The Weblog
This weblog contains LocallyGrown.net news and the weblog entries from all the markets currently using the system.
To visit the authoring market’s website, click on the market name located in the entry’s title.
ALFN Local Food Club: The Market Is Open
Dear ALFN Members,
What a beautiful weekend! The spring rains are recharging our aquifers while our regional growers are recharging our bodies with energy from the sun transformed into leaf, fruit, meat and sweet. Get a taste of the sun…the ALFN market is open!
This week look out for fun new plants, new veggies and more strawberries!
Permanent Agriculture
Have you every noticed how the word culture is embedded in agriculture? When we hear the word culture, we often are reminded of high culture such as the opera and poetry, or we are reminded of foreign culture such as different African or Asian peoples. At first glance, it may seem strange to combine culture with the field (agri). Culture cultivates people. We are cultivated, like plants, into a home culture and taught the traditions, behaviors and values of a group of people. The growing of food is also full of traditions and values. The way a field is used reflects the values and traditions of the people who work it. This would suggest that agriculture isn’t just about the cultivation of food, but the cultivation of people. Masanobu Fukuoka, a great farmer and activist for agriculture renewal once said, “The ultimate goal of farming is not the growing of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of human beings.”
A healthy culture must have permanence. Though cultures adapt with the changing of time, there are integral elements or processes in a culture that remain fixed. Similarly, permanent agriculture is stabilized by integrated elements and processes that sustain the practice of growing food and resource. In the West, the emphasis upon stable, permanent agriculture has taken a few forms. One of the popular global forms is called permaculture. Over the next few weeks, at the request of an ALFN member (I love to get weblog ideas that interest you), I plan to discuss backyard permaculture. For today, let’s simply introduce it. Modern agriculture has tended to simplify all the parts of growing food and focused only on single pieces. Permaculture tries to look at the relationship of all the parts and how they function as a whole. For this reason, permaculture design promotes the joining of biodiversity with food production. The design strategy can be used on large acreage farms to small patio gardens. Over the next few weeks, I will focus on using permaculture for city-sized plots.
Permaculture is an ecological approach to growing food. Ecology studies the movement of energy through systems. Light energy passes down into a food web until it drives complex forms such as predatory birds. From algae to bison, energy moves through a system. Permaculture attempts to design webs of energy that capture, store and circulate energy. The strategy works with nature and its application shifts the way we look at the world and our own needs. Instead of mono-cropped yards of bermuda, permaculture designs for a bio-diverse array of parts building fertility, enhancing water quality, promoting wildlife and yielding valuable sources of food, fuel, fiber and medicine for humans. Stay tuned for more…
Kyle Holton
Program & Market Manager
Siloam Springs, AR: Online Market is Open!
We had a great start with the outdoor market this week despite the threat of severe weather Tuesday and the drizzle on Saturday. The support of our community is truly appreciated!
You can continue to order yur favorite products online and pick them up at the outdoor market each Saturday.
Have a great weekend!
Middle Tennessee Locally Grown: Time to Order Local Farm Products!
Manchester Locally Grown Farmers’ Market
How to contact us:
Our Website: manchester.locallygrown.net
On Facebook: Manchester Locally Grown Online Farmers’ Market
By e-mail: tnhomeschooler@yahoo.com
By phone: (931) 273-9708
On Thursdays: Here’s a map.
Good morning!
The market is open this morning as usual, and will remain open for your orders till Tuesday evening at 10 pm, so come see what we have to offer this week. Also be sure to read the section of this message entitled “Important Ordering and Pickup Information.”
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NEWS AND NOTES
Frontier Family Farm has added heads of Red Leaf Lettuce to the market.
Dogwood Valley Greenhouse has added some new hanging baskets – flowering and herb baskets – to our market. We also have a selection of herb plants available at Square Books. If you’d like to see something special before purchase, please drop us a note. Also check out the vegetable and flowering plants from White City Produce & Greenhouses.
Remember to look for wonderful early spring vegetables, delicious pork and beef cuts, fresh and dried herbs, rich creamline milk, organic free-range eggs, jams and jellies. Please take note of our great selection of hand crafted farm products, candles, essential oils, bath & beauty products, and house & garden plants.
Stop by Square Books soon and see our MLG Table, with lots of non-perishable farm products for sale. Pick up some jam or jelly, hand lotion or soap, herbal tea, a candle, or a basket of herb plants to enjoy or to give as a gift.
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(L to R) Red Leaf Lettuce from Frontier Family Farms, Hanging Herb Garden and mixed Calibrachoa Basket from Dogwood Valley Greenhouse, Creamline Milk from Casey Family Farm, Crocheted Butterfly Doily from CnG Outdoors & More.
IMPORTANT ORDERING AND PICKUP INFORMATION
Ordering will be open until TUESDAY at 10 p.m., and your order will be available for pickup on THURSDAY between 4:00 and 5:30 at Square Books, 113 East Main Street, Manchester. We can also hold your order in the refrigerator till Friday, if it’s more convenient for you to pick it up between 10:00 am and 2:00 pm. If you prefer to utilize this free service, please make a note on your order or call my cell at (931) 273-9708. If neither of those pickup times works for you, please make a note on the order, and we will work out an alternative arrangement.
Thanks so much for your support of Manchester Locally Grown Market, and your friends and neighbors who have grown and produced these items. Please encourage our local farmers by helping to spread the word about our wonderful market to everyone you know. We offer a great variety of local farm products, and our items will be in your hands in time to plan for the weekend. Although the Saturday markets are closed for the season, wonderful local products are available for ordering from the comfort of your own computer.
More new farmers are considering joining our market, if they can expect enough sales to help pay their transportation costs. Please help us grow the market by sharing this e-mail with your friends, calling their attention to the later pickup hours, which may be more convenient for them. And if you haven’t ordered from Manchester Locally Grown for a while, please check out our wide variety of offerings this week. Also please let us know if we can improve our selection or scheduling in any way to better suit your needs.
Blessings,
Linda
Dothan, Alabama: Snadspur Farms Mini Market Announcement
By now we hope you have Thursday, May 5, on your calendar for Dothan Nursery’s Open House. For those of you who LOVE Sandspur Farm’s meats, please make special note that they will be selling ALL cuts of beef and pork for $7 a pound.
Yes, you read that right, ALL beef and pork!
Hope to see you Thursday!
Ros
Dawson Local Harvest: Fresh Shrimp (I PROMISE), Carrots, and more!
Dawson Local Harvest for May 6
HI EVERYONE!
FRESH SHRIMP This Week. I promise! And lots of fresh Produce, too, including the first Carrots of the Spring, red Turnips, Collards, Swiss Chard, Kale, and lots and lots of Lettuce, all from Leilani’s. Check out The Market for other delicious Meats, Eggs, Baked Goods, and more!
THE MARKET WILL OPEN Sunday night at 8pm!
REMEMBER! You can order until Tuesday night at 9 pm. Pick up your order at Leilani’s Gardens Friday afternoons from 4 to 7pm.
You’ll find the DAWSON LOCAL HARVEST at http://dawsonville.locallygrown.net
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! We guarantee your satisfaction with all products in the DAWSON LOCAL HARVEST.
Have a happy and healthy week!
Alan Vining
Market Manager
Dothan, Alabama: Market is OPEN! and OPEN HOUSE IS THIS THURSDAY
Where to Find Us:
You’ll Find Us . . .
Our Website: marketatdothan.locallygrown.net
Our Email: marketatdothan@gmail.com
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/MarketatDothan
Normal Friday Pickup: Dothan Nurseries, 1300 Montgomery Highway, Dothan, AL 36303
Pickup is at Open House this Thursday!
SANDSPUR FARMS – “Beef is RESTOCKED! Some pork cuts still available too.
This beef was able to enjoy the sweetness of winter grazing
so the taste may be a little different, but in a good way. I hope
everyone enjoys their purchases from us and if there is ever
a problem, please be sure and let me know.
Our goal is 100% customer satisfaction! Thanks, Jen”
Your SUSTAINABLE Market
As Americans become more knowledgeable about the the health benefits of eating healthy, non processed food, there is still a lot of misunderstanding about beef. More and more people are understanding that conventional beef is not as healthy as organic, pastured or grass fed. With various healthy diet plans recommending different types of healthy beef it can become confusing!
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GRASS-FED AND ORGANIC BEEF?
There is a lot of overlap between organic and Grass Fed beef, because both practices represent a dedication to raising healthier, less chemically-contaminated cows. However, not every cow raised on the pasture is USDA Certified Organic, and not every organic cow is fed a 100% grass diet or allowed unlimited access to the range. If you have to choose between one or the other, it’s important to understand what each label means, and how they each impact the health of your family.
WHAT GRASS FED BEEF MEANS:
Grass fed beef simply means that the cattle were allowed to forage and graze for their own fresh food. They may be given close substitutes like alfalfa during the winter, but unlike grain-fed animals, the emphasis is still on providing the closest thing to a natural diet as possible. Grains are higher in calories, and encourage the cows to grow much faster and cheaper, but grass is much higher in key nutrients like Omega-3s and B vitamins, and result in steaks that are leaner, healthier, and much more flavorful. This is why grass-fed meats are strongly recommended by the Paleo Diet.
WHAT ORGANIC BEEF MEANS
The organic label doesn’t so much describe how the cattle was raised as list all the ways that they can’t be raised. The cows cannot be confined in a feed lot for any extended period of time, cannot be over-crowded or kept in unsanitary conditions, and cannot be directly or indirectly exposed to artificial pesticides, fertilizers, antibiotics, hormones, GMOs, or other synthetic contaminants.
THE OVERLAP-SOME OF THE BENEFITS WITHOUT THE LABEL
Certified organic beef can be raised on a diet of corn or grain, but they must have at least some access to a pasture, so at least some of their nutrition will probably come from grass. However, unless you talk to the farmer directly or do your own laboratory analysis, it’s impossible to say how much. USDA Certified Organic guarantees that the beef will be free from artificial contaminants, and suggests that it might be higher in nutrition as well.
Grass fed beef does have many of the benefits of organic beef, simply as side effects to raising their cattle on a pasture. Because the cows are in their natural habitat, with access to all of the open space you need to support a herd of cattle, their lives are more humane, less stressful, and much more sanitary, which means their immune systems are under less pressure, don’t require artificial assistance, and their meat is much less likely to be contaminated with diseases like E. Coli. If antibiotics are used on grass-fed cattle, it’s only in rare cases when the animals are actually sick, not constantly like feed-lots have to use them. Why pay for gallons of antibiotics if your animals are healthy and clean all on their own? Cows eat all kinds of plants on the pasture, including weeds, so it doesn’t make sense to spray their pastures full of herbicides. Pastures are essentially wild, with their own balanced ecosystem and plenty of help from cow manure, so pesticides and artificial fertilizers are really unnecessary. While grass-fed, non-organic beef may be exposed to more chemicals than organic, it’s certainly cleaner than conventional beef.
Footnotes
Market At Dothan is a small group of niche growers and producers promoting sustainable agriculture and supporting our local economy. Each grower/producer is dedicated to providing the freshest, highest quality products to their customers. Our growers use natural growing principles without synthetic chemicals. Local products available include: fruits, vegetables, herbs, eggs, beef, chicken, lamb, honey, baked goods, jams, jellies, goat cheese, frozen casseroles, pottery, nuts.
All growers /producers believe in providing locally grown foods and goods seasonally to promote a strong, local community and economy. Our goal is 100% Customer Satisfaction…comments, questions or concerns are welcome!
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!
United States Virgin Islands: Locally Grown Market Cancelled This week
Good Afternoon,
The VI Locally Grown Market will be closed this week because of a VI Farm to School meeting occurring at the same time. See you the following Wed!
Best,
Your VI Locally Grown Growers
Paris Arkansas Farmers Market: Market Support!
Hello market family!
Thank you all so much for making this online market adventure possible! We think that it’s gone pretty well for a new idea in town!
The plan at present is to keep it going year round…with the addition of more vendors on pickup days! We will have additional vendors, hopefully some food trucks, local craft beer (!!), and maybe even some music on tuesday evenings outside Sweet Pickins in Paris where we currently have our order pickups! You will still be able to log on and reserve your favorite market items for pickup on the same days….our thought is that will act as more of a “reservation” system for the high season! (yanno…be SURE you get some of that early season okra without having to be the first one at the market!!) We are REALLY excited to start an evening market—it’s something we’ve been trying to get going for a few years now!!! We hope you will join us and take advantage of the amazing local bounty right here in our backyard!
As our loyal supporters, we are hoping you will all spread the word about the always growing market, and tell your friends to check us out here at the online market www.parisarkansas.locallygrown.net and also our Facebook page for all the latest events and info about the market!! https://www.facebook.com/parisarkansasfarmersmkt/
Thank you all, happy ordering and GO LOCAL!!!
Much love and appreciation,
PAFM Family
Statesboro Market2Go: The market is open!
Thank you for shopping with us! We have a great variety of local vegetables…be sure to place your order this week!