Category Archives: Market Saturday News

Farm Fresh Tomatoes now Arriving

June 23, 2014

Kelley’s Berries now selling Blackberries and Blueberries

Whew! It was a hot one at the market this past Saturday, but it didn’t seem to matter much as there was quite the crowd looking for those Tennessee farm fresh tomatoes, green beans and delicious blueberries. Who could blame them? There’s nothing like the taste of a real tomato – a tomato with a little bite to it that wakes up the taste buds and makes the mouth go mmmmm good!

Blueberries and blackberries were a big hit too. Lots of fresh berries and lots of baked goods made with those berries helped make the hot day a lot better.

Outstanding crop of Blueberries from Kirkview Farm

Kelley’s Blackberries, just beautiful!

Fresh Green Beans

Green fresh Bell Peppers

Beaverdam Creek Farm fresh produce

Fresh Made Pasta from City Pasta

Fresh baked breads from Jones Mill Farm

Fried Green Tomatoes anyone?

The fresh tomatoes at the FFM are just a preview of what’s to come. Soon, there will be a wide variety of tomatoes at the market that includes a big selection of tasty heirloom tomatoes. That’s a good enough reason for us to celebrate, so we will give the tomato the glory it deserves with our 2nd annual TomatoFest. Our good friends at Amerigo Restaurant have teamed up with us again for this salute to a summertime favorite.

More details are coming soon, but mark your calendar now for July 26th and TomatoFest!

Certified Organic Tomatoes from Delvin Farms

Allenbrooke Farm fresh picked produce

Farm Fresh Produce

Lovin’ a fresh green bean

One more thing – we noticed a lot of you doing the vogue-thing at the FFM this past Saturday as the market paparazzi roamed around snapping photos. Yeah, it was a hot day, but it was pretty cool to be seen at the Franklin Farmers Market. It looks like a lot of you like being a star in the market’s photo gallery. Did you get your picture taken? Is there a great photo of someone you know in the photo gallery?

Delvin Farms organic squash and bell peppers

Fresh Cucumbers taste so much better just picked

Farm Potatoes

Grass Fed Meats Enjoyed by Local Market Customers

June 16, 2014

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The delicious smell of grass fed meats grilling on a Big Green Egg just can’t be beat. It makes your mouth water and the taste buds crave a bite of whatever cut of meat is on the grill. Just ask anyone who was at the market. The Hearth and Grill Shop and Chef Michael Martin of Whole Foods got together and grilled tender cuts of beef, pork, chicken, lamb and sausage.

Hayes & Stephen from Hearth & Grill Shop answered questions about the Big Green Egg and other grills best for grilling

Chef Michael Martin of Whole Foods grilled over 50 pounds of local farm beef, chicken, pork and sausages

Many customers had never sampled the great flavor of local Tennessee farm meats

Market customers kept Chef Michael busy all market day

All of the local farm meats were provided by our meat farmers and free samples were handed out to enjoy. It was irresistible. You could not walk past the Grill Day tent without grabbing one of the grass fed meat samples to munch. Just goes to show that grass fed meats straight from the farm is the best. Our thanks to West Wind Farms, Peaceful Pastures, Triple L Ranch, Bear Creek Farm, River Cottage Farm, Hatcher Family Dairy and Beaverdam Creek Farm for contributing the local farm meats for the market’s Grill Day. Jones Mill Farm provided the fresh baked kaiser buns and sourdough rolls with Moonshadow Farm supplying the Kenny’s Cheddar Cheese.

Great tasting local meats

Grilled beef slider with chopped Jalapeño and Kenny’s Cheddar cheese

A tasty pork loin cooked to perfection!

Certified Organically grown produce from Delvin Farms

What is it about the perfect summer day that makes everyone smile? There was a whole lot of smiling going on at the FFM. After a week of steady rain, the sun finally decided to shine bright and fresh summer veggies were all over the market. Tomatoes and squash, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, onions and a whole lot more could be found, as well as the first of the blueberries and blackberries of the season. As we’ve said before, some farmers have crops just a little earlier than normal because of hoop house and row covers protecting their plants from cold weather and pests. But to know when your favorites will be ripe and ready at the market, you need to have a good idea of when peak season for their harvest takes place. We were glad to see so many of you stopping at the info booth to pick up a copy of Local Table, with its’ big seasonality chart to reference on harvest times for veggies and fruits.

Fresh Blueberries from Pilgrims Produce

Just picked Blackberries from Beaverdam Creek Farm

Fresh squash and other produce from Paradise Farm

Cucumbers from Napier Farm

All in all, with happy noses and smiling faces, it was a very good day at the market! Be sure to check out our market day photos to see what went on at the Franklin Tennessee farmers market this past Saturday.

Great tasting organic tomatoes from Delvin Farms have arrived!

Farm fresh local produce from Beaverdam Creek Farm

Summer Farmers Market loaded with Fresh Vegetables

June 9, 2014

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Every day at the farmers market is a good day, but at this time of the year, it’s even better with summer fresh vegetables from local Tennessee farmers. You can practically bet that every time the FFM is open, you’re going to find something new to eat. For example, the first blueberries of the season were at the market this past Saturday. And so were the first tomatoes. People were lining up, anxious to get a bite of real tomatoes and other fresh vegetables.

Blueberries from Pilgrims Produce

Organic tomatoes from Delvin Farms

Broccoli, squash, radishes, potatoes, lettuce, and herbs – it was all at the market. The warm Tennessee weather is really making the gardens grow providing some of the best fresh vegetables in recent years.

Organic grown Broccoli from Delvin Farms

Farm fresh zucchini from Kirkview Farm

Multi colored carrots and radishes from Bloomsbury Farm

Potatoes, peas and tomatoes from Pilgrims Produce

Fresh picked herbs from Bloomsbury Farm

Green beans right from the farm from Napier Farm

And a lot of you were getting ready for a big backyard grill out too, with tender cuts of meat from our farmers. If you have not tasted the beef, chicken, pork and lamb the FFM farmers have, you don’t know what you’re missing. Next Saturday, you’ll get your chance to find out what we’re talking about. On June 14th, the Hearth and Grill Shop and Chef Michael Martin of Whole Foods will come together for Grill Day at the Franklin Farmers Market. This is your chance to taste the best meat you’ll ever find and it’s all from the local meat farmers at the FFM. Big Green Egg Grills, the choice of grill masters everywhere will be used for the beef, pork, chicken, lamb and sausage seasoned and seared to perfection by Chef Michael.

Once you’ve tasted what our local farms have, you’ll know why meat from the FFM is so popular. You can view market pictures here.

So we’ll say it again – this is the time of the year when there’s something delicious and new to eat every week at the market… Wonder what you’ll find next Saturday?

Sweet farm carrots are a healthy snack at the FFM

Beautiful yellow squash from Kirkview Farm

Farm Fresh Eggs from Moon Shadow Farm

Beautiful Sun Flowers grace market Saturday

Fresh veggies from Beaverdam Creek Farm

Cucumbers and Green onions from Napier Farm

Nineteenth-Century French heirloom carrots from Bloomsbury farm are a favorite of gourmet chefs

Market Fresh Vegetables Looking Great!

June 1, 2014

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Fresh squeezed Strawberry Lemonade anyone?

You know that old saying about the early bird getting the worm? It’s true because that’s what happened at the market this past Saturday. All the early birds got to the market when it opened at 8 and snatched up all of the fresh vegetables and strawberries. A couple of hours later and there wasn’t a strawberry to be found. Plenty of berries were brought to market. But when some fruit or veggies that everyone’s been craving all winter long shows up, it disappears in a hurry and that’s what happen to the strawberries. And it wasn’t just the berries – the same thing started happening with produce like fresh broccoli, sugar snap peas and squash.

Bumper crop of Sugar Snap Peas

Beautiful summer squash

Beautiful Flowers from Bloomin’ Baskets

Fresh cut flowers from Sue’s Farm

Country Music at the Market

Fresh lettuces from Zadok the Natural Farmer

Things settle out a bit once when we get further into the summer season, but right now, if there’s something you (and everyone else) have the big craving for, it’s best to get to the market early. Just ask the people who missed out on the strawberries.

You can tell the grilling season has started in earnest. There were a lot of folks at the market this past Saturday buying hamburger, steaks, pork chops and more to throw on the backyard grill at home. Who could blame them? There’s nothing like the sizzle of meat on a grill, especially when that meat came from one of our local farms. Store bought meat is no match to meat from a local farmer. Find out for yourself next Saturday at the FFM as we celebrate Grill Day. Chef Jeff Lunsford of the Hearth and Grill Shop will be preparing grilled samples of meat from all of our meat farmers.

Absolutely mouthwatering good!

The dinning and music area is a popular spot

Finally, we spent this past Saturday at the market, doing one of our favorite things – people watching. From older couples to young “foodies”, you never know what you’re going to see at the market. Check it out for yourself.

Click here and visit the FFM photo gallery. Who knows… we might have caught you smiling at the market!

Fresh baked cookies from Dozen

Totty’s Bend Goat Farm Soaps oh so good for your skin

Strawberry Festival Draws Record Crowd

May 26, 2014

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There’s no doubt about it – y’all sure do love strawberries! This past Saturday was a quite literally a red letter day at the FFM. Our 3rd annual Strawberry Festival brought in droves of berry lovers. And the market was the place to be for all things strawberry. From strawberry cakes and jams to strawberry donuts, it was berry heaven.

Customers celebrating a bumper crop of fresh local strawberries

Local Tennessee families enjoy farm made strawberry short cakes

Fresh picked strawberries bring smiles

Ann dressed the part getting her some strawberries

Kelley’s Berries sold a record 2 truck loads of Strawberries

And there was the ultimate treat – homemade strawberry shortcakes. They were deliciously decadent. The shortcakes were made by Karen Norton of Norton Family Farms and the strawberries for the shortcakes came from Delvin Farms, Kirkview Farm and the Kelley’s Berry Farm. To top it all off was the sweet dollop of cream from Hatcher Family Dairy. It really was a strawberry lover’s dream come true.

Volunteers served up over 1,700 Strawberry Shortcakes

Yum! Fresh Stawberries with Norton Family Farm baked shortcake and Hatcher Family Dairy cream

Franklin First Lady Linda Moore can’t resist some strawberry shortcake

There was a lot of fun for the kids too, with the special Kids Game Zone. And of course, the Barnyard Petting Zoo was also a big hit.

We love animals!

My new beaded necklace!

The Petting Zoo was a popular stop for kids to see and pet their favorite animals

Our Strawberry Judges of the day

And what would a festival be without a little competition going on? First off was the competition for the strawberriest vendor booth at the FFM. Our honorary judges were Najahe Sherman, News2 WKRN-TV Weekend News Anchor, Linda Moore, the First Lady of Franklin and wife of Mayor Ken Moore, Claire Crowell, Puckett’s Director of Operations, and Greg Brown, CEO of Ford –Lincoln of Franklin, the presenting Sponsor of the FFM’s Strawberry Festival. It was their job to decide who had the best strawberry spirit going on and the winner they picked was Giraffe Works Studio, followed by Carol’s Soaps and Barkers Market.

Giraffe Works Studio took home 1st Place

Linda’s Soaps took home 2nd Place

Barkers Market took home 3rd Place

Thanks to our wonderful volunteers for baking, washing, cutting and serving yummy shortcakes

Then it was on to the big contest of the day – which farmer had the best tasting strawberries at the festival. It was a very tight, tasty-sweet competition. But when it was all over, Kelley’s Berry Farm walked off with the trophy.

Strawberry Festival Judges had the best job of tasting all the strawberry entries from local farms

Kelly’s Berry Farm took home 1st Place for best tasting Strawberries

Of course, all of the strawberries at the festival were fresh and sweet and before lunchtime. every last strawberry the farmers had brought to market had been snatched up and were gone. Like we said before, y’all sure do love strawberries!

To enjoy more of the Strawberry Festival you can see pictures of the day in our market Photo Gallery.

Our local farmers and artisans decorated their booths with Giraffe Works Studio winning First Place!

Squash, Cucumbers and Tomatoes Enter Market!

May 19, 2014

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Chilly with gray skies and a little sprinkle of rain here and there – doesn’t sound like a great day at the market, does it? But despite the weather, this past Saturday was a good day at the FFM. After all, there were lots of good late spring vegetables, such as broccoli, green onions and asparagus.

Delicious asparagus

Fresh green onions

In this corner, everything needed for a salad!

A colorful display of turnips, shallots and radishes

Early season green beans

A springtime favorite – green peas

And there was a little hint of the good things to come with some early cucumbers, squash and tomatoes – yes, tomatoes! Those hoop houses the farmers use can really speed up the growing times on veggies.

Early tomatoes from Napier Farm

How about a cool cucumber?

Fresh radishes to munch

Bloomsbury Farm lettuce

Nothing like the flavor of onions

Of course, there were strawberries too – lots of them. It’s definitely berry time in Tennessee. As we do every year at the FFM, we celebrate the arrival of strawberries with our annual Strawberry Festival. It takes place next Saturday (May 24th) and the weather is predicted to be sunny and warm – perfect for a day of homemade strawberry shortcakes, games for the kids and the Barnyard Petting Zoo.

Strawberry time in Tennessee!

We agree – eat locally grown food

Mark your calendar!

Grill Day has been rescheduled for June 7th

Lots of folks were also going home Saturday with delicious cuts of meat, stocking up early for their backyard Memorial Day grilling to kick off summer in a delicious fashion. Speaking of grilling, the market’s Grill Day has been rescheduled to June 7th and hopefully the weather will match the great taste of the pork, beef, lamb and chicken from our meat farmers.

Chef Jeff Lunsford of the Hearth and Grill Shop will use his skills to grill lip-smacking samples for you to enjoy.

And finally, we notice this past Saturday that there’s more of the sweet treats at the market too, such as delicious Greek pastries and incredibly decadent toffee. We saw you munching. Confession time – we did the same thing! So yeah, it was less than perfect weather at the market. But it was still a great delicious day at the FFM!

Sweet treats at the FFM to enjoy

The first of the summer squash now at market

Fresh, locally grown food and a day at the Franklin Farmers Market always make people happy!

Fresh Vegetables, Strawberries now in Market

May 12, 2014

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Organically grown Strawberries from Delvin Farms

May is always a good month at the Franklin Farmers Market. New produce coming into season, warmer temperatures and plenty of sunshine make it a good time to be outside. But one of the best things at the market in May is the colors – the fresh vegetables like purple asparagus, rich green broccoli or the eye-popping red of delicious strawberries. And then there are all of the flowers. It’s an explosion of the color spectrum, that’s absolutely beautiful. Even though this past Saturday started off cloudy, it was still a bright and colorful day at the FFM.

Beautiful Broccoli from Norton Family Farm

Fresh Picked asparagus,onions and kale from Delvin Farms

Brightly colored garden flowers from Kirkview Farm

Please, take me home and plant me!

A Teresa creation from Purple Tree Farm

Organic Fresh Farm Greens from Delvin Farms

Norton Family Farm fresh picked Kale

Beautiful Greens from Rocky Glade Farm

Beautiful Onions from Norton Family Farm

Lettuce Mix from Norton Family Farm

Somebody’s proud of her farm strawberries!

Local Market meats hot off the Big Green Egg smoker and grill prepared by Chef Jeff From Hearth and Grill Shop

May is also the time of year when outdoor grilling starts in earnest. Who can resist the delicious aroma of the perfect steak being grilled to perfection? We’re going to put you to the test next Saturday (May 17th) when grill master Chef Jeff Lunsford of the Hearth and Grill Shop comes to the market. Chef Jeff will be grilling delicious meats from the meat farmers at the market. It’s your chance to sample the tender cuts of beef, chicken, pork and lamb that our farmers have for you every Saturday. It will all be grilled to perfection on special grills from the Hearth and Grill s Shop, including on the Big Green Egg, the choice of grill masters everywhere.

Franklin Farmers Market Strawberry Festival

And finally, there is one other thing that makes May so special. Strawberries are in season and at the market. Those perfect little red bites of sweet but tangy deliciousness mean that winter is definitely over. It’s enough to make you want to celebrate. So we’ll do just that at the market on May 24th with the FFM’s annual Strawberry Festival. It’s a great family day with games and the Barnyard Petting Zoo for the kids, plus incredible homemade strawberry shortcakes to munch on. These are not those prepackaged little imitation cakes found in grocery stores. These are sure enough real shortcakes, prepared by Karen Norton of the Norton Family Farm. All in all, It’s a deliciously fun day at the FFM, presented by our friends at Ford – Lincoln of Franklin and it’s just another reason why May is a very good month to be at the Franklin Farmers Market!

Farmers Market hosting local Farmers, Bakers and Artisans

May 5, 2014

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Fresh picked lettuces and radishes from Colvin Family Farm

Farmers are early birds. Up early in the morning, planting early crops, working early on the farm. So it makes perfect sense that the summer season of the Franklin Farmers Market starts early too. That’s what happened this past Saturday with a market packed with farmers, bakers and artisans. There were a lot of familiar faces, but many new ones too. It was a “berry” good day, with lots of strawberries to take home and enjoy. Music was back at the market too and choice of good fresh food was practically overwhelming. From Greek pastries to asparagus, goat cheese to tender steaks, the FFM had everything you needed for the perfect meal.

Fresh baked from Olive Tree Bakery

Market Lettuces stay fresh in your refrig much longer

Somebody loves her some Strawberries

Fresh organic asparagus from Delvin Farms

Farm fresh eggs from River Cottage Farm

Nutritious Kale from Bloomsbury Farm

Just picked Strawberries from FFM farmers

Chef Cyndi Shalhoub demonstrating her culinary skills with fresh market produce

Speaking of the perfect meal, Saturday was the chance to try out new ways with old favorite. It was our first Chef Saturday at the market and Chef Cyndi Shalhoub was on hand, showing how to prepare three different recipes with some of your favorite veggies and handing out delicious samples to try.

Chef Saturday at the FFM will take place the first Saturday of every month at the market and it’s a great way to learn new recipes for summertime veggies and fruits.

Beaverdam Creek Farm offers CSA’s along with many other FFM farms

Herb starter plants from Kirkview Farm

Kale and Strawberry salad by Chef Cyndi

It surely would not be summer if you didn’t fire up the grill. So that’s what we’re going to do this upcoming Saturday. May 10th is Grill Day at the FFM and it’s the perfect chance for you to sample great cuts of meat from farmers at the market. The ultimate grill master, Chef Jeff Lunsford of the Hearth and Grill Shop will have several grills fired up, including the dream grill of every backyard chef – the Big Green Egg. Sample beef, pork, lamb, chicken and sausage, deliciously grilled by Chef Jeff. It’s the perfect way to start summer at the FFM – yes, it’s good to be the early bird!

A happy Delvin Farm CSA pick up of organically grown veggies

Artisan soaps and creams from Beaverdam Creek Farm

Starter plants available from many local farms

Beautiful long lasting fresh picked spring flowers are now available from Sue’s Flowers each market Saturday!

Strawberries, Asparagus and more Fresh Produce Arrive at Market

April 28, 2014

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Loving that first Strawberry from the market

And they’re off! It was just like a race this past Saturday as some of you practically ran through the market to get strawberries, the first asparagus, radishes and other spring goodies. The lines for strawberries were particularly impressive. But If you missed out on the ‘berries and new veggies, don’t worry. There should be even more next Saturday. With the warm temperatures and sunshine we had, things are growing a lot faster now. Enough so, that the market will begin its’ summer season next Saturday (May 3^rd), giving you an extra hour to find your favorite fresh food. Market hours will switch to 8am – 1pm.

Delvin Farms Strawberries are in!

Fresh Kale and Green Onions from Delvin Farms

Asparagus from Delvin Farms

Beautiful Radishes from Gardner Grove

Happy FFM Volunteers ready to serve

This past Saturday was also Volunteer Day at the market. We’ve got a great group of volunteers, but we can always use more to help with special events and market operations overall. A good number of people stopped and signed up to be a member of the FFM volunteer team. If you missed out, you can become a team member by visiting the Volunteer section of the market website. It’s a great chance to become friends with the farmers and vendors, be up close and personal for all of the FFM’s special events and to be styling in a really cool volunteer t-shirt too. Visit our volunteer page to learn more.

Jones Mill Fresh Picked Asparagus

Farm Strawberries anyone?

Romain Lettuce from Norton Family Farm

Having some fun at the Triple L Ranch

Beaverdam Creek fresh lettuces

As we said before, days like this past Saturday really put things in the garden into high gear. Every weekend through the summer, there’s some newly harvest vegetable coming into market. It’s only natural to grab as much as you can to take home and enjoy.

This long line of strawberry lovers snatched up all strawberries by 10am

Green Onions and Broccoli from Norton Family Farm

Just picked spinach from Norton Family Farm

Get your Farm CSA’s now as shown by Beaverdam Creek Farm

But do you know how to take all of those veggies and turn them into the perfect meal? Find out how at the FFM’s Chef Saturday. On the first market day of every month, there will be a professional chef at the market to give you more ideas on cooking. This upcoming Saturday, Chef Cyndi Shalhoub who specializes in delicious healthy organic cooking will be at the market to show you great ways to prepare the perfect meal with the fresh food from the market. When you get a sample of what she prepares, your taste buds will be doing the happy dance!

Young plants from Earth Advocates Research Farm

Somebody will do some serious planting

Beautiful plants from Purple Tree Farm

Farm Hoop Houses providing early Local Farm Produce

April 21, 2014

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Rocky Glade farm grown strawberries

We saw them too – red, plump and juicy and flying out of the market as fast as cars zooming around a racetrack. The very first local farm strawberries of the spring were at the FFM this past Saturday and some of you could not wait to get your hands on them. We can’t really blame you. Those beautiful strawberries were grown on Rocky Glade Farm and are a couple of weeks earlier than expected. But remember how we told you that farmers are pretty resourceful, using hoop houses and row covers to protect their crops from bad weather? That’s exactly what they did on Rocky Glade Farm. The Vaughn family raises a lot of good vegetables in the fields. But they also have two large hoop houses, which help to protect early spring crops from those last-minute blasts from winter. It all adds up to delivering delicious local farm produce like those early strawberries. We’re betting you’ll see more of them next Saturday.

Pilgrims Produce radishes

Sweet green onions from Pilgrims Produce

Beaverdam Creek fresh lettuces and radishes

Farm fresh spinach, carrots, lettuces and radishes from Paradise Produce

Just picked romain lettuce from Norton Family Farm

It was one of those everything old is new again days at the FFM this past Saturday. Think about it for a minute. Sometimes it seems like winter drags on forever, with no bright flowers to see and no warm weather fresh veggies to enjoy. So when all the local farm produce of spring finally show back up again, it’s like we’re seeing them for the first time. That’s what it was like at the farmers market. There were new spring veggies to enjoy, like fresh green onions for the perfect salad.

Lettuces from Pilgrims Produce

Green Onions from Kirkview Farm

Celery from Rocky Glade

Delvin Farms fresh lettuces

Carrots from Norton Family Farm

Fresh lettuce mix from Norton Family Farm

Early starter plants, such as squash, tomatoes and cucumbers were going home to be planted by backyard gardeners.

Vegetable Starter Plants from Paradise Produce

Blackberry plants from Delvin Farm

Plus all the flowers… beautiful, bright flowers were found all over the market. Spring makes everything new again.

Beautiful Flowers from Blooming Baskets

FFM customers heading home with new starter plants for their garden

Volunteer Day April 26th

Have you ever wondered how the FFM comes together every Saturday, year-round? Sometimes to us, it seems like magic. But it is really the work of our volunteers who play an important role in making the Franklin Farmers Market the best market in Tennessee for local farm produce. We’re always looking for great volunteers.

Next Saturday is FFM’s Volunteer Day. It’s your chance to join the market team and help out in a variety of different ways. If you believe in local food, sustainability and the goodness of Tennessee farms, we’d love for you to be part of our team.

Look for the special farmers market Volunteer booth next Saturday at the front of the market and join the FFM team!