Our First Farmers' Market

Well, we did it. And I think we did it pretty well. Over the weekend we sold our harvests at Piedmont Park's Green Market. Our stand and our produce looked beautiful, and we were impressed with the number of people who came out to buy fresh veggies and support local farmers.

We had a nice variety of produce for our first market. The Okra, Sugar Snap Peas, Eggplant, Squash Blossoms, and Broccoli sold out quickly - of course, the smaller quantities of these particular items helped in that regard. The Patty Pan Squash, Yellow Zucchini, and Lemon Cucumbers were also a big hit. Rainbow Chard & Red Russian Kale sold better than I'd expected; oddly I think we might have been the only farmers at the market offering bunched greens. Green Zucchini, Cucumbers, Tomatoes, & Delicata were steady, if slower, sellers throughout the day. The only items that didn't seem to garner much interest were the Yellow Crooknecks and Purple Basil. And, although we nearly sold out of them, I was surprised to leave the market with one bunch of green onions unsold. I thought those would be easy crowd pleasers, but Joaquin and I were happy to take that last bunch home for ourselves! My mom and I also made some delicious & refreshing iced Tulsi Sun-Tea that people really enjoyed. Next time we'll bring an agave sweetened version as well; this is the south after all!

All in all we had a very good experience and we're excited for the markets to come. Next Saturday is the 4th of July so we won't be at Market again until July 11th, but by then we expect to have cherry tomatoes, more onion varieties, and probably carrots as well. It's even possible we'll have a few melons and peppers by then. I have to say it's the most purely enjoyable feeling to walk out to the field on any given morning and see new plants fruiting.


My personal market favorite this week were easily the Sugar Snap Peas - they really were the embodiment of perfection! I'm glad people enjoyed them as much as I did, because they were our first and last harvest of snap peas off those particular plants, which were planted too late and quickly done in by the summer heat. We'll definitely be planting more this fall.

Our most enthusiastic customers.

Remi, eyeing the lemon cukes. I think he knows a good thing when he sees it! (Next week we're putting out a water bowl for you.)

Green & Yellow Zucchini, Patty Pans, Yellow Crookneck Squash, Green & Lemon Cukes

Green Onions, Delicata, & Sugar Snap Peas



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Back in the field things are growing like crazy. I couldn't tell you what's winning, the crops or the weeds. We have a few rows of tomatoes where the grass must be a foot high in parts. And there's little hope left for weeding the squash & melons, which were planted too close together and have themselves completely taken over the beets & turnips. We're trying to keep on top of things, one thing at a time, each of us holding down "paying" jobs too. It's a continuous learning experience in balance.



On the topic of balance, I'm happy to report the bugs seem to be keeping themselves in check so we must be doing something right! Our once horribly riddled eggplants that I feared would not make it have proved their determination to grow into strong plants and are now producing beautiful fruits. The squash bugs (that still concern me every now and then) don't seem to be taking over our plants. No aphids anywhere thus far; just ladybugs everywhere we turn! We're learning as we observe, rather than reaching for the chemicals, and I feel blessed that it's paying off. I'm sure at some point we'll lose crops to bugs, if not this season then in the seasons to come - but I hope we'll welcome it as a challenge to restore our ecosystem. And, I'm more than happy to share a little :)

The Pepper Plants are Fruiting


Okra Blossoms

Sea of Green - the Squash, Melons, & Cucumbers


Sugar Baby Watermelon

Honeydew

Casaba Melon, our one and only plant

Butternut Squash

Patty Pans

Yellow (Sebring) Zuchinni

Pie Pumpkin

Carrots

Broccoli

Tomato Jungle

Artichoke

Onions & Leeks

Sugar Snap Peas

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On the Pastured Poultry Front:

We've lost a few turkeys and guineas over the past couple weeks. First to a predator (we're not exactly sure what though, perhaps a weasel?), and then two more to the heat. We keep them as shaded and as hydrated as possible, and now there's a box fan blowing on them as well. But hot southern summers are notoriously hard on poultry. Still, our remaining turkeys are plumping up, and the guineas are really finding their voices. Plus the baby chicks arrived in the mail today, so keep your eyes out for cute pictures of peeps in my next post!

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As for our backyard goat babies, they're doing very well and have already doubled in size. They are so playful and fun to watch. Last week we took them to be disbudded, which I'm sure was a very painful experience for them as well as extremely disheartening for me. Joaquin and I debated back and forth - neither of us wanted to put them through the experience - but our main concern that ended up winning out was the potential for the goats to accidentally injure someone, especially a child, with their horns. Goats love to playfully "head butt," so it's a risk we just couldn't take right now. I guess I took it harder than the babies though, who seemed mostly unphased by it. They were back to bouncing around the backyard (looking less like themselves than little 4-eyed alien goats) only hours later.

Joaquin is trying out his novice carpentry skills as we speak, building a milking stand for MaryBell. Soon we'll start separating the babies from her for half days in order that we can all enjoy fresh milk. The goat babies have quickly become adventurous little eaters - trying out everything they see their mama eating as well as gnawing on the occasional stack of bricks and other inedibles. But, our dream of fresh raw milk from our own backyard is finally coming to fruition after 3 years of keeping "pet" goats. And it also means we're one (small) step closer to our goat milk dairy on the farm in Canton.

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Finally, I intend to incorporate recipes into the blog and/or main website soon, so that you can use it as a resource on how to prepare vegetables that perhaps aren't all too familiar to you. There are some great ways to eat those Patty Pan Squash, twice baked and stuffed with cheese! Not to mention southern favorites like Okra and Green Tomatoes. Kale and Chard can be pretty tasty too, if you give them a chance (and Joaquin wants to remind you not to forget the potatoes!). *UPDATE: Here's the new recipe blog.



We sure hope you'll stop by and see us at the market this summer.

Happy Eating!
Jessica