Tag Archives: Kentucky

What Makes a Successful Farmers Market?

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Basket of produce from Pilgrims Produce

What local ingredients contribute for a successful farmers market? Farm Fresh Produce, the best-hardworking local farmers, bakers and artisans with a community that embraces farm fresh food. That’s exactly what happens every Saturday morning of the year in Franklin Tennessee. We are blessed to live in Tennessee where farming is still a way of life for many Tennesseans. Franklin families gather each Saturday at the Franklin Farmers Market to see, touch and smell farm fresh produce our local farmers have been growing on their local farms.

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We want this watermelon!

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Organically grown okra and bell peppers from Delvin Farms

On Saturday we had beautiful squash, zucchini, peas, green beans, potatoes, herbs, peppers, over 30 different varieties of tomatoes, peaches, eggs, lettuces, blueberries, eggplant, fresh baked breads, home made pasta, okra, garlic, onions, watermelons, jams, jellies, preserves, radishes, Tennessee sweet corn, fresh baked tomato pies and Tennessee’s best local farm meats of beef, chicken and pork!

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Red potatoes and green beans from See Sun and May Lo Fresh Produce

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Evans Produce  peppers

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Purple Cherokee Tomatoes from Jones Mill Farm

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Beaverdam Creek Farm just picked tomatoes

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Peaches and cream corn from Conry Farm

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Delvin Farms sweet, sweet watermelons

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Sweet cherry tomatoes from Norton Family Farms

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Fresh picked cilantro from Kirkview Farm

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Hot peppers from Allenbrooke Farm

Our local artisans bring everything from fresh baked goods to farm made soaps; hand crafted artisan wood, peanut butter, lemonades with fresh peaches and watermelons mixed in, tie dye clothing, farm plants, real handmade barn wood signs, artisan jewelry, custom made corn hole boards and fresh baked Greek pastries.

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Refreshing lemonade with local watermelon or peach

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FFM recipe samples each market Saturday

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Fresh baked tomato pie and just picked lettuce mix from Norton Family Farms

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Home baked bread from Jones Mill Farm

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Peas and Lima Beans

Thank you to all our customers who travel from all over Middle Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia and Kentucky to shop for farm fresh food each Saturday morning.

This coming Saturday is our Watermelon Festival sponsored again this year by Whole Foods. Our local market will be stocked full with a bumper crop of watermelons. We will have watermelons by the slice, watermelon drinks, a seed spitting contest and the fastest watermelon eating contest. Don’t miss Franklin’s Watermelon Festival this coming Saturday!

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Our market website photo gallery showcases photos each week of who is at market and what our farmers, bakers and artisans bring to market each week. Come enjoy great food and music at the Franklin Farmers Market!

Tennessee Tomatoes and Blackberries arrive at Farmers Market

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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.

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Rocky Glade Farm had Tomatoes that sold out fast

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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.

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Kirkview Farm is loaded with summer produce

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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.

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The Kentucky Roadside Market Tour visiting on Sat.

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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!

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