Availability for October 2

As we arrive into October, there are still over 500 items listed at our market this week. I see quite a few new items, as well as the first flush of sweet potatoes, more crops of summer squash, beans, broccoli greens, and just a great overall mix of the fading summer harvest and the returning fall harvest.

I’ve started preparing my place for hosting our annual “Hunters Moon Feast”, coming up on the 18th (and into the 19th, if you’d like to camp out that night). It’s free for locally grown members, but we do need you to make reservations by adding the appropriate number to your order. You’ll find it listed in the “Event Reservations” category. I’ll be barbecuing and grilling a variety of meats from Locally Grown, and you can bring a dish to share. (And you vegetarians & vegans out there, please don’t let my grill keep you from coming. I’d love to taste your dishes, too.)

Besides cleaning and generally making the place look nice, I also started brewing five gallons of apple cider yesterday, using a mix of heirloom apples from “up the road” from me at Hillside Orchards in Clayton. I’d have used apples from Locally Grown, but I’m afraid it would have used them all! Anyway, I pressed two bushels for this batch, and the process went well enough and I have enough bushels left over that I know we can have fresh-pressed apple juice (in addition to the hard stuff, for those wanting) at the harvest feast. Here’re a few pictures of the process.

In other news, Georgia Organics, our state’s leading organization for sustainable agriculture and those who enjoy its fruits, has just released its annual local food guide, an invaluable resource for those looking for locally grown food throughout the state. Also, their latest newsletter contains a lengthly and brilliantly written article on why organic matters, written by Locally Grown member grower Jamie Swedberg of 10 Signs Garden & Gourmet. We’ll have many copies of both, free for the taking, at market this week. Additionally, Georgia Organics is currently having a membership drive, and all new or renewing memberships by the end of the year also get a free yearly subscription to the venerable Organic Gardening magazine, so now is an even better time than usual to join!

We all thank you for your continuing support of your local food producers. We’ll see you on Thursday from 4:30 to 8pm at the old state farmers market on Broad Street!