Upstate, SC Locally Grown Market Weblog

Your Market is Open

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 08:54:53 -0500

Greetings Friends!
Your market is open for ordering once more. The availability list is at the end of the newsletter, and you may scroll down there if you wish to skip the newsletter. Next pick-up is Thursday, Dec 4. Produce from Spurgeon Farms will be available at their Saturday Market Booth on Dec 6, and then available online the next week.
Please visit us at the Saturday Market for fresh wreaths of herbs as well as other greenery, to order turkeys, and to see the organic cotton blankets that will be available from now through the holidays.
We hope that one and all had a pleasant Thanksgiving, and that you continue to be blessed and grateful for those blesings throughout the year!
I am very grateful for the opportunity to coordinate the effort for all of us to obtain fresh, whole meals for our families through cooperation of farmers, growers, and consumers. It warms my heart to see and to feel all the wonderful support for each other within our ever-widening circle. Like- minded people with a common purpose can accomplish much good.
I am filled with warm gratitude for our Market helpers who put in many hours to see to it that your order gets to you “all there”, and who keep everything straight for us on our invoices.
Stacy and Libby have gone that extra mile many times over, covering the farmer’s market, and Margie is our mainstay at pick-up.
A big thanks to West End Coffee’s Tad for cheerfully putting up with us and keeping the store open for us when he could be home.
Our Growers, too, help out, and I must mention Bill Welch, Jessie Adkins and Erin from Hurricane Creek, Richard Taylor from Nature’s Beef, who cheerfully and enthusiastically answers all questions and makes sure that he is sending just the cut and amount that you want, Chris and Eleanor from Bioway Farm, who shared the cost and labor of our booth last season at Saturday market, Mary Lynn Bushong and family for all they do…. Keri and Jennifer from Whole Foods, Christina,……
And each and every one of you who pitch in wherever needed, whether it is when we are busy at pick-up, and you help your self, or whether it is that you have organized a group of friends to pick up for each other, pass on the word about our market, or even re-use your egg cartons and bring your own bags…it is all a great help, and shows the character of our group.
There are many more to thank, and I am sorry if your name is not here in print, but we all appreciate you.
The best to all of you, and happy shopping!
Donna and Lenard Putney
864-901-2692

No Pick-up Thanksgiving Week

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 18:25:01 -0500

Hello
We wanted to let you know that there will be no ordering for next week, so, order ahead. If you have already ordered and wish to add more, it is okay to order again.
We are adding Spurgeon Farm vegetables, plus Dodie Spurgeon’s fresh baked pies. Due to an illness in the family, the Spurgeons were unable to meet the deadline for the original newsletter. We hope to have the pies added by tomorrow am.
Remember that the Traveler’s Rest Forum is Tuesday at 9 am at Leopard Forest in TR. Jim Smith, of upstate Sustainable Grower’s School, of which we are associated, will be there to speak. Bring your coffee cup and you may park at the hardware store next door if needed.
Saturday is the Split Creek Farm tour, also the Home Garden Forum, not to be missed, if you would like to begin to grow your own produce. Please contact me for info and links.
Trees greenville also has some activities comming up soon..wish I could link you to all of these…but I am learning…Don;t know how yet…so please contact me for links..putneyfarm@aol.com

Availability list for 11/16/08

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:21:33 -0500

Greetings to all!

For those of you who may be new to the site;

The availability list is at the end of this newsletter. You will find all 222
items in alphabetical order here. Or, If you prefer, you may go straight to the
upstatesc.locallygrown.net website to the Market section and click on the
product that you desire.

We have some salad mix from Spurgeon Farms, not to be missed! Also, Hurricane
Creek has peppers and cucumbers. These products are all fresh-picked and packed
to your order, and no chemicals, no warehouse storage, no shipping

Black Cow’s bakers are preparing to bake your breads and to mix those fabulous
no-bake granola bars that everyone loves. They certainly fufill any cravings,
and I find that they hold me when I have no time for a meal.

Remember your little doggie with some healthy snacks from Tailwaggerz Barkery,
all-natural ingredients. They also have treats for dogs with allergies.
Check out the website through our Growers page and click on the link to their
web site.

Richard Taylor is slowly getting back to normal. These things take time,
as I have discovered… More time than we want them to. Keep Richard on your
list.

Bill Welch is also on the sick list, and in need of both; encouragement and
physical help at the farm. You may reach him at
welchandsonfarm@yahoo.net.

I am doing much better, and have hopes to be restored to good as
before, because "I have miles to go before I sleep". ( There is so much to
do!)

There are important goings-on in the next week, including a home garden work
shop next Saturday (The 22nd) through the Sustainable Grower’s school (With whom
we are now afilliated) and Split Creek Farm’s open house on that same day.

Split Creek Farm Holiday Open House

Customer Appreciation Day ~ No Admission
Charge

Saturday, November 22, 2008 ~ 11:00 am –
4:00 pm

Come spend a fall day visiting the farm
animals

and let us help you with your holiday
shopping

Shop
at The Henhouse for folk art, Christmas
ornaments, holiday gifts.

Enjoy sampling and purchasing Split
Creek

products.

Local artists and craftsmen will have
booths in the farmyard.

More information and Directions

Some of our Cheeses and
Fudge, handcrafted

from our Split Creek Grade A Goat Milk

Availability for Nov 16/ News letter

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:14:56 -0500

Greetings to all!

Richard Taylor is slowly getting back to normal. These things take time,
as I have discovered… More time than we want them to. Keep Richard on your
list.

Bill Welch is also on the sick list, and in need of both; encouragement and
physical help at the farm. You may reach him at
welchandsonfarm@yahoo.net.

I am doing much better, and have hopes to be restored to good as
before, because "I have miles to go before I sleep". ( There is so much to
do!)

Split Creek Farm Holiday Open House

Customer Appreciation Day ~ No Admission
Charge

Saturday, November 22, 2008 ~ 11:00 am –
4:00 pm

Come spend a fall day visiting the farm
animals

and let us help you with your holiday
shopping

Some of our Cheeses and
Fudge, handcrafted

from our Split Creek Grade A Goat Milk

Jim Smith to speak at Forum

Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:03:03 -0500

Friends,

We meet 9 a.m., Leopard Forest Coffee Company in downtown Travelers Rest, to discuss ongoing work in northern Greenville County to continue building our local food economy, as well as countywide efforts to grow ever greener across our habitats.

Jim Smith, founder of the Upstate School of Sustainable Agriculture, will brief us on current programs, successes, and outlooks for this hands-on teaching network of farms and gardens across the Upstate. You may be familiar with Jim’s outstanding work as Good Earth Organics, one of our area’s first organic farms to regularly participate in the State Farmers Market on Rutherford Road, and many of you may have purchased vegetables from his farm near Highway 11. http://www.scsustainableag.org/

We also welcome a representative of The Green Umbrella, a countywide consortium of organizations dedicated to planting trees and backyard gardens of all kinds. The first symposium of this group, held earlier this month at Furman University, focused on “The Greening of Greenville: Embarking on a Healthier Future.” Member organizations include Trees Greenville, the Greenville Tree Foundation, Upstate Forever, Friends of the Reedy, Greenville Forward, the Greenville County Recreation District, Furman University, the Carolina Foothills Garden Club, and the Greenville Master Gardeners.
http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20081019/OPINION/810190306/1016

Now that we’ve turned out in record numbers to help elect a president, what better way to rededicate your time on behalf of a good future for all of us? To get a sense of what’s possible:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2008-11-02-myfarm_N.htm

As always, Wryley Bettis at True Value Hardware, adjacent to Leopard Forest, gives permission for us to park in the store’s lot for this meeting. There is also grass-lot parking behind the Forest, accessible by turning right at the corner of Center Street.

Cordially,
Elaine Bearden, Convener
Greater Travelers Rest Community Forum
gtrcommforum@gmail.com
864-630-6448
________________________________________________________________
Greater Travelers Rest Community Forum— We promote positive development
initiatives to achieve creative stewardship for the people, businesses, and
environment of northern Greenville County, including:
1. Education to facilitate, support, and build locally diverse, sustainable
small businesses and communities for the 21st century and beyond.
2. Information about and action for specific issues affecting entrepreneurial
infrastructures in the headwaters region of northern Greenville County.
P “This work of putting food-producing gardens, trees and shrubs on our existing properties may be the single most powerful thing any of us can do to save the world.” —Sharon Astyk

Availability/newsletter upstate Locally Grown Market

Sun, 09 Nov 2008 23:21:16 -0500

Greetings!
Remember that the Holiday preview/Tasting will be this Thursday evening, from 5:30-8 at West End Coffee Company. Many of your growers will be there with pretty and tasty items to order or to purchase there. We know, too, that you like to meet the person who raises your food, so we are inviting every one of our growers to attend. There will be tastes of new things and of the foods that you have been meaning to get around to trying. We may have a few surprises for you, and the whole event will benefit all who attend. This will be an open house…Stop by at the best time for you!
A fresh batch of potatoes are in…Youkon Gold and Red potatoes…all grown up to large size! Isn’t it wonderful to have chemical-free potatoes to serve? And they are just delicious!
Great harvest Bread will rejoin us this week, too!
We found SC free-range turkeys for your sustainable table,… will be somewhere around $5.00/pound. Please pre-order with a $25.00 deposit. The turkeys will range from 12-20 pounds, as I understand…Will know more this week. Please look under upcoming events to reserve yours.
At Putney Farm, we just started some new baby chicks…they will be laying by August of next year…More Rainbow colored eggs for your pleasure! Did you know that hens start laying at 4-6 months, and end their peak production at two-and-a-half years or so?…Oh, they still lay…they lay eggs all their lives…but the frequency slows down. I read that a well-cared-for chicken can live for 18 or more years!
Remember to order all the fresh veggies you can from Hurricane Creek farm, as their 0rganic hothouse veggies are very tasty!
We still have oregano, fresh sage,parsley, and some pretty pink mums for your table, and some nice, thick ham steaks, plus pork chops, sausage, and unsalted bacon from Steve’s Pork.
Black Cow Bakery has updated their site, so, check them out. And check out Putney Farm Locally Grown on www.honeapath.com. It is a preview of some changes that are coming to our own upstate locally grown web site.
We will be adding more pick-up points very soon, so watch for one in your area! (The first new one is at Putney Farm, by pre-arrangement, on Friday or Saturday.)

The first new one is at Putney Farm, by pre-arrangement, on Friday or Saturday.
If you grow without pesticides, and you have a bounty, how about sharing your extras with the veggie-hungry folks on our Market? Even if you only have a few servings, or two squashes, someone is looking for that very thing! Contact me at 864-901-2692…no grower fee to members.
I know that I’ve forgotten a bunch of things, but this email must be sent!
Donna Putney
864-901-2692
putneyfarm@honeapath.com

No Nature's Beef this week.

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:31:13 -0500

Hi all, unfortunately Richard Taylor was in a car accident yesterday. Richard is okay but will need to take it easy for a few days. Therefore, Nature’s Beef will not be available for pick up on Thursday. Please give me a call with any questions. We will look forward to Nature’s Beef next week.

Availability for the first week in November

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:14:24 -0500

It will be a year this month since our first order on upstate locally grown! The site is growing faster than anyone could’ve predicted!
Now we are ready to grow some more by providing you with more growers..also more places for you to pick up your orders. We will have a meeting this Wednesday with several of the entities involved…this is an exciting time for locavores!
Mark your calendars for the Taste of Upstate locally Grown on Thursday, Nov 17, from 5:30-8 at West End Coffee Company 18 Markley Street, Greenville, SC. You may meet your growers personally, see their products, and be able to purchase or order Holiday gifts. Of course, the veggies are rare since the freeze, however, some growers now have wreaths, decorations, preserves, crafts, cheeses, breads, and eggs of many colors.
West e Coffee has an exciting array of beautiful and fanciful tea and coffee accessories, including Alice in Wonderland’s Tea Party! Join us then for a relaxing hour!
Donna
putneyfarm@honeapath.com

Weekly Availability Newsletter

Mon, 27 Oct 2008 08:50:24 -0500

Hello!
So sorry that this is late…We wanted to be sure to have some produce for you to order…so we have put Hurricane Creek’s wonderful Japanese cucumbers and crispy green red peppers on the list. These are grown organically in the greenhouse, and are just coming into their prime. Please be advised that the peppers are green now, and some will be left on the vine to turn red for more color. Tomatoes are sure to be not too far behind!
We are expecting a freeze this week (Tuesday). If that happens, there will be no more summer veggies, sadly, so the hothouse veggies have come just in time!
There is still perilla on the bush, if you ordr this week, you will be able to try it. I also have some ti or cinamon basil. Order today.
We still will have plenty of products to order all year long. We opened our market in November of last year, and some of you have ordered each week since!
I will be making winter wreaths of rosemary or of evergreens. Keep this in mind for your front door. They will start at $25.00
We are planning a holiday shopping day and will have Dodie Spurgeon’s beautiful gift baskets of organic and natural beauty products, pies, preserves. This lady is a true artist, and her products need to be seen to appreciate. We will also have gift baskets from Split Creek made just for you, and other natural gifts. The date is not yet ste…but we will keep you informed.
Below is info that you may find interesting:
Another Reason to Buy Local

We Get Emails:
Beware The Carrots!
The following is information from a farmer who grows and packages carrots for Safeway, A & P, COSTCO, IGA, METRO, LOBLAWS, etc. and all USA producers do EXACTLY the same.

The small cocktail (baby) carrots you buy in small plastic bags are made using the larger crooked or deformed carrots which are put through a machine which cuts and shapes them into cocktail carrots…most people probably know this already.

At what cost do we put our health at risk to have esthetically pleasing vegetables which are practically plastic? Washing these carrots thoroughly DOES NOT get rid of the Chlorine which is absorbed and already inside the carrots.

We do hope that this information can be passed on to as many people as possible in the hopes of informing them where these carrots come from and how they are processed. CHLORINE IS A VERY WELL KNOWN CARCINOGEN. This is the reason cities are now cutting out the use of Chlorine for purifying drinking water and turning to Ultra Violet Light which is clean and totally affective. Please make this information available to as many people as possible. If you care about your family and friends, pass it on. This complaint would certainly HELP being made to Store Managers on a regular basis. Buy the Carrots you often find with the tops on them in your produce dep’t instead, and take them home and place in your own container.

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Sustainable Greenville Online Network is now available. Find out who’s doing good things at http://www.sustainablegreenville.com

Another Reason to Buy Local

Sat, 25 Oct 2008 03:36:09 -0500

What you may not know and should know is the following: once the carrots are cut and shaped into cocktail carrots, they are dipped in a solution of water and chlorine in order to preserve them (this is the same chlorine used in your pool). Since they do not have their skin or natural protective covering, this gives them a higher dose of chlorine. You will notice that once you keep these carrots in your refrigerator for a few days, a white covering will form on the carrots. This is the chlorine which resurfaces.

At what cost do we put our health at risk to have esthetically pleasing vegetables which are practically plastic? Washing these carrots thoroughly DOES NOT get rid of the Chlorine which is absorbed and already inside the carrots.

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Sustainable Greenville Online Network is now available. Find out who’s doing good things at http://www.sustainablegreenville.com

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