Tag Archives: cucumbers

Squash, Cucumbers and Tomatoes Enter Market!

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.

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Delicious asparagus

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Fresh green onions

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In this corner, everything needed for a salad!

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A colorful display of turnips, shallots and radishes

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Early season green beans

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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.

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Early tomatoes from Napier Farm

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How about a cool cucumber?

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Fresh radishes to munch

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Bloomsbury Farm lettuce

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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.

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Strawberry time in Tennessee!

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We agree – eat locally grown food

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Mark your calendar!

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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!

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Sweet treats at the FFM to enjoy

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The first of the summer squash now at market

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

Farm Hoop Houses providing early Local Farm Produce

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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.

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Pilgrims Produce  radishes

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Sweet green onions from Pilgrims Produce

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Beaverdam Creek fresh lettuces and radishes

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

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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.

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Lettuces from Pilgrims Produce

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Green Onions from Kirkview Farm

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Celery from Rocky Glade

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Delvin Farms fresh lettuces

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Carrots from Norton Family Farm

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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.

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Vegetable Starter Plants from Paradise Produce

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Blackberry plants from Delvin Farm

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

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Beautiful Flowers from Blooming Baskets

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FFM customers heading home with new starter plants for their garden

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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!

 

Farmers Bring Fresh Green Beans, Squash, Cucumbers, Blueberries, Peppers, Onions and More to Market

You know it’s going to be a good day when you spy the first of the blueberries at the market. They were the early variety, tasty and juicy. Those blueberries didn’t last long though, but that’s okay.

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Deb ringing in the Start of a wonderful Market Day

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Lot’s of new visitors and vacationers enjoying the day

The market was full of delicious food last Saturday. Green beans and new potatoes, along with cauliflower, beets and other fresh produce were plentiful. A lot of good farm eggs were snapped up too, along with tender steaks for the grill. Yummy breads, desserts and honey…. It was a food paradise!

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Fresh Flowers to Fresh Veggies at the market

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Lucy’s Kitchen always has Breakfast Treats ready

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First Cucumbers of Summer

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Where’s my Olive Oil and Outdoor Grill?

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Absolutely Beautiful Potatoes

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The new Franklin Farmers Market Recipe Book has wonderful Recipes from our Famers!

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We still have Strawberries…but not for long!

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Ellie’s Fresh Made Old Fashion Donuts

But sometimes you can’t find the vegetable you really want at the market. A lot of questions were asked Saturday about when would tomatoes show up at market; why weren’t there any watermelons and where was the corn? Georgia and Alabama produce typically is ripe and ready about two weeks before it is in Tennessee. The further south a farm is, the quicker the garden grows. Plus this year, we had a wet and cool spring, so some produce is running a little later than usual. But you need to be familiar with the seasonality of produce and fruit grown in Tennessee. Tomatoes typically are not ripe and plentiful until July. It’s the same thing with corn and watermelons are at their best in July and August too. Next Saturday, stop by the Market Information booth and pick up a free copy of Local Table. It’s a great guide to food and farming in Middle Tennessee, and it also has a big seasonality chart so you can get a better idea of when your favorite veggies and fruits are ripe and at market.

Speaking of tomatoes, nothing says summer like a deliciously ripe tomato. And we’re not talking about those tomatoes that are shipped in from other states or countries. We crave real tomatoes; the locally grown tomatoes. So when those first Middle Tennessee tomatoes are ripe and ready, it’s time to celebrate. And we’re going to do just that with our salute to tomatoes. Don’t miss the Franklin Farmers Market’s TomatoFest, July 27th. Fresh tomatoes are the stars of the show. Enjoy samples of delicious heirloom tomatoes. Watch cooking demos of Chef Steven from Amerigo. Learn seed-saving techniques and take part in the ugly tomato contest. It’s a tomato lover’s heaven… TomatoFest at the Franklin Farmers Market!

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New Fresh Peppers

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Lovely Green Onions

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The clean smell of Lavender was in the Air

New Tennessee Farm Fresh Food Now Arriving to Market

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Lettuces, Carrots and Radishes

Blue skies, beautiful weather and delicious Tennessee Farm fresh food… who could ask for anything more? Yesterday was the perfect day at the Franklin Farmers Market. There were lots of tasty fresh veggies like cabbage, beets and delicious green beans. Cucumbers are coming in season too, plus squash and greens. And even though strawberry season is just about over, it won’t be too much longer before blackberries and blueberries start showing up at the farmers market.  It was great to see everyone at our Farmers Market on Saturday! Even some of our Growing Kids Garden students dropped by to say hello.

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Onions, Carrots, Cabbages and Beets

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Fresh Squash now at the Market

You know how we say it’s good to use one of the other entrances into the market? Here’s proof of why we say that.

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Franklin Police directing traffic on Liberty Pike

The traffic on Liberty Pike at the main entrance to the market was backed up and the parking lot in that area was jammed. But folks coming into the market from other entrances had it much easier. So next Saturday, why not try the Franklin Road entrance and use the parking spaces on that side of The Factory. Chances are good that if you use a different entrance into the market, you won’t be delayed in traffic.

And a big thank you to everyone who observed the market’s official opening time. A lot of you early birds like to get to market first to make sure you get the tasty food you want. But the market’s opening time is 8am and we ask that you do not come into the market until it officially begins. The reason why is simple: It’s for your safety. There are farmers and vendors still setting up and moving into market right up to opening time. So shopping begins at 8am. Just listen for the bell signaling that market is open!

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Fresh Romaine Lettuce

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Norton Farm Cucumbers

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Beaverdam Creek Farm Fresh Veggies

Finally here’s a little something that you need to know… There’s a special day coming up soon at the Franklin Farmers Market in Williamson County and you don’t want to miss it! Look for details later this week.

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Cauliflower and Broccoli in plentiful supply

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Farm Fresh Squash and Zucchini’s