Last Sunday for the 4th, Davey and I were feeling a wee bit on the lazy side (we had celebrated his 30th birthday the day before with good food (STEAK!) and lots of good friends) so we decided it was a good day for a drive. We'd been meaning to get out and do some exploring of the area, to get more familiar with what's nearby, so we struck out towards Benton and the Ocoee river to see what we could see.
A few weeks ago at camp we tubed the Hiawassee (well, some of us tubed. I mostly got stuck on rocks in a raft. But it was still fun!) and I caught sight of something I had been wanting to check out ever since: a sign for the Delano Farm Market. I love me some farmer's markets and this was 15 minute from the house, so definitely worth checking out. DEFINITELY. When we turned at the sign, the very first thing I noticed was a road sign warning of horse and buggy crossings. What the hey? Turns out this little portion of Tennessee is Mennonite country, and the farm market is run by the Mennonites, selling the produce from their farm. The Farm market was closed on Sunday (naturally), so we decided to come back the next day (hooray for 3 day weekends!) and check it out.
This place has got to be one of the best farm markets I've ever been to. The produce is FRESH - as in, they just literally picked the crops, loaded the wagon and drove them up here 10 minutes ago kind of fresh. From the parking lot, the farm spreads out in this gorgeous panorama, and it's fascinating to watch all the horse drawn wagons and buggies go by as the Mennonites go about their daily business. It's so serene and simple. Davey and I just sat there and watched them working in their fields for about 20 minutes. But then it was time to get down to the business of shopping (heck yeah, baby). The market has about 8 different varieties of heirloom tomatoes, and the same for chiles and peppers. Tomatoes run 1.25 lb, bell peppers were .75 each, and the hot chiles were all 3 for a dollar. Cabbage was .40/lb, and some of the cabbages were bigger around than my head. They had red and white potatoes (8 lb basket for 4.00), all sorts of melons (which made me cry because the smell was divine and I couldn't have ANY!), eggplant, beets, beans, okra, squash, zuchinni, onions, garlic, sweet corn (3.50 a dozen), plums, peaches, and a few quarts of blackberries. I read in an article I found online that they have amazing strawberries in the spring (though I'm pretty happy with what we got from the Mayfield farm), but of course, those are out of season now. They also sell sorghum (no honey though, bummer), jams, jellies, soaps, etc.
I was also excited to see that they sell seeds that they have saved from the crops they grow - which means that they're local and proven for our area. I'll be trying those out next year.
I managed to get out of the market with only a sampling of some tomato varieties to try (since Davey and I have never really eaten anything but your status quo red tomato from the grocery store), potatoes and a few huge bell peppers. I plan on going back next week with a lot more spending money and pretty much going crazy up in there. Yeah.
If you want to visit the Delano Farm Market - take Highway 411 S past Etowah to Delano Rd. You'll see a sign for the Farm Market on your right. Turn at the sign and then turn right again on Needle Eye Ln. There's a one lane underpass at the train tracks, so watch for oncoming cars (or buggies!). The farm market is just on the other side of the tracks. They're open M -S 9am to 4pm, and only take cash. Also, they ask that people (women especially) dress respectfully. Mostly they don't want to see your boobs. Fair enough, I think.
Oh, and just a heads up: there is no electricity and so no air conditioning. And not a lot of deodorant-wearing. By either the Mennonites or a lot of their hippie-ish patrons. Just sayin'.
No comments:
Post a Comment