I know that isn’t on the calendar. But this is First Monday weekend (and 4th of July!) which means it is our first summer-time visit to the Athens, TX Farmer’s Market.
And why would that be special, you may ask? Because the overlapping of spring veggies that are just coming to an end and the beginnings of summer veggies equals abundance! The garden may not look as lush and green as it did a little earlier, but the variety is awesome!
New this week: Heirloom tomatoes (Cherokee Purple, Amana Orange and Mrs. Maxwell’s Big Italian Red). We’ll have just a few of the San Marzano sauce tomatoes as they are just beginning to ripen. Red Austin Pears and little Blue Berry tomatoes will round it out. Our tomatoes have struggled with cold weather, wind, pests and critters this year – so we won’t have a great many available. Come early.
Cantaloupe: The sweetest, best-tasting cantaloupe around grow in East Texas sandy loam. Here’s hoping the first of our crop will be ready!
Watermelon: Maybe a few Moon & Stars yellow meat, and Black Diamond. The Crimson Sweet and Navajo Winter melons will be ready soon. I’ll be posting to let you know when they are ready and where you can get them.
Okra – Burgundy and Stewart’s Zeebest – have just started producing this week and we hope to have a few quarts on Saturday.
Bell peppers, Sweet Corno di Toro stuffing peppers, Poblano, a few Cayenne, Pimiento and mild “hatch” chili peppers.
Beautiful purple Fengyuan Japanese Eggplant.
One gorgeous and unique Lakota squash! You just have to see it. Others are still on the vine.
Maybe a bag or two of Red Ripper southern peas! My mouth is already watering for peas and cornbread!
Still going strong: kale (vates, lacinato and Dutch Curly), Swiss Chard, summer squash (lemon, patty pan and tatume), Chinese Red Noodle Beans.
We have some fresh leaf-lettuce (a variety of romaines and red lettuces) to add to a salad blend with New Zealand Spinach, Malabar spinach and Endive.
This will be our last week until fall for Chioggia beets, Multi-color carrots, parsnips, turnips and kohlrabi.
And we will still offer a few fingerling potatoes; Garlic; French Shallots; Red, White Bermuda, and Texas Sweet onions.
Come sample the kohlrabi, melons and tomatoes. Find a new recipe to try. We’ll bring some peppermint tea to share with you all! A truly refreshing summer drink – right from the garden. We’ll also have a couple of stevia plants we’ve grown out extra. A fresh leaf or two brings a gentle sugar-free, calorie-free sweetness to teas and tastes much better than the processed stevia versions.
Come share a cup of iced tea and bring along your favorite recipe for fresh eating! We’re still working on a cookbook we can share to help us all make better use of our garden fresh veggies, and it needs your contribution!
See you Saturday!
And,,here I sit in Glasgow, Scotland, jealous as all get out because I am not at home getting some of this wonderful bounty you write about. I am having a wonderful visit with my Granddaughter and her husband, but I think of you all every Thursday and Sat and wish I could get those good veggies here. My daughter in law in Eustace was bragging in an email to me that she had learned how to cook swiss chard and the noodle beans my husband gave her out of our share last week. Maybe my being gone for a little while is good for the whole family. My husband misses my cooking and the rest of the family is learning about new foods. Be seeing you in a few weeks.
So glad to hear your family is finding good ways to use those veggies while you are out and about. Sounds like a wonderful time and a wonderful place to visit!