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

As promised last week, below is a list of upcoming holiday artisan markets, as printed in the Flagpole and otherwise passed along to me. I’m sure there are others that didn’t yet make the list. I’ll spread the word when I hear their details via out Twitter and Facebook feeds. If you don’t already follow them, you can find the addresses right above. You’ve already demonstrated your commitment to buy some of your food from local farmers. Giving gifts made from local artisans is just as important, and can be even more rewarding!

Deck the Walls, a holiday-themed market held annually by the Lyndon House Arts Center, is currently open Tuesday through Saturday from 12–5 p.m. until Jan. 4. The Gallery Shop and Lower Atrium Gallery are stocked full of unique items made by 70 regional artists, authors, crafters and musicians, with the gift selection including paintings, prints, embroidery, photography, scarves and more. New additions to this year’s shop are glass ornaments by Hung Nguyen and Patti Quinn, pottery by Dewitt Smith and Adrina Richards and sculptural works by Tex Crawford and Lisa Freeman. For more details on the Lyndon House, located at 293 Hoyt St., visit http://athensclarkecounty.com/lyndonhouse.

Saturday, Dec. 13 & Sunday, Dec. 14, Carter Gillies will be joined by fellow potters Geoff Pickett, Jeff Bishoff and Nancy Green for the annual Carter and Friends Pottery Market. Both days are from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and are located at 572 Nantahala Ave. in the Boulevard neighborhood. Call 706-546-7235 or email cartergillies@hotmail.com for details.

Grab a hot drink and peruse gifts at Normal Bar’s Holiday “Yart Sale” on Wednesday, Dec. 10 from 5–8 p.m. Featured artists and makers include Hannah Jones, Katherine McGuire, Leslie Snipes, Amanda Burk, Basil Mattox, Tin Cup and a handful of others. Normal Bar is located in Normaltown at 1365 Prince Ave. For details, find “Holiday Yart Sale! at Normal Bar” on Facebook.

An outdoor patio under twinkling lights makes for a festive setting at the juried Athens Holiday Market, held at Big City Bread on Thursday, Dec. 11 & Friday, Dec. 12 from 5 p.m.–9 p.m. Peruse the works of over 50 local artists while a live string band performs around the bon fire. The lineup includes paintings by Dan Smith, glass terrariums by Lindsay Troutman, jewelry by Barbara Allen, watercolors by Jamie Calkin, stained glass by Susan Staley, wooden Santas by Ken Calkin and Don Highfield, and birdhouses by Frank Saggus. Big City Bread Cafe is located at 393 N. Finley St. and can be reached at 706-353-0029.

Ted’s Most Best is having a Holiday Market Saturday Dec. 13th 12-7pm out on the patio, featuring all local artists and crafters with a fun eclectic group of holiday gift options.

As part of Christmas at the Classic Center, the Handmade Holiday Market, set for Dec. 13–14 & Dec. 20–21 from 10 a.m.–5 p.m., will offer a selection of seasonal crafts and gift items. Exhibitors include Beca Designs, Daisycakes Soap, JazzyKreationz, Kristen Ashley Artist, Oscar Bites Dog Treats, OuttheBox Creations and Studio Earth. Other festivities at the Classic Center include ice skating on the new indoor rink, a display of gingerbread houses created by local bakers, breakfast and portraits with Santa, and a Festival of Trees which features a forest of 50 Christmas trees decorated by local businesses. The State Ballet Theatre of Russia will perform The Nutcracker on Saturday, Dec. 20 and Sunday, Dec. 21. A portion of proceeds from Christmas at the Classic Center will benefit Extra Special People. The Classic Center is located at 300 N. Thomas Street. Visit http://classiccenterchristmas.com for a schedule of daily activities.

For handmade ceramic and sterling silver jewelry, funky functional pottery, tree ornaments and one-of-a-kind carved items, drop by Soup Studios’ 10th Annual Holiday Market on Saturday, Dec. 13, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Soup Studios is located at 2140 S. Lumpkin St. To see examples of founding potter Jamie Voivedich’s brightly colored, whimsical works—some of which have been featured in Southern Living and on HGTV—visit http://soupstudios.com.

In addition to an abundance of locally sourced produce, honey, eggs, soaps and prepared food items, the vendors of The West Broad Farmers Market will offer handmade crafts, cookie-decorating for children and caroling by local schoolchildren during a Holiday Market on Saturday, Dec. 13 from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. The market, which is hosted at the old West Broad School, 1573 W. Broad St., aims to develop new food-based entrepreneurs, build a neighborhood-centered economy and increase access to healthy, affordable foods. For more information on the market’s goals, visit http://athenslandtrust.org.

Heirloom Cafe and Fresh Market hosts one of the last opportunities for seasonal shopping on Sunday, Dec. 14 from 9:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. during brunch hours. Handmade wares will range from printmaking, textiles, jewelry, jams and preserves, botanical bath items, felt-work and more, with the 14-name vendor list including Kenneth Kase, Jim Norton, Beth Zorbanos, Chelsea Born and Tiffany Matthews. While at Heirloom, which is located at 815 N. Chase St., be sure to stop next door at the house of painter Susie Burch, who will have her home studio open. Visit http://heirloomathens.com for details.

Finally, since both Christmas and New Year’s Day fall on a Thursday, we are currently planning on taking both weeks off. I am talking with the growers to see if it’s feasible to hold perhaps a Tuesday pickup on December 30th. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Thank you so much for your support of Athens Locally Grown, all of our growers and artisans, 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. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is open throughout the month here in Athens, and you can find more information about them here: www.athenslandtrust.org. The Washington-Wilkes Farmer’s Market in Washington is open every Saturday 9-12 behind the Washington Courthouse. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse. The other area markets I haven’t mentioned have yet to open for the season, so far as I 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

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! It was a late one this year, which means only a few weeks of holiday festivities all crammed together. Christmas is on Thursday this year, which means New Year’s Day is as well. Our current plans are to be closed both weeks. I’ll leave the door open to running on an alternate schedule, depending on our farmers, and I’ll be sure to let you know if that’s what we do.

The Athens Christmas parade will be held this Thursday night, and it will be impossible to get through downtown. Plan your travel accordingly! We do not open until 4:30, but we will start filling orders earlier if the growers have all arrived and unloaded on time. If you’re coming late in the evening, be sure to give downtown a wide berth!

This is the time for holiday artisan markets, and it seems like each year there are more than ever in Athens. I hope to provide a list next week of all the upcoming holiday artisan markets, so please let me know if you know of any you want me to mention particularly. I’ll spread the word when I hear of more as they happen via our Twitter and Facebook feeds. If you don’t already follow them, you can find the addresses right above. You’ve already demonstrated your commitment to buy some of your food from local farmers. Giving gifts made from local artisans is just as important, and can be even more rewarding!

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. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is open throughout the month here in Athens, and you can find more information about them here: www.athenslandtrust.org. The Washington-Wilkes Farmer’s Market in Washington is open every Saturday 9-12 behind the Washington Courthouse. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse. The other area markets I haven’t mentioned have yet to open for the season, so far as I 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

First off. let me announce again, in case you missed it, that Athens Locally Grown will be closed next week. Thanksgiving week is the one week a year that we close down completely, so we can all travel to family, prepare feasts of thanksgiving, and otherwise mark the holiday. That means if you’d like any ingredients for your Thanksgiving meal, you will need to purchase them this week! The Saturday Athens Farmers Market at Bishop park is also still open, so that’ll give you one last chance should something not come through from us on Thursday.

Of course the traditional centerpiece for a carnivore household’s table, the turkey, is extremely hard to come by from local sources. However, we do have more than enough veggies available to make a meal fit for a king. We have so many things to be thankful for in our community, and the abundance of locally grown food is right up there.

If your Thanksgiving menu isn’t set, take a look around the internet for seasonal recipe ideas. Even if you’ll be getting ingredients at the grocery store, it’s still feasible to cook with produce that is typically at its peak about now. Here are three of my favorite Thanksgiving pages to get you started:

• Thanksgiving Recipes from The Splendid Table
• Roasted root vegetable pot pie
• A soup-to-nuts plan for a homegrown holiday meal
• Rescue Thanksgiving Recipes

So, one last time: Athens Locally Grown will be closed next week. If you’d like any ingredients for your Thanksgiving meal next week, you will need to purchase them this 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. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is open throughout the month here in Athens, and you can find more information about them here: www.athenslandtrust.org. The Washington-Wilkes Farmer’s Market in Washington is open every Saturday 9-12 behind the Washington Courthouse. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse. The other area markets I haven’t mentioned have yet to open for the season, so far as I 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

The recent time change has sure brought darkness early, and the cold winds of late really make it feel like we’re in the depth of winter. It’s easy to lose track of time in the evenings now, so we start calling everyone who hasn’t picket up their orders on Thursday at 7:30, a half hour before we close at 8pm. I’ve gotten a lot of disconnected and changed phone numbers recently while I’ve called, so be sure to check the phone number on your account and change it if needed. You can do that on the website on the Your Account page.

Here’s also a reminder that we will be taking Thanksgiving week off. We will be open as usual next week, so f there are things you’d like for your Thanksgiving meals, you’ll need to plan ahead and order them early. I do still have a few leads on a handful of locally raised heritage turkeys. If you’re desperately searching for a local turkey, drop me a line and I’ll try and get you in touch with a grower who might have some.

There are also a few local food-related projects trying to get off the ground through crowd-sourcing the funds. Cathy Payne of Broad River Pastures is trying to bring back the American Guinea Hog from the brink of extinction. One was she is doing that is by writing a book about these pigs, and the people who are bringing them back. You can find the campaign and browse all the great perks available to supporters, here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hogs-with-heart-writing-project—2#home. André Gallant, a local food writing you’ve probably read in the Athens Banner-Herald and elsewhere, is writing a book about the Georgia oyster industry. He’s already met his funding goals, but there’s still plenty of time for you to contribute above and beyond and get in on some of the great perks available. You can find his project here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-high-low-tide-help-me-fund-my-oyster-book/x/845178. Finally, Marc Tissenbaum was a long-time ALG volunteer and cashier, one of the first group of market volunteers that came on board back when we set up at Gosford Wine. He recently had to stop helping out at market, though, because he took a new job as a project manager at Nuçi’s Space. It’s a tenuous connect to local food, I grant you, but the project is well worth it. The nominal goal may be to save the R.E.M. steeple from collapse, but the finds they are trying to raise will do so much more toward their mission of providing obstacle-free treatment of depression and other related disorders to the Athens community. They do great work, and their fund-raising goal is an important one. You can find it here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/reconstruction-of-the-steeple—2/x/845178.

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. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is open throughout the week here in Athens, and you can find more information about them here: www.athenslandtrust.org. The Washington-Wilkes Farmer’s Market in Washington is open every Saturday 9-12 behind the Washington Courthouse. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse. The other area markets I haven’t mentioned have yet to open for the season, so far as I 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

Athens had its first freeze of the season this weekend, so we can expect to see a quick decline in the range of summer veggies available at our market. It won’t be the complete end, though, and that’s due in some part to a great program that was funded through the USDA. Several of our growers qualified for a grant program in the last few years that allowed them to build what are known as “high tunnels”, a type of hooped greenhouse made of a rigid metal pipe frame and then covered with a skin of plastic. They’re sometimes heated, but often the solar heat captured by the plastic and by passive water heat collectors is enough to keep what’s growing warm enough through the night. The program is an advanced research project, building upon earlier work done on a few farms. The goals include seeing if a standardized high tunnel design can be easily built and operated on a wide variety of small farms, and to see if they can greatly increase production during a time of year when small growers have traditionally had little to nothing harvestable.

It’s a long-term project, and we’re only seen a few winters of production from the tunnels, but so far all of the growers involved are excited and optimistic. It’s not often that you see federal agriculture dollars make their way to small scale producers, and it’s even rarer that you see money spent on projects that can have such a large return on the investment for the community. Not only are the growers able to extend their income potential, but we customers have access to more variety of fresh food for a longer part of the year. Not only that, but it can help growers who were only marginally able to break even (if that) get on more secure footing, and so keeping more farming operations going in the long term. It’s not a lot of money involved (as far as federal dollars go), but the USDA seems to have found a point of high leverage here.

In part because of the expected production of these tunnels, the Saturday Athens Farmers Market runs well into December (the Wednesday market has closed for the season). Athens Locally Grown, of course, will continue the year round, as we have for the past eight years.

We will be taking Thanksgiving week off, however. It’s usually the only week of the year we close completely, but looking ahead on the calendar Christmas and New Year’s Day are on Thursdays this season, and we’ll be closed both those weeks as well. So, if there are things you’d like for your Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, you’ll need to plan ahead and order them early. I’ll be giving more reminders as the holidays grow near.

I’m already getting requests for sources of locally raised heritage turkeys. They’re very hard to come by here, because the summer heat is pretty brutal for turkeys. However, I think I may know of a very few turkeys available here and there, so if you’re desperate for a local turkey, drop me a line and I’ll try and get you in touch with a grower who might have some. Be warned that the total available from all the farms put together is probably less than ten birds.

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. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is open throughout the week here in Athens, and you can find more information about them here: www.athenslandtrust.org. The Washington-Wilkes Farmer’s Market in Washington is open every Saturday 9-12 behind the Washington Courthouse. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse. The other area markets I haven’t mentioned have yet to open for the season, so far as I 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

We’ve got a new grower listing this week, Mana In Our Foods. Alyssa Duvall’s not a grower herself, but she has been a long-time ALG customer and has gone through the process of getting her kitchen certified by the state so she can make available meal kits made from ingredients she has purchased from our growers along with other organic ingredients. You’ll find her first items available through ALG listed in the “Prepared Foods” category, and they include things like Coconut Lentil Curry, Savory Black-Eyed Pea and Quinoa, and Spicy Mushroom, Black Bean, and Quinoa Sliders. I get excited when I see businesses like Alyssa’s, because it’s a sign that our local food system, barely present 15 years ago, is continuing to mature.

Another person who is helping our local food system grow in unusual ways is Cathy Payne, of Broad River Pastures. She is trying to bring back the American Guinea Hog from the brink of extinction, a victim of the industrialization of our meat supply. This homestead hog was a fixture in Georgia family farms, where it thrived in our climate, until after the civil war, and then sporadically until the 1990s when it almost became extinct. She is working on a book about these pigs, and the people who are bringing them back, and is crowdsourcing the funding needed to get it published. Her Indiegogo campaign is off to a great start, but she needs more help to meet her goal. You can find the campaign and browse all the great perks available to supporters, here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/hogs-with-heart-writing-project—2#home.

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 afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is open throughout the week here in Athens, and you can find more information about them here: www.athenslandtrust.org. The Washington-Wilkes Farmer’s Market in Washington is open every Saturday 9-12 behind the Washington Courthouse. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse. The other area markets I haven’t mentioned have yet to open for the season, so far as I 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

We’re coming into the traditional time of year where growers get together to share what they’ve learned from another season out in the fields, to teach new farmers how to get started, and to have a communal meal made with food supplied by those same growers. If you’re wanting to learn more about sustainable growing in the south, one of my favorite conferences of the year recently opened up for registration. The Southern Sustainable Agriculture Working Group has a long history of education and activism, and their annual conference in January is a can’t miss event. This year, it will be in January 14-17th in Mobile, Alabama. You can learn more about the conference here http://www.ssawg.org/january-2015-conference/ and then register right here http://www.ssawgconference.org/. I’ll see you there!

Another great conference is much closer, both in time and space. The Carolina Farm Stewardship Association is a farmer-driven, membership-based non-profit organization that helps people in the Carolinas grow and eat local, organic foods by advocating for fair farm and food policies, building the systems family farms need to thrive, and educating communities about local, organic agriculture. Their conference moves around from year to year, but this year it is being held just up the road in Greeneville, SC, and is well worth the drive. I attended years ago when it was also held in Greenville, and learned quite a lot. It’s since expanded to include many tracks beyond farming, including general gardening, local food business, cooking, and more. It’s being held in just a few weeks, on November 10-12. You can find out more and register here: http://www.carolinafarmstewards.org/sac/.

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 afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is open throughout the week here in Athens, and you can find more information about them here: www.athenslandtrust.org. The Washington-Wilkes Farmer’s Market in Washington is open every Saturday 9-12 behind the Washington Courthouse. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse. The other area markets I haven’t mentioned have yet to open for the season, so far as I 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

The big news this week is the long awaited return of Doug’s Wild Alaskan Salmon is upon us! After another successful summer hand-fishing in the waters off Alaska, Doug and his family have returned with their catch. You’ll find that they’ve updated their listings (In the “Fish” subcategory under “Meat”), so have at it! I’ve been waiting for this week for a quite a while — I ran out of my stash long ago.

Some of you have already taken advantage of the many seedlings available for your fall gardens. I always say the fall is my favorite time to garden in Athens, even though many people shut their gardens down as the first frost approaches. There are five dozen varieties of veggie and herb seedlings listed this week, which is more than you’ll find and most garden centers this time of year.

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 afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is open throughout the week here in Athens, and you can find more information about them here: www.athenslandtrust.org. The Washington-Wilkes Farmer’s Market in Washington is open every Saturday 9-12 behind the Washington Courthouse. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse. The other area markets I haven’t mentioned have yet to open for the season, so far as I 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

Some of our northern growers got their first frost last night. I think even here in Athens the temperatures fell into the 30s, just barely, for a short time. A number of our growers have greenhouses and high tunnels that will let them extend the season, some all winter long, but for much of the gardens that supply our area markets, the summer produce are on their very last legs and the cool weather crops will take over.

Fall seems to be the traditional time for wanting to go visit a farm, maybe to pick apples or to find a good pumpkin, or to get lost in a corn maze. Long-time ALG growers Darby Farms out in Good Hope is hosting a farm tour on Saturday, if you’d like to see how an integrated pastured meat farm can work. The tour begins at 2 pm, led by Daniel Dover, and will include a 2 hr in-depth view of their Pastured Poultry (Chicken, Duck, Turkey and Egg), Grass Fed Dairy Sheep and Grass Finished Meat Sheep, Grass Fed and Finished Cattle, and the Wood Lot/Pastured Pork. Drinks and snacks will awaiting before and after tour. Arrive 30 mins before start time and feel free to wonder the farm before the start of the tour. They can not delay tour if you’re late. $10 per adult, 12 and under get in free. The Farm is just 1 hr from Atlanta and 30 mins from Athens in Good Hope, GA. Meats and eggs for sale after tour. To register and and for directions visit www.darbyfarmsga.com. If you have any question contact: daniel@darbyfarmsga.com

Here’s a heads up for a grand event coming to Athens in February. Georgia Organics is again bringing their annual conference, attended by people from all over the county, to Athens. You can find some previews of what’s to come at their website, http://conference.georgiaorganics.org/. You can bet I’ll be giving you lots more information about this, one of my favorite conferences, as it gets closer.

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 afternoons downtown at Creature Comforts. You can catch the news on their website. The West Broad Farmers Market is open throughout the week here in Athens, and you can find more information about them here: www.athenslandtrust.org. The Washington-Wilkes Farmer’s Market in Washington is open every Saturday 9-12 behind the Washington Courthouse. The Oconee County farmers market is open Saturday mornings in front of the Oconee County Courthouse. The other area markets I haven’t mentioned have yet to open for the season, so far as I 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!