ASAP's Weekly Farmers Market Report - July 2, 2021

Fresh at Farmers Markets

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Fireworks will light up skies this weekend, but colorful displays of another sort are filling farmers tailgate market tables. Whether you are gathering with friends and family or preserving some time for yourself, here are a few ways you can celebrate the best of local food this holiday weekend.
 

Savor your first tomatoes. A handful of greenhouse-grown ’maters have been available for the past few weeks, but this week we’re seeing the true start to tomato season. Lee’s One Fortune Farm : [link removed], Full Sun Farm : [link removed], and Olivette Farm : [link removed] have an assortment of heirlooms, cherries, and slicers (and likely more farms will as well by the time you’re reading this). Tomatoes are one of the most versatile ingredients you can get at the farmers market, but we like to enjoy the first ones as simply as possible: sliced, with a little salt and pepper, on homemade sandwich bread with a thin spread of mayonnaise, or layered between mozzarella and fresh basil. Find Lee’s One Fortune at ASAP : [link removed], Black Mountain : [link removed], West Asheville : [link removed], River Arts District : [link removed], and East Asheville : [link removed] markets; Full Sun at North Asheville : [link removed] and River Arts District markets; and Olivette at ASAP Farmers Market.
 

Cheer for the peaches and blueberries that escaped the frost. Creasman Farms : [link removed] expects to be back at markets this week with peaches. Late frosts damaged the earliest fruits, so we’re seeing them a little later than in past years. Likewise, some farms lost their entire blueberry crops, though others were spared. Full Sun Farm, McConnell Farms : [link removed], and Dillingham Family Farm : [link removed] should have blueberries available this week. Look for Creasman Farms at ASAP and River Arts District markets; McConnell at North and West Asheville markets; and Dillingham at Weaverville Tailgate Market : [link removed].
 

Get squash blossoms while you can. There’s just a short window for squash blossoms at farmers markets, but they’re available now from Lee’s One Fortune Farm. Cheese-stuffed, battered, and fried is the classic (and craveable) preparation for these lovely orange flowers, but you can also eat them much more simply. Thinly slice squash blossoms and add them to your pasta, quesadilla, omelet, or pizza. In Mexico, squash blossoms are also often used in soups. Try them in a creamy pureed soup with potatoes or zucchini or add them to a chile, chicken, and rice stew.
 

At farmers markets now you’ll also find raspberries, summer squash, green beans, new potatoes, cucumbers, carrots, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, microgreens, cabbage, and much more. Markets are also stocked with farm-fresh eggs, bread, cheese, pastries, fermented products, drinks, and prepared foods. There are more than 100 farmers tailgate markets throughout the Appalachian Grown region. Find them, as well as farms and other local food businesses, in ASAP’s online Local Food Guide : [link removed].

July Photo of the Month

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Our July photo of the month was taken by Camilla Calnan Photography : [link removed] of Tiny Bridge Farm : [link removed]. Buying directly from farmers, whether at a farm stand, at a farmers market, or though a CSA, means getting fruits and vegetables harvested at their peak—possibly even the same day you buy them. You can search for farm stands throughout the region at appalachiangrown.org. : [link removed] Us

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appalachiangrown.org : [link removed] | fromhere.org : [link removed]
asapconnections.org : [link removed] | growing- : [link removed] : [link removed]
 
Donate to support local food, strong farms, and healthy communities today! : [link removed]
 
ASAP's mission is to help local farms thrive, link farmers to markets and supporters, and build healthy communities through connections to local food.

Upcoming Events

7/24
Homegrown Dreams Online : [link removed]

7/26
Fall Organic Gardening Series : [link removed] Western NC Strawberry Pre-Plant Meeting : [link removed]
 
7/27
Racial Equity in Farm to School 2021 training series (virtual workshops) : [link removed]

7/31
NC Foothills Farm Tour: Looking Glass Creamery and C-Saw Hill : [link removed]
 

9/18-9/19
ASAP’s 2021 Farm Tour : [link removed]
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Find more upcoming events (or post your own) at fromhere.org : [link removed].

Local Food &  Farm News

Blue Ridge Public Radio : [link removed] talked to ASAP about finding u-pick farms in ASAP's Local Food Guide : [link removed]. The season for blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries is starting up now, though some farms may have limited crops due to late cold snaps this year. “That’s just the luck of nature and the challenge of climate change,” said Sarah Hart, ASAP's communications coordinator. Always check with a farm to ensure availability before heading out to u-pick. 

ASAP's upcoming Farm Tour : [link removed], Sept. 18-19, was featured in the Biltmore Beacon : [link removed]. “The ASAP Farm Tour gives us a chance to share our dreams and passion with others committed to a sustainable future,” said farmer Sara Martin, whose Two Trees Farm in Haywood County has been a past tour favorite and will return for 2021. “Showing people the joys of working the land and eating fresh food creates a community. We are truly happiest when we have our feet in the soil, sharing skills to make agriculture more accessible to others. Come share our dream.”



ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) - 306 W. Haywood Street - Asheville - NC - 28801

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