Tag Archives: Harlinsdale Farm

Garden Plants and Early Veggies Welcome Spring 2014!

March 31, 2014

Customers browse young garden plant seedlings from local farms

Rain, rain, go away, come again some other day. That old nursery rhyme could have been used to describe how we all felt about last Saturday morning. It felt like a wet, winter day but all it took was one step under the Franklin Farmers Market shed to know that spring is really here. All you had to do was to take a look around and see the signs of spring popping up all over the place. Of course, there were lots of good veggies, like greens and sweet carrots perfect for a good salad. And we saw several of you buying cuts of tender meat to throw on the grill soon.

Kale and Carrots from Kirkview Farm

Fresh spinach, lettuces and eggs from Somethin’ to do Farm

Karen so proud of her local grown sweet carrots

Newly harvested celery from Rocky Glade Farm

A sample CSA basket from Beaverdam Creek Farm

Farm grown leaks from Pilgrims Produce

Fresh heads of lettuce just picked from Rocky Glade Farm

But there also blooms of color and garden plant seedlings everywhere, perfect to plant for a little backyard garden. We always know warmer weather is just around the corner when Purple Tree Farm is back at market with veggie plant seedlings and beautiful hanging baskets. Or when we see the bedding plants and bright marigolds from Kirkview Farms and the healthy plant slips from Paradise Produce. Then there were the lavender and rosemary plants from Earth Advocates Research Farm and the blooms of their beautiful Lenten Roses.

Many choices of garden

Red Beet plants for your home garden from Paradise Farm

Beautiful flowering plants from Earth Advocate Research Farm

Marigold plants from Kirkview Farm

Lush green ferns from Purple Tree Farm

Tomato plants from Kirkview Farm

Lettuces and swill chard starts

With all of the signs of spring at the market, we got a few questions about the market’s Growing Kids Educational Garden this past Saturday too. Veggies, fruits and flowers will soon be growing in the kids’ garden which is just across Franklin Road in the Park at Harlinsdale Farm. This is the 4^th year for the garden classes, which are perfect for teaching kids about the environment and where food really comes from. Classes begin on April 22^nd and are designed for kids Pre-K to 3^rd grade. And it’s all free! Get more info on the classes for April & May on the Kids’ page.

And finally with the warmer days of spring, comes a change in the market hours. Starting this upcoming weekend on April 5^th, the Franklin Farmers Market will open one hour earlier. Market hours in April will be 8am to noon each Saturday, giving you longer hours to visit the market. Yes, spring has definitely arrived! Visit Saturday Photos to see what was in market.

Someone is happy Spring has Sprung!

Local Tennessean’s come together at the Franklin Farmers Market every Saturday morning see good friends and buy farm fresh food

August brings Farm Fresh Produce to Franklin Farmers Market

August 5, 2013

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Ha! The forecast was for a 30% chance of afternoon rain, but apparently nobody told Mother Nature. It was a cloudy day, with off and on rain. But that did not stop anyone from coming to Franklin Farmers Market this past Saturday. After all, it is the tip-top of the summer season, when just about any produce you could possibly want is ripe and ready.

Farm Sweet Carrots from Norton Family Farm

Grapes from Rainbow Hill Farm

Fresh Salad Ingredients

Bell peppers and chili peppers; tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes and corn too.

Multi colored Peppers from Gardner Grove Farm

Silver Queen Sweet Corn

Beaverdam Creek Farm Tomatoes

Cantaloupes were the big star of the show at the market and fresh peaches were also snatched up in a hurry.

Delvin Farm Cantaloupes have arrived!

Fresh Peaches from Rainbow Hill Farm

Heirloom Tomatoes from Bloomsbury Farm

But while this is the high season for delicious summer produce and fruits, it’s almost the end of the road for some of the fresh veggies and fruits. Blueberry season is coming to an end and blackberries won’t be around much longer either, so if you are a big berry lover, head to the market this upcoming Saturday. And if you are not sure what to do with all of that delicious fresh food, check out the market’s first cookbook, “Eating In Season.” You’ll find lots of great recipes from the market’s farmers and customers. It’s become very popular and is moving fast, so get yours at the market soon!

Multi colored Peppers from Gardner Grove Farm

Farm Fresh from Jones Mill Farm

Ice Cold Chocolate Milk from Hatcher Family Dairy

Of course, the highlight of the day was the little junior farmers taking a field trip around the market. They were the students from the market’s Growing Kids Educational Garden in the Park at Harlinsdale Farm and they had a big time touring the market and talking to the farmers. The kids also made off with some great market goodies too, including corn from the King Family Farm, cucumbers from Zadock the Natural Farmer, peaches from Kirkview Farm and to top it off, chocolate milk from the Hatcher Dairy Farm.

And finally, mark your calendars for August 24^th. That’s the date for the Franklin Farmers Market’s popular Watermelon Festival, presented this year by our good friends at the Williamson Herald and Southern Exposure Magazine. It’s a big sweet seed-spittin’ day of fun for the whole family!

Farm Fresh from Pilgrims Produce

Potatoes from Sturbridge Farm

Fresh Basil from Colvin Family Farm

As always you can view pictures from this past Saturday’s market by clicking on “Photo’s” on the market website. Or just click here to see if you are in any of the pictures. https://franklinfarmersmarket.com/gallery/

Tennessee Tomatoes and Blackberries arrive at Farmers Market

June 23, 2013

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Fresh Blackberries make their entrance for 2013!

The Word for the Day is…

Actually it’s two words: Tomatoes and blackberries! The very first tomatoes for the summer season were available at the Franklin Farmers Market this past Saturday from Rocky Glade Farm. It wasn’t a huge amount, but who cares? They were the first real Tennessee tomatoes of the year and everybody wanted one.

There were the blackberries.

Rocky Glade Farm had Tomatoes that sold out fast

This girl is all smiles over farm fresh blueberries and tomatoes

Kelley’s Berry Farm had the first pick of their crop of blackberries and so did the Colbert Family Farm. Again, the first of the season and not in a huge amount, but within the next couple weeks, the number of blackberries will grow much larger. Summer has officially started and with the warm weather and sunshine, more and more crops are ready for picking and enjoying, so what’s available at market changes each week.

Kirkview Farm is loaded with summer produce

The Green Beans and Cabbage are all so beautiful

The market was pretty busy this past Saturday. We even had a tour of folks from Kentucky. The Kentucky State Agriculture Department’s Roadside Market Tour brought a busload of people into visit and they had nothing but good things to say about your market.

The Kentucky Roadside Market Tour visiting on Sat.

Market Manager Deb Grant visiting with Kentucky tour

And finally, everyone kept asking about the photo of the kids with the tractor in the market’s newsletter last Thursday. Those little “farmers” are all part of the Growing Kids Educational Garden classes that we conduct at the Park in Harlinsdale Farm just across from The Factory on Franklin Road. The classes take place every Thursday at the garden and the kids get to learn about such things good bugs and bad bugs, why worms are a good thing and the scoop on how cow poop can make a garden grow. Lots of hands-on activities too and classes are free. Registration for July classes is open now. Find out more by clicking on Kids section of the market website. Come see us next Saturday at the market!

As always Beaverdam Creek Farm has a large variety of Tennessee Farm Fresh Produce and CSA’s