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

Hello, all! I’ve not much to report this week. I’m out of the state, up in Missouri to help the community my dad loved and taught say goodbye to him. I won’t be at the ALG pickups on Thursday, but our team of wonderful volunteers will keep everything running in my absence. The volunteers will see you on Thursday, and I’ll see you when I return the following week.

Thanks 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 afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market from the Athens Land Trust is open Saturday mornings and their farm stand is open Tuesday afternoons. They have a website too. A new Athens Sunday market has opened up at the Classic Center, every Sunday from 11 to 4 now through October. They have a website here: http://www.sundaycentermarket.com. The Comer Farmers Market is open in downtown Comer on Saturday mornings. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville. The Shields Ethridge Cultivator Market is held monthly in Jefferson. If you know of any 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!

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

Save the date! On July 18 the Athens Nurses Clinic is hosting the 6th annual Tomatoes at Terrapin event. Join supporters of the free clinic for a fun-filled night of music, locally grown tomato sandwiches, and Terrapin beer.

Founded in 1991, the Athens Nurses’ Clinic provides primary health care to the homeless and uninsured in Clarke County and surrounding areas. The clinic treats acute and chronic illness and provides dental services, hygiene kits, and over-the-counter and/or prescription medications. Currently, the clinic treats about 1,200 individual patients per year. The clinic has gone through some remarkable changes within the past few months – including implementing a successful diabetes management program and educating 1,500 women regarding breast health. Now they are preparing to move to a new building to accommodate the amount of patients coming in.

The fundraiser this year will help the clinic purchase new medical equipment so they can continue giving quality healthcare to low-income and uninsured residents in Athens. Tickets will soon be available around town, including through ALG. You can find out more about this event and the clinic at their website: http://athensnursesclinic.org/wp/tomatoes-terrapin/.

Thanks 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 afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market from the Athens Land Trust is open Saturday mornings and their farm stand is open Tuesday afternoons. They have a website too. A new Athens Sunday market has opened up at the Classic Center, every Sunday from 11 to 4 now through October. They have a website here: http://www.sundaycentermarket.com. The Comer Farmers Market is open in downtown Comer on Saturday mornings. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville. The Shields Ethridge Cultivator Market is held monthly in Jefferson. If you know of any 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!

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

Anyone setting foot outside could tell you this without looking at a calendar, but we’re now officially in summer. This heat is really brutal on the tender spring crops, and most of the farms in the immediate Athens area have moved on to concentrate on the summer goodies really coming in heavily now. A few farms are experimenting with shade cloth and misting systems to grow items like broccoli for a little while longer, and our member farms up in the mountains aren’t quite as hot as it is here and are likely able to keep the spring things growing for a little longer.

We’re lucky to have the mountains so close by. The farms up there tend to be smaller than those closer in, but their growing season differs just enough that their presence at our market really increases the diversity offered all year ’round. This coming weekend is the perfect time to take a little day trip up there and see firsthand the network of farms that is reviving in the area. The 2015 Georgia Mountains Farm Tour, the fourth year for this annual tour, is Saturday June 27th and Sunday June 28th from 1-6pm each day. The tour features 16 locations from Commerce north through Habersham, Rabun, White, Stephens, and Franklin counties and beyond; including community gardens, a honey bee farm, a working grist mill, fruit orchards and optional meal stops with local foods prepared by acclaimed local chefs.

Participants on the tour purchase one weekend pass that allows a carload of attendees to visit as many tour locations as they choose each day of the tour from the eight farms plus food stops open each day. Among the products featured from the 16 farms on the tour are numerous fruits and vegetables; pasture-raised eggs; grass-fed beef; honey; and water wheel milled organic grains. Other highlights include a farm demonstrating the lost art of horse-powered equipment and several farms using hoop houses for season extension.

In addition to being able to purchase farm products during the tour, many of the farms will have prepared foods to sample, or guests can enjoy a farm-to-table meal at one of the five featured meal stops. Meal stops open two hours before the other tour locations open so that guests can maximize their afternoon tour time. Tour guests should pack extra water, coolers, and be prepared for the weather (sun hats and sunscreen are strongly encouraged!).

Cost of the tour is $35 per carload for weekend passes or $20 for a single day, purchased from any farm on the tour or online. The tour brochure with farm descriptions can be found on the GMFN website: http://eatwellbuylocal.org. Passes can be purchased online at https://secure.donationpay.org/soqueriver/farmtour2015.php.

See the tour’s website for the full schedule of farms, maps, and other information: http://eatwellbuylocal.org. Or, email Andrew at GMFNfarmtour@gmail.com.

Thanks 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!

Upcoming Events

UGA Organic Farm Twilight Tour
Organic and sustainable agriculture experts from the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will host the fourth annual Organic Twilight Tour on Tuesday, June 23, from 6-8 p.m at the Durham Horticulture Farm at 1221 Hog Mountain Road in Watkinsville, Georgia. The open house is a chance for farmers and gardeners to learn about some of the newest research being conducted on the 90-acre farm, where the college’s organic research plots are located. Researchers and students will give talks and describe demonstration plots where the latest organic cultivation practices are tested. This open house is free and no registration is required. More information is available at SustainAgGa.org. A rain date is set for 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24. For more information, check the UGA Sustainable Agriculture website at http://SustainAgGA.org or email Jessica Cudnik at jescud@uga.edu.

Inventing a More Sustainable Agriculture: Field Day at UGA J. Phil Campbell Sr. Research and Education Center’s West Unit
Research faculty and University of Georgia Extension specialists with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are hosting a sustainable agriculture field day at the J. Phil Campbell Sr. Research and Education Center in Watkinsville, Georgia, on Thursday, June 25, from 6-8 p.m. Researchers will discuss the latest findings on production practices for corn and in forages that can help increase profitability and decrease environmental impacts. Farmers and those interested in conservation land management should plan to attend. Registration will be free and is on-site. Parking will be available at the Oconee CountyCivic Center at 2661 Hog Mountain Road, Watkinsville. Shuttles will transport participants to and from the J. Phil Campbell Sr. West Unit field site every 10 minutes. For more information, check the UGA Sustainable Agriculture website at http://SustainAgGA.org or email Jessica Cudnik at jescud@uga.edu.

UGA Extension’s School Garden Workshop for Teachers
University of Georgia Extension is hosting an online and hands-on training program for Georgia teachers who want to start new school gardens or maximize the use of existing school gardens. The workshop will cover garden care and maintenance as well as strategies to build lesson plans, around the school garden, that cover state standards in all subject areas. Teachers will leave with a complete lesson plan that can be used when they head back to class in the fall. The hands-on workshop portion of the class will be held at in Athens, Georgia, at UGArden on Thursday, June 25. Pre-registration is required and the course will cost $25. Teachers will receive a certificate of completion for their records. To register or for more information, visit http://ugaurbanag.com/schoolgarden.

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park and Wednesday afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market from the Athens Land Trust is open Saturday mornings and their farm stand is open Tuesday afternoons. They have a website too. A new Athens Sunday market has opened up at the Classic Center, every Sunday from 11 to 4 now through October. They have a website here: http://www.sundaycentermarket.com. The Comer Farmers Market is open in downtown Comer on Saturday mornings. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville. The Shields Ethridge Cultivator Market is held monthly in Jefferson. If you know of any 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!

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

There’s not much new to report this week. The summer fruits are really starting to come in, from blueberries to blackberries to tomatoes. The veggies are coming along, too. Looks like it’s going to be a scorcher this week, which will finish off most of the tender leafy greens. I think a few growers have lettuce in shade or under cloth, so we shouldn’t have to give up on salads yet.

Thanks 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!

Upcoming Events

UGA Organic Farm Twilight Tour
Organic and sustainable agriculture experts from the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will host the fourth annual Organic Twilight Tour on Tuesday, June 23, from 6-8 p.m at the Durham Horticulture Farm at 1221 Hog Mountain Road in Watkinsville, Georgia. The open house is a chance for farmers and gardeners to learn about some of the newest research being conducted on the 90-acre farm, where the college’s organic research plots are located. Researchers and students will give talks and describe demonstration plots where the latest organic cultivation practices are tested. This open house is free and no registration is required. More information is available at SustainAgGa.org. A rain date is set for 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24. For more information, check the UGA Sustainable Agriculture website at http://SustainAgGA.org or email Jessica Cudnik at jescud@uga.edu.

Inventing a More Sustainable Agriculture: Field Day at UGA J. Phil Campbell Sr. Research and Education Center’s West Unit
Research faculty and University of Georgia Extension specialists with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are hosting a sustainable agriculture field day at the J. Phil Campbell Sr. Research and Education Center in Watkinsville, Georgia, on Thursday, June 25, from 6-8 p.m. Researchers will discuss the latest findings on production practices for corn and in forages that can help increase profitability and decrease environmental impacts. Farmers and those interested in conservation land management should plan to attend. Registration will be free and is on-site. Parking will be available at the Oconee CountyCivic Center at 2661 Hog Mountain Road, Watkinsville. Shuttles will transport participants to and from the J. Phil Campbell Sr. West Unit field site every 10 minutes. For more information, check the UGA Sustainable Agriculture website at http://SustainAgGA.org or email Jessica Cudnik at jescud@uga.edu.

UGA Extension’s School Garden Workshop for Teachers
University of Georgia Extension is hosting an online and hands-on training program for Georgia teachers who want to start new school gardens or maximize the use of existing school gardens. The workshop will cover garden care and maintenance as well as strategies to build lesson plans, around the school garden, that cover state standards in all subject areas. Teachers will leave with a complete lesson plan that can be used when they head back to class in the fall. The hands-on workshop portion of the class will be held at in Athens, Georgia, at UGArden on Thursday, June 25. Pre-registration is required and the course will cost $25. Teachers will receive a certificate of completion for their records. To register or for more information, visit http://ugaurbanag.com/schoolgarden.

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park and Wednesday afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market from the Athens Land Trust is open Saturday mornings and their farm stand is open Tuesday afternoons. They have a website too. A new Athens Sunday market has opened up at the Classic Center, every Sunday from 11 to 4 now through October. They have a website here: http://www.sundaycentermarket.com. The Comer Farmers Market is open in downtown Comer on Saturday mornings. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville. The Shields Ethridge Cultivator Market is held monthly in Jefferson. If you know of any 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!

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

There are a number of exciting products listed this week! First off, the first berries of the summer are listed, in VERY limited quantities. Blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries are all making their first appearance, which means we ought to be seeing truckloads of them in the coming weeks.

I’m also really excited about a first for ALG: locally grown and bottled cooking oil. Front Field Farm listed this last week and I didn’t see it in time to write about it, but they’ve got it listed again until it’s gone. They grew a plot of non-GMO canola at their farm in Danielsville, and took the seed to a canola mill in Commerce for pressing and bottling. The first run is in, and it’s a really nice product, and not something we’ve seen in Athens for a long, long time. Their first bottling was a small run experiment, but it worked well enough their planning on growing more this season and bottling that as well. Grab some while you can, because there will be a gap between bottlings.

Finally, we welcome Morgan County Cheeseworks to ALG. You’ve likely seen Bob Weckback’s cheese at other markets and restaurant menus around this part of the state, and now you can buy them directly from him through ALG. This week he has both his feta and his own semi-firm style of cheese listed.

Thanks 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!

Upcoming Events

UGA Organic Farm Twilight Tour
Organic and sustainable agriculture experts from the University of Georgia’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will host the fourth annual Organic Twilight Tour on Tuesday, June 23, from 6-8 p.m at the Durham Horticulture Farm at 1221 Hog Mountain Road in Watkinsville, Georgia. The open house is a chance for farmers and gardeners to learn about some of the newest research being conducted on the 90-acre farm, where the college’s organic research plots are located. Researchers and students will give talks and describe demonstration plots where the latest organic cultivation practices are tested. This open house is free and no registration is required. More information is available at SustainAgGa.org. A rain date is set for 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 24. For more information, check the UGA Sustainable Agriculture website at http://SustainAgGA.org or email Jessica Cudnik at jescud@uga.edu.

Inventing a More Sustainable Agriculture: Field Day at UGA J. Phil Campbell Sr. Research and Education Center’s West Unit
Research faculty and University of Georgia Extension specialists with the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences are hosting a sustainable agriculture field day at the J. Phil Campbell Sr. Research and Education Center in Watkinsville, Georgia, on Thursday, June 25, from 6-8 p.m. Researchers will discuss the latest findings on production practices for corn and in forages that can help increase profitability and decrease environmental impacts. Farmers and those interested in conservation land management should plan to attend. Registration will be free and is on-site. Parking will be available at the Oconee CountyCivic Center at 2661 Hog Mountain Road, Watkinsville. Shuttles will transport participants to and from the J. Phil Campbell Sr. West Unit field site every 10 minutes. For more information, check the UGA Sustainable Agriculture website at http://SustainAgGA.org or email Jessica Cudnik at jescud@uga.edu.

UGA Extension’s School Garden Workshop for Teachers
University of Georgia Extension is hosting an online and hands-on training program for Georgia teachers who want to start new school gardens or maximize the use of existing school gardens. The workshop will cover garden care and maintenance as well as strategies to build lesson plans, around the school garden, that cover state standards in all subject areas. Teachers will leave with a complete lesson plan that can be used when they head back to class in the fall. The hands-on workshop portion of the class will be held at in Athens, Georgia, at UGArden on Thursday, June 25. Pre-registration is required and the course will cost $25. Teachers will receive a certificate of completion for their records. To register or for more information, visit http://ugaurbanag.com/schoolgarden.

Other Area Farmers Markets

The Athens Farmers Market is open on Saturdays at Bishop Park and Wednesday afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market from the Athens Land Trust is open Saturday mornings and their farm stand is open Tuesday afternoons. They have a website too. A new Athens Sunday market has opened up at the Classic Center, every Sunday from 11 to 4 now through October. They have a website here: http://www.sundaycentermarket.com. The Comer Farmers Market is open in downtown Comer on Saturday mornings. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville. The Shields Ethridge Cultivator Market is held monthly in Jefferson. If you know of any 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!

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

Looks like we’re going to get both hot muggy days and scattered rain this week, a sure sign that summer is here even if the calendar doesn’t want to admit it yet. I picked the first summer squash out of my garden today (from a plant that was a seedling I got at ALG just a few weeks ago), and our growers are well ahead of me with the summer-time bounty.

You’ll be seeing the variety of products at ALG increase some in the coming weeks. I’ve been reaching out to growers who can add to products that are in short supply, such as a cheese maker in Morgan county, pastured chicken producers in Barrow and Banks counties, a no-chem fruit orchard in North Georgia, and other similar growers. Many of them sell at other Locally Grown markets, and they’re eager to supplement what we’re already getting from our long-time ALG growers. I’ll try to point them out as they come online here.

Thanks 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 afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market from the Athens Land Trust is open Saturday mornings and their farm stand is open Tuesday afternoons. They have a website too. A new Athens Sunday market has opened up at the Classic Center, every Sunday from 11 to 4 now through October. They have a website here: http://www.sundaycentermarket.com. The Comer Farmers Market is open in downtown Comer on Saturday mornings. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville. The Shields Ethridge Cultivator Market is held monthly in Jefferson. If you know of any 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!

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 the predicted rains and cool nights this week might keep the spring items around a little longer. 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. Right now, it’s been on the hot and dry side and the spring crops have been struggling, but that can all change day to day.

We’ve nearly depleted our supply of salmon from Doug’s Wild Alaskan Salmon. Doug and his family are now on their boats, catching fish by hand while the summer weather makes it possible for them to do so. We may not get a fresh supply until the boats get put back in the dock at the end of August, so what we have listed will have to do us for a while. Now’s the time to stock your freezer if you don’t want to go without this summer.

Thanks 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 afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market from the Athens Land Trust is open Saturday mornings and their farm stand is open Tuesday afternoons. They have a website too.A new Athens Sunday market has just opened up at the Classic Center, every Sunday from 11 to 4 now through October. They have a website here: http://www.sundaycentermarket.com. The Comer Farmers Market is open in downtown Comer on Saturday mornings. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville. The Shields Ethridge Cultivator Market is held monthly in Jefferson. If you know of any 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!

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

Seems like just a few weeks ago, I was ready for the rains to let up, but after a full two weeks of an early hot and dry summer, I’m ready to have just a bit of that rain back. Ideally, there’s be some cool May rains to keep the soil temperatures down and let the spring crops run through the end of the month, if not longer. This year, though, looks like we’re going to jump right into the heat, and the growers around town a shifting their focus onto those crops that are coming in. The strawberries might be gone already, but you’ll find some of the first of the squash and cucumbers, zucchini and beans, and even slicing tomatoes listed this week, and there will be lots more coming along shortly. Another nice thing about this market is some of our grower friends up closer to the mountains run about a month behind the growers here, so we may yet see more strawberries and leafy greens coming from them well after the supply in town has run out.

Thanks 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 afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market from the Athens Land Trust is open Saturday mornings and their farm stand is open Tuesday afternoons. They have a website too.A new Athens Sunday market has just opened up at the Classic Center, every Sunday from 11 to 4 now through October. They have a website here: http://www.sundaycentermarket.com. The Comer Farmers Market is open in downtown Comer on Saturday mornings. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville. The Shields Ethridge Cultivator Market is held monthly in Jefferson. If you know of any 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!

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.

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 over 90 degrees in the afternoon. 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 rom 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.

We’ve gotten a taste of summer these last few days. It looks like things might cool off a bit this week, all the way down to the mere middle eighties. All this heat came right as the strawberries were coming ripe, and they really don’t care for that at all. I’m hopeful that slightly cooler temps will keep them around for a little while. I’ve missed my yearly berry gorging.

Thanks 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 afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market from the Athens Land Trust is open Saturday mornings and their farm stand is open Tuesday afternoons. They have a website too.A new Athens Sunday market has just opened up at the Classic Center, every Sunday from 11 to 4 now through October. They have a website here: http://www.sundaycentermarket.com. The Comer Farmers Market is open in downtown Comer on Saturday mornings. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville. The Shields Ethridge Cultivator Market is held monthly in Jefferson. If you know of any 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!

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

So Mother’s Day is already coming up next weekend, and if it’s flowers and plants you’re looking for, I think we’ve got you covered. There are flower bouquets, hanging baskets of annual flowers, container plants ready to go into the ground or your pots, and more are available from of growers this week. There are several plant sales going on around town this week too, and I have details for two of them.

The Williams Farm Plant Sale is happening this Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 2pm. Besides the available perennial & annual flowers, medicinal & edible herbs, and veggie seedlings, they’ll have tea and refreshments available. They also would like to meet your mom, so bring her with you! (Or, if you’re a mom, let your kids know that this is something you’d like to do.) Williams Farm is one of the newer urban farm projects of the Athens Land Trust, and is located across from 240 Northside Drive, between North Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive. I’ve not been out to see the place yet, and this plant sale is an excellent opportunity to go visit some farmland being preserved in town.

Another nice project going on in town is Good Roots. They’re a non-profit in town, and they have lots of vegetable, herb, and flower seedlings for sale at their office at 145 Barrington Drive on the Eastside of Athens off Cedar Shoals and behind the Perry’s convenience store. Multiple Choices: Center for Independent Living is their parent organization. Their seedlings are Certified Naturally Grown, and are sown by a small group of differently-abled adults in Jackson County. The proceeds from sales are returned to the sowers based upon what has sold. Baker Creek Seeds (one of my favorite heirloom seed companies) has donated a large supply of seeds and they have quite the variety of tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, herbs, along with some unusual crops such as globe artichokes and luffas. So, if you don’t find the veggie seedlings you’re looking for listed at ALG, or you just want to browse another source, take a look to see what they’ve got available over at their office. I didn’t even know this group existed until they told me about their plant sale, and it sounds like a really worthwhile project.

Thanks 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 afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market from the Athens Land Trust is open Saturday mornings and their farm stand is open Tuesday afternoons. They have a website too. The Comer Farmers Market is open in downtown Comer on Saturday mornings. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse in Watkinsville. The Shields Ethridge Cultivator Market is held monthly in Jefferson. If you know of any 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!