The Weblog
Athens Locally Grown has closed.
ALG Market Open for June 27
Athens Locally Grown
How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.
Market News
Summer is truly upon us. Looking through the market listings this week, I see all the summer favorites: tomatoes, eggplant, squash, cucumbers, beans, peppers, and okra. Only the corn and melons have yet to make an appearance, but I expect we’ll be seeing them soon.
Thursday next week is July 4th. After consulting with all the growers, we have decided to not open market next week, to give our growers (and you) the opportunity to spend the holiday with family and community. There are many other area farmers markets, such as the one downtown at Creature Comforts on Wednesday evenings, so you’ll have other opportunities to buy your favorite items from the growers at those other markets. There are a few things that are only at ALG (such as the salmon), so you’ll want to stock up on those this week to get you through next week.
Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!
Other Area Farmers Markets
The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park, and Wednesday evenings downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is back as well, Saturdays from 9 to 1, and you can watch for weekly news here: http://www.athenslandtrust.org/west-broad-farmers-market/. The Comer Farmers’ Market is open on Saturday mornings from 9am to noon. Check www.facebook.com/comerfm for more information. Washington, GA also has a lovely little Saturday market, running on winter hours now on Saturdays from 1-4pm. Folks to the east can check out the Hartwell Farmers Market, which starts bright and early on Saturday morning from 7am to noon, and Tuesday afternoons from noon to 4pm. You can learn all about them here: www.washingtonfarmersmkt.com. If you know of any other area markets operating, please let me know.
All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!
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!
ALG Market Open for June 20
Athens Locally Grown
How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.
Market News
This week marks the equinox and the first official day of Summer. Looks like it’ll be a beautiful start to it too, weather-wise. The days won’t get too hot, and we’ll be getting plenty of rain that clearers up just in time for AthFest. The summer veggies love this weather (the tomato plants in my garden are going gangbusters) and even the leafy greens are able to keep on producing. I know it’ll never happen, but I wouldn’t mind if the rest of the summer stayed just like this.
Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!
Other Area Farmers Markets
The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park, and Wednesday evenings downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is back as well, Saturdays from 9 to 1, and you can watch for weekly news here: http://www.athenslandtrust.org/west-broad-farmers-market/. The Comer Farmers’ Market is open on Saturday mornings from 9am to noon. Check www.facebook.com/comerfm for more information. Washington, GA also has a lovely little Saturday market, running on winter hours now on Saturdays from 1-4pm. Folks to the east can check out the Hartwell Farmers Market, which starts bright and early on Saturday morning from 7am to noon, and Tuesday afternoons from noon to 4pm. You can learn all about them here: www.washingtonfarmersmkt.com. If you know of any other area markets operating, please let me know.
All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!
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!
ALG Market Open for June 13
Athens Locally Grown
How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.
Market News
The town has slowed to a crawl, and it seems like my Facebook feed is a non-stop slideshow of photos of people on vacation. Those of us still here got to witness a deluge. I had an inch of water in my garage, but I know some of our growers had impromptu rivers going through their gardens. I’m so thankful for all our growers who are doing what they can through first the record heat and then the mud and muggy air and onslaught of bugs to grow so much great food for the rest of us.
Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!
Other Area Farmers Markets
The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park, and Wednesday evenings downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is back as well, Saturdays from 9 to 1, and you can watch for weekly news here: http://www.athenslandtrust.org/west-broad-farmers-market/. The Comer Farmers’ Market is open on Saturday mornings from 9am to noon. Check www.facebook.com/comerfm for more information. Washington, GA also has a lovely little Saturday market, running on winter hours now on Saturdays from 1-4pm. Folks to the east can check out the Hartwell Farmers Market, which starts bright and early on Saturday morning from 7am to noon, and Tuesday afternoons from noon to 4pm. You can learn all about them here: www.washingtonfarmersmkt.com. If you know of any other area markets operating, please let me know.
All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!
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!
ALG Market Open for June 6
Athens Locally Grown
How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.
Market News
This week we see some of the first summer berries listed. Blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries are all starting to ripen, and in the coming weeks we should start seeing a flood of all of them. It ought to be a good year for berries, since we didn’t get any late freezes, the spring was relatively long and cool, and we’ve had plenty of rain. It might be a great season to stock up on blueberries when they’re in their peak and freeze them for later. In the fall, when the cranberries from up north arrive, just mix equal parts of those and frozen blueberries right in a dish and cover with a streusel topping (even a box “apple crisp” topping mix is fine) and throw that in the oven. So easy, and the mix of sweet blueberries and tart cranberries is perfect. Can’t wait!
Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!
Other Area Farmers Markets
The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park, and Wednesday evenings downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is back as well, Saturdays from 9 to 1, and you can watch for weekly news here: http://www.athenslandtrust.org/west-broad-farmers-market/. The Comer Farmers’ Market is open on Saturday mornings from 9am to noon. Check www.facebook.com/comerfm for more information. Washington, GA also has a lovely little Saturday market, running on winter hours now on Saturdays from 1-4pm. Folks to the east can check out the Hartwell Farmers Market, which starts bright and early on Saturday morning from 7am to noon, and Tuesday afternoons from noon to 4pm. You can learn all about them here: www.washingtonfarmersmkt.com. If you know of any other area markets operating, please let me know.
All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!
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!
ALG Market Open for May 30
Athens Locally Grown
How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.
Market News
It’s a holiday Monday, where we remember those fallen in our wars. It’s also the symbolic beginning of summer, marked with cookouts and other outdoor activities. If you’re out there, grilling your locally grown burgers and veggies, please remember those who have left us.
There’s not much new to report this week. Summer veggies are really starting to come in now, and this record heatwave might be the death knew for all those cool weather crops that were hanging on. We’re at the change of the season now, and everything is very weather dependent. Just a little too much heat will end the spring items, and just not enough sun will keep the summer goodies from ripening. If we get a few more days in a row on the hot and dry side the spring crops will begin struggling, but that can all change day to day.
Cathy Payne will be at our “Meet the Grower” table this week. You may remember her from her farm Broad River Pastures, but she recently sold that farm and moved back into town. She’s written a book about an important part of her farm, preserving the Guinea Hog. This heritage breed of pork, not to be confused with little guinea pigs, very nearly became extinct due to the conglomeration of our pork industry (and other factors), but small farmers like Cathy have been working hard to bring this animal back. She’ll be there with copies of her book and would love to talk with you in person about her experiences.
Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!
Other Area Farmers Markets
The many other area markets are starting to return! The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park, and Wednesday evenings downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is back as well, Saturdays from 9 to 1, and you can watch for weekly news here: http://www.athenslandtrust.org/west-broad-farmers-market/. The Comer Farmers’ Market is open on Saturday mornings from 9am to noon. Check www.facebook.com/comerfm for more information. Washington, GA also has a lovely little Saturday market, running on winter hours now on Saturdays from 1-4pm. Folks to the east can check out the Hartwell Farmers Market, which starts bright and early on Saturday morning from 7am to noon, and Tuesday afternoons from noon to 4pm. You can learn all about them here: www.washingtonfarmersmkt.com. If you know of any other area markets operating, please let me know.
All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!
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!
ALG Market Open for May 23
Athens Locally Grown
How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.
Market News
School’s done, the fireflies are out, and the temperatures are soaring — summer’s here! The spring leafy greens will soon take their leave from the Athens-area farms, but the ALG growers further up in the mountains will keep us supplied for quite a while yet. Asparagus and strawberries are starting to wind down, but I saw social media posts this week showing the first ripe blueberries. The changing of the seasons is such an exciting time, and we’re lucky to have growers spread out enough that we see some overlap in what they have to offer us.
Tatiana at Cultured Traditions let me know that she’s having a pretty deep sale on all of her items this week, so if you’ve one of her many customers and want to stock up, or if you haven’t yet given her items a try, this week is the time to do it. I know I’ll be getting several jars of her kraut – it’s so good on sausages (even veggie ones) right off the grill.
Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!
Other Area Farmers Markets
The many other area markets are starting to return! The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park, and Wednesday evenings downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is back as well, Saturdays from 9 to 1, and you can watch for weekly news here: http://www.athenslandtrust.org/west-broad-farmers-market/. The Comer Farmers’ Market is open on Saturday mornings from 9am to noon. Check www.facebook.com/comerfm for more information. Washington, GA also has a lovely little Saturday market, running on winter hours now on Saturdays from 1-4pm. Folks to the east can check out the Hartwell Farmers Market, which starts bright and early on Saturday morning from 7am to noon, and Tuesday afternoons from noon to 4pm. You can learn all about them here: www.washingtonfarmersmkt.com. If you know of any other area markets operating, please let me know.
All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!
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!
ALG Market Open for May 16
Athens Locally Grown
How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.
Market News
A special hello to all the mothers out there this week! I hope your families treated you to something a little above and beyond this weekend. It’s been a really slow week, news-wise, what with much of Athens getting ready to go to sleep for the summer. The place doesn’t quite turn into the ghost town I remember in the ‘90s when I moved here, but there’s definitely a change of pace. I see lots of pictures on social media from our farmers busy in the fields, so as many people leave town for a bit, that just means more great fruit and veggies for the rest of us!
Since we could still use some more folks: We’ve got a consistent crew of volunteers every Thursday filling your orders, but sometimes one of them catches a bug or needs a week off. When that happens, I start calling the backup crew to take their place. I’d love to add a few more people to that list, so if you’re generally free on Thursdays from 3pm to 8pm and would like to earn an occasional market credit in exchange for filling orders for fellow customers, please let me know! We’ll get you all trained up (this Thursday, if you’re able), and then you’ll be on my go-to list when one of the regulars needs a week away.
Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!
Other Area Farmers Markets
The many other area markets are starting to return! The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park, and Wednesday evenings downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is back as well, Saturdays from 9 to 1, and you can watch for weekly news here: http://www.athenslandtrust.org/west-broad-farmers-market/. The Comer Farmers’ Market is open on Saturday mornings from 9am to noon. Check www.facebook.com/comerfm for more information. Washington, GA also has a lovely little Saturday market, running on winter hours now on Saturdays from 1-4pm. Folks to the east can check out the Hartwell Farmers Market, which starts bright and early on Saturday morning from 7am to noon, and Tuesday afternoons from noon to 4pm. You can learn all about them here: www.washingtonfarmersmkt.com. If you know of any other area markets operating, please let me know.
All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!
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!
ALG Market Open for May 9
Athens Locally Grown
How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.
Market News
It’s a week of transitions, what with UGA done for the semester (and Maymester starting up) and the public schools starting to wind down for the year. With sudden changes in schedules and routine, it’s also a week that more people that usual tend to forget to pick up their orders. It’s a good time to check the phone number on your account, over on the Your Account page, to make sure that it’s current and preferably a cell phone. I start calling people who haven’t arrived at 7:30 — we are open until 8 — and every week there are folks I reach who completely forgot it was Thursday. There are also usually people I’m not able to reach at all, because I have a number for a home phone or they don’t answer and don’t have voice mail set up, and 8 o’clock rolls around and their food is still sitting there. When that happens I have to give the food away and charge them anyway, because the growers deserve to get paid. I’d much rather you get the food you order, even if we have to work out an an arrangement when I reach you with the reminder call, and that’s much easier if I can reach you before we leave for the night.
Since we could still use some more folks: We’ve got a consistent crew of volunteers every Thursday filling your orders, but sometimes one of them catches a bug or needs a week off. When that happens, I start calling the backup crew to take their place. I’d love to add a few more people to that list, so if you’re generally free on Thursdays from 3pm to 8pm and would like to earn an occasional market credit in exchange for filling orders for fellow customers, please let me know! We’ll get you all trained up (this Thursday, if you’re able), and then you’ll be on my go-to list when one of the regulars needs a week away.
I don’t have any other news this week, so I’ll let you get right to ordering. Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!
Other Area Farmers Markets
The many other area markets are starting to return! The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park, and Wednesday evenings downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is closed for the season, and you can watch for their return here: http://www.athenslandtrust.org/west-broad-farmers-market/. The Comer Farmers’ Market is open on Saturday mornings from 9am to noon. Check www.facebook.com/comerfm for more information. Washington, GA also has a lovely little Saturday market, running on winter hours now on Saturdays from 1-4pm. Folks to the east can check out the Hartwell Farmers Market, which starts bright and early on Saturday morning from 7am to noon, and Tuesday afternoons from noon to 4pm. You can learn all about them here: www.washingtonfarmersmkt.com. If you know of any other area markets operating, please let me know.
All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!
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!
ALG Market Open for May 2
Athens Locally Grown
How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.
Market News
I really didn’t think it was possible May was here already, but I keep seeing people around town getting photographed in caps and gowns, so it must be true. This is by far the busiest time of the year for our farmers. They’re out working in the fields weeding and harvesting the delicate spring veggies, trying to protect them from the daytime heat. It’s a challenge to give them enough cool water and shade to keep the greens crisp during the day when it’s 90 degrees in the afternoon, and it looks like we’ll be getting close to that alread this week. At the same time, they’re putting in all the seedlings and seeds necessary to maintain a steady supply of summer veggies for the months ahead. They’re preparing beds, thinning seeds, watching over starts in the greenhouse, doing their best to keep bugs off the new growth, and doing what they can to shelter them from the cool night air. While doing all this, they’re going to the many farmers markets that are all now up and running. Some of them attend three or four markets a week, including ALG. Some of them even more. Wherever you might bump into your local farmers, please give them a thank you for all their hard work, especially this time of year. And I wouldn’t be surprised if the best thank yous come in the form of a cup of coffee.
We’ve recently got our Venmo account up and running, and since they don’t charge us any fees to move money into our bank account, we can treat it just like cash and check, meaning there’s no extra fee for you. Many of you have been wanting a way to pay be card, especially debit cards, without the 3% fee we get charged by the card processors. If you’re on Venmo, feel free to pull out your phones and pay that way when you see your final total. Just let our cashier know so we don’t think we need to chase you down later. It would be good to adda a note to your payment with the name on your order, so we can match things up right.
Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!
Other Area Farmers Markets
The many other area markets are starting to return! The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park, and Wednesday evenings downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is closed for the season, and you can watch for their return here: http://www.athenslandtrust.org/west-broad-farmers-market/. The Comer Farmers’ Market is open on Saturday mornings from 9am to noon. Check www.facebook.com/comerfm for more information. Washington, GA also has a lovely little Saturday market, running on winter hours now on Saturdays from 1-4pm. Folks to the east can check out the Hartwell Farmers Market, which starts bright and early on Saturday morning from 7am to noon, and Tuesday afternoons from noon to 4pm. You can learn all about them here: www.washingtonfarmersmkt.com. If you know of any other area markets operating, please let me know.
All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!
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!
ALG Market Open for April 25
Athens Locally Grown
How to contact us:
Our Website: athens.locallygrown.net
On Twitter: @athlocallygrown
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/athenslocallygrown
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.
Market News
I got to spend some quality time out in the garden today. We’ve established a lovely Easter tradition here where my daughters take turns hiding eggs for each other around the yard and garden while I watch from a comfy hammock. Before we could do that, though, I had to tame the jungle the yard had become, including the parts of the garden I hadn’t planted in yet. A few years ago I moved to this rental house on the west side of town, and I was lucky enough to find a place with raised beds already established in the back yard. They were overgrown and there wasn’t an easy way to get water out to them, but just having them there was a great start. Even if the beds weren’t here, I could have a little container garden on the patio, which is an easy way to grow a surprisingly large amount of veggies when you don’t have any land to grow in. But if you don’t have space of your own for a garden in the ground and growing in pots doesn’t sound like a “real” garden to you, you’ve got another option: community gardens.
There are a number of community gardens around town, though I suspect some have fallen into disuse. Like any project that runs on volunteers, the amount of gardening getting done will ebb and flow with the hands available. If you’d like to get involved in bringing and maintaining public gardens for Athens communities, I’m sure the Athens Land Trust and the Community Garden Network would love to hear from you. They have a website where you can find out more: http://www.athenslandtrust.org/community-agriculture/community-garden-network. They have descriptions and other information about some of their current active gardens, and I’m sure they’d love more hands.
Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers, local food, and our rights to eat it. You all are part of what makes Athens such a great area in which to live. We’ll see you on Thursday at Ben’s Bikes at the corner of Pope and Broad Streets from 4:30 to 8pm!
Other Area Farmers Markets
The many other area markets are starting to return! The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park, and Wednesday evenings downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is closed for the season, and you can watch for their return here: http://www.athenslandtrust.org/west-broad-farmers-market/. The Comer Farmers’ Market is open on Saturday mornings from 9am to noon. Check www.facebook.com/comerfm for more information. Washington, GA also has a lovely little Saturday market, running on winter hours now on Saturdays from 1-4pm. Folks to the east can check out the Hartwell Farmers Market, which starts bright and early on Saturday morning from 7am to noon, and Tuesday afternoons from noon to 4pm. You can learn all about them here: www.washingtonfarmersmkt.com. If you know of any other area markets operating, please let me know.
All of these other markets are separate from ALG (including the Athens Farmers Market) but many growers sell at multiple markets. Please support your local farmers and food producers, where ever you’re able to do so!
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!