Monthly Archives: September 2014

Fresh Food at Farmers Market Every Saturday

September 29, 2014

Every Saturday before the Franklin Farmers Market opens, there’s always a crowd gathered at the entrance into the market, waiting eagerly to get in and grab all of their fresh food favorites.

Sweet Cherry Tomatoes from Norton Family Farms

Certified Organic produce from Delvin Farms

Sweet peppers from Colvin Family Farm

Welcome back Rocky Glade Farm!

Music City Strings

But this past Saturday, people were not in such a hurry to get into the market because of the sweet sound of violins playing. The Music City Strings students were performing at the entrance to the market, playing such favorites as the Tennessee Waltz and Rocky Top. This special group of musicians range in age from pre-school to high school and they’ve played for audiences all over Middle Tennessee. The Music City Strings have now been invited to join a 2015 concert tour in Europe to represent the culture and music of Tennessee. If you missed their performance this past Saturday, mark your calendar for October 25th when they’ll be back at the market. Good food and good music at the Franklin Farmers Market – It’s the perfect combination for a great day.

Beautiful Music fills the market on Saturday

A special group of young people playing violins

It’s always colorful at the FFM, because of the large amount of fresh, local produce. Bright red tomatoes, yellow squash, green peppers, broccoli – the wide variety of vegetables makes for a big rainbow of color.

Red Tomatoes from Evans Produce

Sweet Peppers from Bloomsbury Farm

Fresh picked broccoli from Rocky Glade Farm

Fresh spinach and kale from Kirkview Farm

Butternut Squash from Delvin Farms

Locally grown squash from See Sun and May Lo Fresh Produce

But now, with the beautiful purples, yellows and burgundies of mums along the varying shades of delicious apples, the colors at the market have changed.

Beautiful fall mums now in market

Fresh Apples from Rainbow Hill Farm

Finding a special Pumpkin

There are gourds with green stripes and star-shaped squash with polka dots. Orange pumpkins can be found all over too. But it’s not just orange pumpkins. Some are white and some are green. There are pumpkins that look downright warty and others that have stripes. There are pumpkins that you can hold in the palm of your hand and a few that probably weigh more than you do. And with those all of those pumpkins, we know that scarecrows are just around the corner. Lots of scarecrows. Every October, the Invasion of the Scarecrows happens and this year’s invasion takes place on October 18th. It’s a fun day for the kids, with a special pumpkin patch and the Perfect Pumpkin Painting booth. There’s tricks and treats and funny Halloween face-painting too and the best part is, it’s all free for the kids. As always, there’s plenty of delicious fresh food from your favorite farmers at the market too. And from big and tall to short and small, there are scarecrows are everywhere. The Invasion of the Scarecrows takes place October 18th!

Fall colors all over market

Any size or color pumpkins now in market

Best Tennessee pumpkin crop in years

Barnwood Pumpkin Patch sign from Tom the Furniture Guy

Who and what did the market paparazzi catch on camera this past Saturday at the market? Find out with a look at the FFM photo gallery!

Market Customers Taste Local Farm Meats

September 21, 2014

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Warm sunshine with sizzling local farm meats on the grill – it was the perfect combo for the official last weekend of summer at the Franklin Farmers Market. Grill Day at the FFM this past Saturday was a delicious way to bid summer goodbye, with a variety of local meats to sample and enjoy from our local meat farmers. The expertise of Chef Michael Martin of Whole Foods made everything extra tasty. Our friends at the Hearth and Grill Shop provided the Big Green Egg and Fire Magic Gas Grill to grill the local farm meats to perfection.

Friends from Whole Foods

Over 50 pounds of grilled meats

Chef Michael

Friends from Hearth & Grill Shop

Veggies on a Fire Magic grill

Grill Day

Everyone loved the tasty samples of beef, lamb, chicken and sausage from Bear Creek Farm, Peaceful Pastures, West Wind Farm, Triple L Ranch, River Cottage Farm and Hatcher Dairy Farm. Again, it was the absolute perfect way to say goodbye to summer and hello to football tailgating season!

Grilled to perfection by Chef Michael

Grilled local beef on a Big Green Egg

Summer veggies still in market

Fall officially starts on Tuesday and there’s been a lot of people asking when the FFM will shut down for the year. The answer is we don’t – the Franklin Farmers Market is a year-round market. Our local farmers keep growing and while the variety of farm grown vegetables changes with the season, you can still enjoy the best of fresh food from local farms all throughout the winter. Plus with the cooler weather of fall, comes a whole lot of fun events and activities. Find out what’s coming up at the Franklin Farmers Market by taking a look at our Events page.

Colorful Peppers from Bloomsbury Farm

Sweet Cherry Tomatoes

Fresh Basil

All of the colorful veggies and smiling faces at the FFM each Saturday make for some great photos. You should see the ones taken during Grill Day! Visit the market’s photo gallery to see what and who we snapped photos of this past Saturday.

Pumpkin Roll from Norton Family Farm

Collard and Turnip Greens

Pumpkins Make Grand Entrance to Market

September 15, 2014

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Jones Mill Farms’ fresh tomatoes and peppers

The farmers at the Franklin Farmers Market have said it for a long time – if you don’t like the weather in Tennessee, just wait a day or two. It’ll change. And it did, as we went from 90 plus degree weather to temperatures in low 60’s in just a week’s time.

Even though it was a bit chilly, there was still plenty of summer veggies to be found at the market this past Saturday. Watermelons, peppers, green beans, tomatoes and okra were plentiful. But autumn is definitely on its way.

Allenbrook Farm’s beans

Lots of crisp bell peppers

Summer okra is still plentiful!

A lot of the fall crops are showing up now too. Pumpkins, big and small, crisp apples and lots of cabbage. Even the tasty baked goods at the market are starting to show the change in season, with goodies like pumpkin rolls now available. No matter the season, there is always delicious, seasonal fresh food at the FFM.

A variety of fall goodies from Kirkview Farm

Norton Family Farm’s yummy pumpkin rolls

Purple Tree Farm’s pumpkins

King Family Farm pumpkins

Beaverdam Creek grits

It’s also football season and that meant a lot of people were buying meat to slap on the grill this weekend. After all, if you are tailgating, you’ve got to step up and have the best burgers, chops or chicken to eat. We’ve got your chance to sample the meats available at the FFM coming up on September 20th. It’s Grill Day at the Franklin Farmers Market, with Chef Michael Martin grilling meat to perfection on grills provided by our good friends at the Hearth and Grill Shop. There will be plenty of tender, delicious samples of meat to try and find out what’s best for your next grill out or tailgating party.

There were also quite a few people asking about the market’s farm to table dinner, “Feast from the Fields”, a gourmet dinner with wine pairings to be held on October 4th. Chef Philip Krajeck of Rolf and Daughters Restaurant will creatively prepare a savory four course meal using only the best ingredients from our farms. This dinner event takes place at Bloomsbury Farm, which is one of the most beautiful farms in Tennessee. “Feast for the Fields” benefits the Franklin Farmers Market and our children’s educational garden which is an important program created by the Franklin Farmers Market Educational Foundation. There is a very limited number of tickets available for the “Feast for the Fields” event on sale now.

We love to take a lot of photos at the Franklin Farmers Market each and every Saturday and we love sharing them too. Take a look at our big photo gallery and enjoy!

Summer Farm Produce still in Abundance

September 8, 2014

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Kirkview Farm watermelons

The calendar says it’s September, but at the Franklin Farmers Market this past Saturday, you couldn’t tell it with so much summer farm produce still available. The temperatures made it feel like a hot day in July but that’s okay because the warm weather makes the season for those summer farm produce vegetables longer than usual. There’s still plenty of tomatoes, watermelons, sweet and hot peppers and all your other summer farm produce favorites at the market. We saw several people thinking ahead though, buying large numbers of veggies to freeze or can to enjoy the summer produce all winter long. That’s a good thing to do, but if you’d rather eat food straight from the garden, don’t worry. There will be summer vegetables at the market for several more weeks.

Norton Farm’s fresh lettuce

Lots of good bell peppers

Picking out apples

For those of you who are true connoisseurs of delicious fresh food, mark your calendar for October 4th and join us for “Feast from the Fields”. This unique farm to table dinner will be held at Bloomsbury Farm, the perfect setting to relax and enjoy an abundant gourmet meal with wine pairings.

The perfect place for a gourmet meal is at Bloomsbury Farm

James Beard Award nominee Chef Philip Krajeck of Rolf and Daughters Restaurant will creatively prepare a savory four course meal using only the best ingredients from local farms, such as Bear Creek Farm and Bloomsbury Farm. Proceeds from “Feast from the Fields” benefit the Franklin Farmers Market and the Franklin Farmers Market Educational Foundation. Tickets are on sale now.

The official first day of fall this year is September 23rd and that caused a lot of people to stop by the market’s info booth to find out when the market would shut down for the winter. A little cold weather doesn’t bother us – the Franklin Farmers Market is a year-round market. Our farmers don’t stop growing during the winter. And while the produce grown in cooler temperatures differs from summer vegetables, there’s still a lot of good vegetables to eat. To find out what’s at the Franklin Farmers Market during the winter, stop by the info booth and pick up a free copy of the Local Table magazine. There’s a big seasonality chart in Local Table that will show you the peak season for practically every vegetable and fruit grown in Middle Tennessee. Winter market begins on November 1st!

Cooling he veggies with water

Smiling faces at the market

Taste it – you’ll like it!

We like to share the photos we snap each week at the market. See who and what we captured on camera with a visit to the Franklin Farmers Market’s photo gallery!

Farm Dinner at Beautiful Bloomsbury Farm

September 4, 2014

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A gourmet farm dinner on the grounds of beautiful Bloomsbury Farm would be a dream come true for connoisseurs of fresh food. Therefore, we’re making that dream a reality. Enjoying fresh sustainably grown food from local farms is a pleasure that deserves to be celebrated. Join us for “Feast from the Fields”, a unique culinary experience featuring delicious food from the farms of Middle Tennessee on October 6th. This farm to table dinner will be held at Bloomsbury Farm, one of the most picturesque farms in Tennessee. Surrounded by lush meadows and the wooded hills of Rutherford County, Bloomsbury Farm provides the perfect setting to relax and enjoy an abundant gourmet meal with wine pairings. James Beard Award nominee Chef Philip Krajeck of Rolf and Daughters Restaurant will creatively prepare a savory four course meal using only the best ingredients from such farms as Bear Creek Farm and Bloomsbury Farm. The menu of “Feast from the Fields” will showcase the intense appetizing flavor of the fresh food straight from local farms.

“Feast from the Fields” proceeds will benefit the Franklin Farmers Market and the Franklin Farmers Market Educational Foundation. The 501 c 3 organization focuses on educating the public about local agriculture and the significant role that it plays in the economy, environment, health issues and overall aesthetic values of communities. One of the main objectives of the foundation is to teach children about nutrition with an appreciation of food from seed to plate. In 2011, the Franklin Farmers Market Educational Foundation formed a partnership with the City of Franklin Parks to establish the Growing Kids Educational Garden. The free garden program gives children hands-on lessons about the good health values of fresh food along with a greater understanding of where food comes from.

“Feast from the Fields” farm dinner tickets are sold in advance at the Franklin Farmers Market or by emailing leeann@bearcreekbeef.com. Tickets are $250 per person and include cocktail hour and a four course meal with wine pairings.

Local Farm Produce Now at Peak Season

September 1, 2014

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Long line for Ellie’s Old Fashion Doughnuts

Franklin families came to market early to buy local farm produce from our Tennessee farmers before the predicted rains. The overcast skies brought cooler temperatures and a large crowd of hungry eaters. The rains never came, and the long line at Ellie’s Old Fashioned Doughnuts stayed strong at 60 plus for three straight hours. Tis the routine at the Franklin Farmers Market to secure breakfast from Lucy’s Kitchen, Ellie’s Old Fashioned Doughnuts, Norton Family Farms, Jones Mill Farm, Biscuit Love or Crepe A Diem before shopping for local farm produce.

Lucy’s Kitchen has full selection of breakfast items

CSA pickups from local farms happen all market day

Zak’s Eggs are farm raised

Blueberry Muffin + Young Girl = Big Smile

Zadok the Natural Farmer Tomatoes and Green Onions

This year’s summer crop has been bountiful from all our local Tennessee farms. We are blessed to be seeing the sweetest watermelons and best tasting tomatoes with over 30 different varieties to choose. Find sweet Tennessee corn, squash, zucchini, peppers, okra, cucumbers and so many different varieties of potatoes from many of our local farmers. The first of butternut squash, kale, romaine lettuce and pumpkins are now in market meaning fall is coming soon.

Kirkview Farm fresh picked tomatoes

Sweet corn is still available in market

Paradise Produce squash and zucchini

Colorful peppers from Bloomsbury Farm

Okra is still available from many farmers

Farm Fresh Green Beans from Allenbrooke Farm

Organice potatoes, butternut squash and eggplant from Delvin Farms

Organically grown sweet potatoes from Colbert Farm

Miniature pumpkins from Pilgrims Produce

The sight of our first pumpkins in market means the Invasion of the Scarecrows is not far off on October 18th presented by our corporate sponsor Ford Lincoln of Franklin. But before scarecrows are roaming the market we have our September 20th Grill Day event hosted by the Hearth and Grill Shop with Chef Michael Martin of Whole Foods Market using his culinary skills to grill local farm meats. Our local Tennessee meat farmers produce the states best tasting Beef, Chicken and Pork you can find. Our meat farmers use no hormones or antibiotics. All animals from our local farm meat producers are humanely raised insuring flavorful tender tasting meats.

Be sure view pictures from Saturdays market, its a great way to see what produce, baked goods and artisan crafts we have in the market. See you next Saturday!