Memorial Day Weekend at the Warrenton Farmer’s Market

Hello Everyone!

I know everyone has lots of plans for this Memorial Day weekend, but I hope you will make time to join us at the Warrenton Farmer’s Market.

I will have small batches of Lucky Like All Natural Chicken Jerky, Bacon Cheddar Biscuits and Organic Peanut Butter Biscuits. Each bag will contain a Lucky Buck, good for $1 off a future Lucky Like purchase at Farmers Market and I will be honoring Lucky Bucks you have already collected for this Saturday’s purchases.

I will also have many CherryGal ORGANIC HEIRLOOM Garden Seedlings including:

Herbs — Basils, Bay Laurel Trees, Chives, Cowslip, Dill, Evening Primrose, Lemon Balm, Mints, Monarda, Nasturtium, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary,
​Soapwort, and Blood Sorrel.

Vegetables — Diva Cucumber, Ancho Poblano Pepper, Tomatoes (Black Krim, Brandywine, Costoluto, Buore Di Boeuf, Hillbilly, San Marzano, Laotian Phantom, Martian Giant and Scotland Yellow)

Decoratives & Houseplants — Black Peredovik Sunflowers, Pastel Day Lilies (last call, as these are ready to bloom and should be planted), Canna Lily, Ajuga, Morning Glory, Night Blooming Cereus and Pothos.

Several of these plants will be discounted so I hope you will stop by my booth this Saturday, 8 am to Noon, for a look see!

Deborah

Why Heirloom & Why Organics

I don’t often get the time at the Farmers Market to talk with customers in depth about the benefits of heirloom varieties and organics. So I thought it would be helpful to commit those thoughts to my blog.

So what makes heirlooms and organics so great anyway?

First, and this may surprise you, many heirlooms ARE hybrids, in the sense that they were often the attempt to capture the positive attributes of two or more varieties, but unlike today’s hybrids, they have been grown out for so many successive generations that the genetics became standardized and the new variety was “open pollinated,” i.e., you can save the seed and that seed will grow true to the parent. These are the varieties venerated and saved by our grandparents and great grandparents, often brought with them when they emigrated from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America, and grown as family heirlooms.

But in modern times, seed companies have developed new strains specifically for commercial growers that often sacrifice the very qualities we seek as home growers for those qualities valued by the commercial growers and their end customers – the grocery stores. That is: higher yields, ease of transport and longer shelf life. A tomato that can be harvested green, gassed to color and brought to the store red and without bruising is, in their business plan, more desirable than a red, luscious, extremely flavorful heirloom tomato that could never make the transit from farm to grocery to table when hundreds or thousands of miles are involved.

Unfortunately, these same hybrid seeds are also marketed to home gardeners, who like the ease of growing such hybrids (high disease resistance and germination) and are unaware of the sacrifice of flavor and other qualities they are making with such choices.

Now, what is the advantage of growing heirlooms in an organic fashion? EVERYTHING!

First, there is the health advantage. Good organic gardens are built on compost rich organic soil populated by earthworms and a healthy beneficial microbiome. It may take years to create that if you are starting with poor or compromised soil, but it is worth it. Non-organic soils depend on chemical fertilizers, which take a heavy toll on the environment, and also deplete the nutrients in your produce. Study after study has shown that produce grown organically has a far richer nutrient composition than its non-organic competitors. Add to that the advantage of the freshness of home-grown, or locally-produced, which reaches your table faster with less loss ofnutrients, and there is no question that organically produced home grown or locally grown produce is far superior in every aspect.

An additional, and perhaps more important, advantage of organic produce is the lack of pesticides. Pesticides are toxins. Whether sprayed on your lawn or your broccoli, or imported via the produce seedlings you buy at your local nursery, they can wreak havoc with your and your family’s health. Just to give one example, if you use pesticides when pregnant or nursing, your children will have a 3x to 9x increase in the possibility of leukemia. There are countless other health implications.

Finally, organic gardening supports the environment. Everything from the richness and health of the soil, to the health of pollinators, including honey bees, to birds and animals. Chemical fertilizers not only pollute the water, they do nothing to enrich the soil — the very heart of our agricultural system. Worse case, pesticides such as neonicotinoids — widely used by US-based growers and nurseries — not only pollute the plant they “treat,” but migrate into the soil of your garden and toxify all your plants for pollinators such as honey bees. That is why they are banned in Europe!

So, to sum up, organic heirloom plants and produce are LESS EXPENSIVE, MORE SUSTAINABLE, AND HEALTHIER! What’s not to love? I grow and eat organic, and I sleep better as a result!

 

 

 

Wonderful New Organic Farmers Market Offerings this Saturday in Warrenton NC!

I will not have time for any Lucky Like treat making this week because my Savannah family are visiting. But I will have some wonderful CherryGal ORGANIC seedlings at the Warren County Farmers Market on Saturday (8-Noon) including:
Heirloom Tomatoes:
  • Brandywine, which dates to late 19th C and considered by many to be the best tasting beefsteak ever. Large pinks up to 2#.
  • Cuore Di Boef (Heart of Beef) a large 1-2# Italian heirloom oxheart
  • Hillbilly, a large bi-color (red and yellow) slicer
  • Costoluto Genovese, (only one left) a personal favorite Italian heirloom grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello
  • Black Krim, a popular Russian heirloom that produces early and continuously till Fall. Rich, sweet flavor on pounder fruits.
  • San Marzano, (only one left) an Italian heirloom that is considered the gold standard for paste & sauce

Peppers:

  • Sweet Italian Pimento (only one left) a great all-purpose salad/fryer/roaster/pickler
  • California Wonder (only one left) with thick-walled sweet flesh very productive
  • Ancho/Poblano, classic spicy Mexican heirloom pepper most associated with Chille Rellenos and Mole sauce

Cucumber, Diva – my favorite, and the plants are getting bigger by the day

Costato Romanesco Squash – a wonderful Italian heirloom squash with great flavor.  These need to go in the garden now, so they will be discounted on Saturday.

Herbs:
  • Bay Laurel trees
  • Chives (regular, not garlic)
  • Parsley Gigante (flat leaf Italian)
  • Rosemary
  • Nasturtium (edible climber)
  • Basils (various, depending on what’s ready)
  • Mints (various)
  • Blood Sorrel
Also several decorative & house plants including more Pastel Daylilies which are ready to start blooming!
Please note that I have many other varieties of tomatoes, herbs and decoratives growing out right now. It will be a week or longer for them to be ready for market, but I do hope you will be thrilled with my unique growing choices. I only ever start a few of each variety, so don’t wait too long or your favorite may be gone. ALL ORGANIC, of course. I so enjoy talking with you about them and about organics.
See you Saturday!

Fabulous Offerings next Saturday!

I want to thank everyone who turned out on Saturday May 13 at the Warren County Farmers Market. Despite inhospitable weather all day, we had our SECOND BEST DAY EVER in terms of sales, so thank you so much!

This coming Saturday I think I can confidently predict more new offerings that may interest you. Keep in mind, these are heirloom ORGANICALLY GROWN so I’m sorry if the prices are somewhat higher than others but they do require more attention then hybrids. But they are without a doubt HEALTHIER for you and your family and if gardened properly will be just as productive and satisfying (more so).

TOMATOES: In addition to a few Costoluto Genovese and Hillybilly tomatoes, I will have some Black Krim, Brandywine and Coeur Di Boeuf (oxheart). My favorite “spicy” pepper is Ancho Poblano, and I will have a few ready by Saturday. I will continue to offer Diva Cucumber, and they are getting bigger and stronger by the day. This is a stellar performer in the garden, with disease resistance. I will also have some Rosemary, regular Chives and Parsley Gigante (Italian flat leaf) for your pleasure. I will also have some beautiful Nasturtiums, which are so lovely in the garden, but can also be put to culinary use in salads and as toppers for soups.

I will send out another email before Saturday’s market, so you know exactly what to expect. As with all my offerings, early bird gets the worm!

Special Italian Heirlooms on Saturday at Warrenton Farmer’s Market

It’s been a quiet morning  listening to the gentle rain and the birds while I potted up various herbs that have outgrown their tiny hydroponic start pods. I have some special offerings this Saturday, and I thought I would give you a heads up since, as is my habit, I only have a few of each.
I am pleased to offer three of my favorite Italian heirlooms — organically grown of course. The first is a delicious slicing tomato called Costoluto Genovese. An indeterminate, it can require more attention from you to get to full fruiting (I recommend caging and pruning), but when it does produce it does so abundantly! This old Italian heirloom from Genoa features deep red pleated fruits that have the most extraordinary “slickery” texture and delicious flavor. It was grown by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello, who had very discerning tastes. You can use for cooking, but I particularly like it chopped fresh and combined with homemade mozzarella and basil.
Another Italian heirloom that is the quintessential paste & sauce tomato San Marzano — an Italian heirloom gifted to the Kingdom of Naples in 1770 from the Kingdom of Peru! Since that time, it has become renowned as the best paste/sauce tomato bar none. Recent research by cancer specialist Dr William Li indicates that the cooked San Marzano tomato is the best cancer fighter (prostate and breast) of all tomato varieties! Grows just 4′ high, so very manageable.
I will also be bringing a my special Sweet Italian Pimento Pepper that is a single-lobed, thick walled heart-shaped sweet pepper with excellent flavor and perfect for roasting and adding to any dish or pickling.
Finally, a gourmet summer squash grown for use in traditional Italian cuisine. Costato Romanesco has a rich, nutty flavor and firmer texture than others so it stands up well to various recipes. The green flecked fine ribbed fruits are best picked when no larger than 4″-6″ and for a special treat, pick them even smaller when the large flowers are still attached, which you will gently batter and saute. This bush plant produces an abundance of male flowers if you want to cook just the flowers without sacrificing potential fruit, stuffing with soft cheese and gently baking till runny, then sprinkling with chopped basil. Or add the sliced fruit to soups or shred raw into salads. This variety is just too fine to use for zucchini bread.
If you buy one of these great Italian heirlooms, you will get a special recipe from “Vegetables from an Italian Garden” by Phaidon. Be sure to ask, as I will have them printed out and ready, but if I am distracted I might forget to give you.
I will also have a few heirloom gorgeous bi-color Hillbilly slicing tomatoes and the newer California Wonder Bell Pepper plants and more herbs, including basils — all organically grown of course.
And some Lucky Like treats — reduced because they are from last week that did not sell. I won’t have time this week to do a fresh batch. Since they last a month or longer in the fridge, this is your chance to pick up a bargain. The Lucky Bucks you have collected will be honored.
See you on Saturday!