dancing Sprout Farm here in Athens has a number of lettuces this week. This farm is run by Geoff Lewis, who used to sell live plants at the table next to mine at the Athens Green Market on Saturday mornings. They have now expanded to vegetables and cut flowers, and are “focusing on delivering quality products using sustainable, all-natural growing methods.”

Second, Generositee Gypsy in Iva, South Carolina has just one item listed this week (sunflower sprouts), but that is the first of many. This farm is run by Alison Mattio, the wife of Michael McMullan (of McMullan Family Farm). The two of them actually met while selling at the Hartwell Farmers Market, and have kept both farms in operation since becoming a family.

Third, Mac’s Eggs in Anderson, South Carolina is going to solve our egg shortage by listing 42 dozen eggs this week. After you all taste them, however, we’ll be short again, as you’ll find yourselves eating a lot more eggs when they’re this good. Mac McGee has a nice sized flock of pastured hens that he supplements with a feed he mixes himself from cracked grains (including oats he grows himself) and an organic mineral mix.

To see more information about all of our growers (now numbering 21!), please visit the “Our Growers” page on the website. If you have a chemical-free garden with extra production, big or small, contact me about selling your produce through our market.

The new growers have come on board at just the right time, as the front page article in last Thursday’s Athens Banner Herald has pushed the number of accounts at the market to over 300. Welcome, everyone! There’s another article coming out in this week’s Flagpole on local food. It’s a topic of interest to a great number of people, and we’ll do what we can to match the supply with the growing demand.

In addition to the new growers, there are a number of new items this week as well. Looking at the “New Item” carousel on the website, I see heirloom radishes, miner’s lettuce, red scallions, baby carrots, flower bouquets, sunflower sprouts, a number of lettuces, and other items. Beef from McMullan Family Farm returns this week also—Michael is picking up a freshly processed batch from the butcher tomorrow. I know many of you have been waiting for that. It’s also a dairy week, so we’ll be stopping at Milky Way Farm for raw milk, cream, and buttermilk.

Speaking of the dairy. We’re changing our schedule starting this week. We’ll be going to the dairies every week now, instead of twice a month. We’ll be alternating between Diamond Hill and Milky Way, and one of those will be paired with Split Creek. We’re still working out the exact schedule, but the important thing is you don’t have to buy three week’s of milk this week—only one!

The first of our summer “Farmer For A Day” farm tours is this Saturday at Two Swallows Farm in Comer, GA. To help our planning, we request that you make a reservation (look under “Event Reservations” alongside all of the products we are offering this week) for these events. You can find out more details about our tours on the “Farm Tours” listing on the “Our Growers” page on the website.

I think that’s all the news for the week. The summer veggies will be here soon (beyond those Michael McMullan is already listing). I finished planting all mine today, except for a melon patch down by the river. It’s good to get everything in the ground. Now all that’s left is fighting off the weeds, the bugs, and the other critters…

Thanks for all your support. With that support we continue to grow, and that growth does present us with new challenges. We thank you for your patience as we sometimes have a line on Thursday or seem a bit more frazzled than normal. We’ll see you on Thursday from 4:30 to 7pm at Gosford Wine, and if not then, then maybe Saturday at Two Swallows Farm!