Pauline's Lucky Market Garden

 The dates for the Stetson Farmers Market this fall are as follows:  September 20, October 18 and November 15. The market hours are 10 am-2pm and the markets are held near the Commons building in the heart of the Stetson campus in downtown Deland We have participated in this market since it was begun! We also have a regular weekly space at the Artisan Alley Farmers Market which is held every Friday evening 6-9pm in Artisan Alley which runs between New York Ave and Georgia Ave in downtown Deland.

 A few years ago, we began making beauty berry syrup on our farm to give away at Christmas which led to making many more small batches which we are allowed to sell as a cottage food.    When we sample it at our farmers markets, folks are intrigued by its sweet and pleasant flavor! Of course everyone wants to try it when they see the real plant with berries next to it because so many of us have thought it couldn't be edible! You will never want to eat your French toast with anything else!

August is   almost over promising to end the   sweltering summer heat that restricts growing  greens and many of our favorite vegetables in Central Florida. There may not be much in the way of veggies at our farmers market table but I am getting out in our fields as much as I can every day to prepare my beds. I have learned how quickly the soil can dry out in September and then scorched sands  can lead to dune like seeding conditions (most unfavorable!) I have tried to rototil only when necessary and have quite a few beds covered with Sudan grass crops which can be pulled up  fairly easily and used for compost building  leaving behind a manageable bed for tiny seeds. The Sudan grass shades the soil and retains moisture while out competing some of the summer weeds I would rather not have to tangle with!

It's not even December yet but today we will be pulling row covers over many of our veggie beds to keep the greens from getting damaged as we expect temps to be at freezing tomorrow morning.  Yes we do get frosts in Central Florida especially inland most winters although most often in January and February.  We hate to lose a week of harvesting greens or anything for that matter!  We have found that using light weight row covers over our peas, letttuces and even kales makes a difference and prevents most of the leaf damage we would find by not doing anything.  When we see a forecast with temps 36 f or lower, on go the covers!

It's a busy week as we prepare to welcome the public for a brief visit 11:45-12:30 on Friday Nov  21,  as part of  the 2014  Volusia County Farm Tour.  This will be our third time participating and we are excited about this opportunity to give those who come a glimpse of our small farm lifesyle and how we operate our mini farm.  We are getting ready for a big crowd, setting up things we think our visitors might be interested in. For those who wish to buy our farm fresh veggies on site, we will have a tent with tables of  our seasonal specialty veggies (whatever is plentiful and ready for harvest) on sale.  This year we will also have jars of our very popular Beauty berry syrup a new cottage food that we began to make in our farm kitchen  this summer.  We enjoy sampling it out at our farmers markets. So many people recognize  the branches with their vibrant purple berry clusters that we display next to the jars of syrup and but are s...

Ever wonder what else the Artisan Alley Farmer’s Market has to offer besides Pauline’s fresh veggies? Check out the intern page to find out!   Read more !

Hey veggie eaters! Nicki here, youngest intern at Lucky Market Garden. Pauline asked Audrey, Allie, and me to tell y'all about anything we found interesting, so click on the Intern Adventures tab to read all about it!  Read more