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!

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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 average last frost date for Athens falls this week, but you never know when a weird cold front will blow through, wreaking havoc on the little plants. It may be that last night was the last blast of cold for the year, but ten days from now we might have to crank up the heaters again. If you’ve put out summer plants like tomatoes, peppers, squash, and eggplants, keep an eye out on the forecast for the next week or two, just in case you need protect them. The average last frost date for some of our growers won’t come for another month, further up in the mountains, but that just means more variety for our market.

It’s really never too late to put something in the ground, and it’s prime planting season now. I was one of the founding farms of Athens Locally Grown, back in 2002, but these days I’m living back in the city of Athens and lucky enough to have a community garden right outside my font door. Springtime weather makes me want to throw seeds in every bit of dirt I can find, wherever I find it, so maybe this week I’ll also make some native wildflower seed bombs for use in bare patches I run across.

If you’ve been preparing your garden, or just thinking about starting one, be sure to check out all of the live plants offered by our growers through Athens Locally Grown and the other area farmers markets. Sure, you could run off to Home Depot and buy some mass-produced seedlings soaked in synthetic fertilizers and sprayed with fumigants, but you can also get hardy seedlings grown by the same people cultivating plants for their own vegetable beds, free of synthetic chemicals, for the same prices.

Why am I encouraging you to grow your own food when I’m in the business of helping growers sell you food they grow? For one, studies have shown (and my own experience confirms) that people who grow their own gardens tend to actually increase their yearly purchases at their local farmers markets. Once they take an interest their food so strong that they begin growing what they can, they find that they can rely even more on their local growers for things that they used to get at the grocery store. And besides, my goal is for every community to become less reliant on food grown elsewhere and shipped in from long distances. And you having your own little patch of garden in your yard is a big step in helping Athens do just that.

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 opens this coming Saturday. You can find more information on their website. The Comer Farmers’ Market is open for the season on Saturday mornings from 9am to noon. Check www.facebook.com/comerfm for more information. The Oconee County Farms Market is open on Saturdays in Watkinsville. Their website is www.oconeefarmersmarket.org The other area markets are also all closed for the season, I believe. 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!

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 beautiful spring morning, everyone!

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 see the section of this message entitled “Important Ordering and Pickup Information.”

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NEWS AND NOTES

Dogwood Valley Greenhouse has listed a few more new perennial plants this week, as they break dormancy. The herb plants are big, full, and beautiful. Spring is here for sure, and it’s planting time for perennial and herb plants. We have a selection of herb plants available at Square Books, if you’d like to see them before purchase.

Remember: April 25 is the deadline to sign up for a share of the Summer/Fall CSA by 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 and 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, herbal tea, or a basket of herb plants to enjoy or to give as a gift.

(L to R) Broccoli florets from Frontier Family Farm, Summer/Fall CSA Membership from White City Produce & Greenhouses, several colors of carnations, Dwarf Coreopsis, and Dianthus in several colors from Dogwood Valley Greenhouse.

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 9:00 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.

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

Here is the complete list for this week.