The Market Is Open

Dearest Friends,
I’m in Tennessee right now, at my alma (to)mater Sewanee. It’s been raining for four days nonstop. The whole mountain is running down its slopes. Surrounded by several thousand acres of forest, the only color I see is green, and it represents a very different type of abundance, in which fungus and rot play equal lead parts as growth and fruiting. Why, oh Why, did I not pack a rain coat?
On this very campus is the Cumberland Farmers’ Market, another online farmers’ market, one of the very first to come after Athen’s Locally Grown, the first. As a student, I never knew that it was here, and the market is amazing, rivaling our market in quantity but set in a rural area. It’s interesting, the way local food here has bridged the well known gap between the elite university and the surrounding rural community. Yet again, good food unites people.

Into the splendor…
Crimmins Family Farm is back with their Lettuces & Cayenne Peppers & Organic Tomatoes, including their delicious Juliet’s, great for sauces.

Sweet Life Apiary just came on with the first of his 2013 Summer honey, from bees visiting our flower beds. They stole your pollen, now take their honey!

Fresh Purple Hull Peas from Hardin Farms, including a half bushel of shelled peas for $22. According to Hardin, these classic Arkansas peas don’t get any chemical sprays, hardy as they are.

Organic Little Leaf AND American Slicer Cucumbers from North Pulaski Farms. Wait. AND Kelly has got his grape tomatoes, which he somewhat politically incorrectly calls “crack tomatoes,” because they are so delicious.

Garlic Stockpile Hour: fresh, local garlic runs a tight season, but it keeps a good while. We’ve got a lot of it right now.

Kornegay Berry Farm has got a BOX of their Bradley tomatoes for $37.50, i.e., $1.50/lb. Nice deal.

MELON MANIA, thanks to Hardin Farms. They’ve got four varieties of melons, most of which I’ve never tried, plus three varieties of watermelon. Melons are a Hardin speciality, and it’s fun to build melon pyramids during pickup, so order away!

OK, and Wow, Meatworks has a whole flock of broiler chickens available at a good price. If you’re interested in a real gourmet chicken, may I suggest Farm Girl’s chickens, which are heritage breeds raised very thoughtfully, with a more complex flavor as a result. Also, Farm Girl’s stew chickens make for unbelievable soups or anything slow cooked. They’re “retired” laying hens, so it’s best to cook them a long time, but the flavor is way behind your average chicken. With age comes beauty.

Is that all? Good gravy.
________________________________________

What our Farmers are saying…

From Deepwoods Farm, a high production farm of heirloom and hybrid tomatoes…
“We are opening up the fields for pick your own!! Bring your own 5 gallon buckets!! Hope to see you here!” We hope to be seeing their tomatoes on our market soon. Contact them via Facebook!
And a charming tidbit from Willow Springs Market Garden :
“It is like I’ve slept for 3 months and when I woke up this morning it feels like September outside.”

See you this weekend!
Sincerely,
Sam Hedges