Christmas Greens

Two more Saturdays left to get wreaths & swags at the Beaver Farmers' Market. We got the white spruce swags and they're up on the 2nd story windows. Marty says that these wreaths last so long that he's had customers request a "wreath conversion kit"! They want Valentines Day & St. Patricks Day accessories to switch onto their wreaths ...... There's also one regular customer who brings a brass French horn to have it added to his wreath each year. He dropped it off with Volkar's Farm & will pick it up next week on his own custom wreath. P.S. - Lots of potatoes, apples, cider, winter squashes, kale, turnips, beets, etc. still at the market! Pat's Pastries had some nut rolls, pizzelles, and holiday cookie plates .....

Happy Thanksgiving Family & Friends!

Thanksgiving's coming ....

A quick stop at the Beaver Farmers' Market to pick up some apple cider & cabbage. Our main objective was potatoes for Thanksgiving. Dave is getting down to the last few bushels of his Yukon Gold potatoes. He has plenty of others, but LFLF grabs the Yukon Golds while we can! We had some last week and they are delicious. You can see the golden color next to Dave.More pictures next week, but Christmas wreaths & swags are available at the Beaver Farmers' Market on Nov 28th , Dec 5th, & Dec 12th. Be sure to get your decorations in the next couple of weeks and support our local farmers.

Just 2 More Ambridge Markets To Go!

This is about the best we can do for a picture at dusk ..... even with leaving work a few minutes after 5:00, it's getting pretty dark at the market. LFLF is missing the opening rush of customers now, but the people that are buying seem to be stocking up! Apples, cabbages, squashes, potatoes, carrots, leeks .... all seen going out in big bundles and heavy bags! Here are some squash glamour shots ...... 1/2 bushel baskets of mixed winter squashes and some neat info on neck pumpkins.

Hurry to Market

Since the time change, it's "rush off to the Ambridge Farmers' Market" before dark on Thursday evening. Oak leaves were piled high in the middle aisleway of market today ---> swirling and blowing with the changing wind direction! We saw 2 women carting off huge bags of greens & cabbage .... they say it really cooks down. I sure hope so! Look at the pretty little Kuri squashes. Use them as you would any winter squash. And ..... finally, Pat the baker brought gingersnaps to market for the first time in a long while.

Attention Market Growers !!!!!!

Here's a great opportunity for the market growers out there ..... the 2009 Western Pennsylvania Vegetable & Berry Growers Seminar. Pre-registration deadline is November 11th. This year the program looks like a great one for farmers interested in specialty crops for markets. There's also a heavy feature on blueberries in the berry session. The afternoon business & marketing session (my favorite part from past years) focuses on the "Local Foods Movement" and has speakers from the Big Burrito Restaurant Group ....., East End Food Co-op ....., & Penn's Corner Farm Alliance. If you are a grower, you can't afford to miss this opportunity to speak with an executive chef and general managers about opportunities for your produce!
Here's another tip from folks who've attended in years past ..... take 2 people from your farm and split up. Some will need to take the crops credit sessions and having a partner means your farm won't miss out on the marketing sessions or berry sessions. Just do it!
While checking out the seminar, LFLF found it advertised in
FreshPlaza. This is a fantastic source for local & global fresh produce news. You can sign up for a daily email. Lots of interesting topics relating to all aspects of the industry ...... I used to recieve this when I worked in ag education at PSCE.

Wind & Rain

Wind & "sideways" rain were featured today at the Beaver Farmers' Market. Gusts of wind had all of the farmers holding on to their tents and tables. Tablecloths and displays were flapping & everyone was wearing some sort of slicker or poncho. LFLF picked up 10 mini pumpkins for 10 cents each (!), apple cider, onions, Yukon Gold potatoes, "Buffalo Chip" cookies, and mini decorative ears of corn. No browsing today ..... folks just ran in, grabbed what they needed, and ran back to their cars ..... just like we did before snapping this pic!

UPDATE ON MARKET HOURS FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON:

Beaver Falls will open at 2:30pm on Mondays. The final market is 11/23.

Ambridge will open at 3pm on Thursdays. Note that the final market will be Tuesday 11/24, just before Thanksgiving Day.

Beaver will remain open on Saturdays from 10am to 1pm. The final market will be December 19th! Christmas greens, wreaths, & swags will be available at the Beaver Farmers' Market.