Planning for the 2012 Market

Hey all,

We have officially closed the PCFB Market for 2011 in order to prepare for the 2012 season. We are planning on reopening in early April, date yet to be set as it depends on growing conditions. However, we are likely shooting for the first Friday of the month. I will keep everyone posted as soon as we have a set dat.

In the meantime, we are definitely taking applications from vendors. In addition to produce vendors (direct growers only, no resellers, agents or brokers) we would love to see sustainable living products like rain barrels, hand made/carved items made from products grown by the artisan, beeswax and candlemaking, woven items from locally produced alpaca fiber or wool, etc. All "craft" type items must be in the spirit of farming or sustainable living and have a functional purpose to that end.

I would also love to have processed meat products to supplement our beef supply, such as rabbit, fish, poultry, etc. Anything to do with farming, gardening, livestock raising/handling, or getting the community involved in these in growing or producing their own food, pets, products etc. is where I would like to see the market trend.

In regard to produce, I especially would like to hear from growers who are able to produce crops through Summer and Fall. Traditionally Spring to Summer is a heavy production time, but with planning we can equalize the availability of products throughout the entire season. We have excellent growing conditions here, especially Fall, and we want to provide these products well into the season. I am also very interested in discussing unusual items, such as quail or duck eggs, game birds, etc.

Interested parties may contact me directly at tufty68@gmail.com to request info. Applications will be available in January.

Thanks all. Looking forward to another great year!

Shannon Davidson, PCFB Market Manager

Winter market opening

Well we have officially closed the PCFB Farmers Market for the season. However, a handful of our vendors will have items available for a few more weeks, and want to offer them to our dedicated customers.

If you are not yet receiving the Winter market emails, please email me and ask to be added to the list. We will be sending out weekly emails with available products, which you will order directly from each vendor, and then pick up all your items each Friday at the market lot from 4:30 - 5:00pm.

We will continue as long as we have products and as long as people keep ordering. Otherwise the regular market season will begin in April 2012.

Thanks everyone for making our first year a very successful one!

Shannon Davidson, PCFB Market Manager
678-429-8862
tufty68@gmail.com

Tuesday market closing date

As our produce wans from Summer and we transition in to Late/Summer/Fall planting, our farmers don't have quite the produce we need to run two markets.

As of this week we will be closing the Tuesday market until Fall, but our Friday market will remain open, as we have plenty of product to provide on a weekly basis until lour Fall harvest starts coming in.

So please join us each week in Dallas on Friday through November 18th, 3-7pm.

See you there!

We have moved our Hiram Location!

Hello all...

Well we have officially moved the Hiram market to the Dallas lot at 2515 Dallas Marietta Hwy. The market is at the intersection of Hwy.92/Hwy.120 across from Stars and Strikes.

 We are only 3 miles further North on 92. To get there from the Hiram location, just go North on 92, cross Hwy. 278, then Macland Rd., and the next intersection is where we'll be. The road sign says Charles Hardy Pkwy. You need to turn left through the intersection to access the driveway. You'll see us once you reach the intersection.

This will allow us to expand our vendor base and provide better parking. So please come out and join us from 3-7pm every Tuesday AND Friday in Dallas, and keep our Paulding farms in business. Remember, "No Farms, No Food!"

PCFB on Georgia Farm Monitor

Hello all...

The Georgia Farm Monitor aired our TV Spot this morning. They did  great job! Very nicely done. If you missed it, you can catch it at:

PCFB Farmers Market

Thanks everyone who participated. It was a fun day!

Shannon Davidson, PCFB Market Manager

PCFB on TV

Hello all...

Just a confirmation that this Friday, July 15th, the Georgia Farm Bureau will be out at the Farmers Market at our Dallas lot to film vendors and customers enjoying the market atmosphere. We want you there!

Those wanting to participate should be at the lot as close to 3:00 as possible. Filming will only last about an hour. Rain is expected, so bring rain gear, and be ready to hop in your cars if we get a downpour. Filming will resume after the rain passes through, so you are welcome to wait it out with us if we do get a rain delay.

The address is 2515 Marietta Hwy, Dallas, GA 30157. It is at the intersection of Hwy.92/Hwy.120 in Dallas, across from Stars and Strikes.

Also, we collect food for Helping Hands Food Pantry, and would appreciate any baked, dry or canned goods you can donate. But most importantly, we would love for our customers to share in the bounty of fresh produce available at the market. Our farmers have been so gracious in donating, and we'd like to feature that as an important part of our mission for community outreach.

Thanks everyone. Hope to see you Friday!

PCFB Summer Projects

Hello all...


Just an update on the market and some cool projects we are working on.

First, we are now accepting canned and dry goods, as well as fresh produce you can donate from the farmers market. These items will go to Helping Hands Food Pantry of Paulding County. This is part of our mission to reach out to all parts of our community, sharing the harvest with those who may not have access to real farm raised foods.

All donations are gratefully accepted at either PCFB Market at the PCFB booth.

Secondly, on Friday July 15th, the Georgia Farm Monitor will be out to film our farmers market! We want you and all your friends and family to join us there at 3:00pm. Filming will only take about an hour, so try to get there as close to 3:00 as possible.

This will be broadcast on RFDTV and other channels which carry the feed, and will likely be available on Youtube. Come be a star with us!

Don't forget when you come to the market to sign up at the PCFB booth to be on the market email list. This way the Market Manager can inform you each week what vendors will be attending and what they are bringing. We will also be giving away a $100 gift card at the end of our season to one lucky email list member, so feel free to sign in each week when you come!

Thanks everyone for all of your support. With your presence and participation in our market, our first season is shaping up to be a great success!

Enjoying the Farmers Market!

Hello all!

We are beginning to transition into Summer and our produce is as well. While we still have late Spring produce such as lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, onions and the like, we are beginning to see our early Summer produce at both markets, such as summer squash varieties, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, summer lettuces, peppers, etc.

We also have fresh frozen ground beef and whole hog sausage, raw goats milk and goat cheese, live garden and landscape plants, fresh cut flowers, fresh local honey, certified processed veggies, pickles, jams and jellies, baked goods, fresh baked whole wheat breads, farm fresh eggs, home made granola and corn bread and muffin mixes, iced coffee and raosted beans, boiled peanuts, shaved ice, and so much more!

Fresh corn, melons, field/cow peas, and other mid Summer produce are on the way, which will be followed by late Summer/Early Fall produce such as storage potatoes, sweet potatoes, winter squash, beans and peas, etc.

Our last harvest will occur in October and November when we will see lots of greens and root crops, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, onions, yum!

For a list of specific produce available each week at either market, I'd be happy to add you to our email list. Before each market day I send out a notification about what vendors will be in attendance, what they're bringing, any market activities or projects, and other important info.

We will also be giving away a $100 dollar gift card on November 19th. To qualify, just sign in each week at the market at the PCFB booth. You can sign in each week, and sign in at each market to increase your chances of winning.

To be added to the email list, send me an email at tufty68@gmail.com.

We look forward to seeing you there!

Shannon Davidson, PCFB Market Manager

Progress

Well we are entering our third week, and it has been a real challenge so far. We have had weather issues with wind, rain, and one market being the hottest day of the year, followed by the next market day being 30 degrees cooler! Gotta love Spring in Georgia...

Despite the weather issues, the market is starting to take shape. We are starting to see a crowd of regular faces, which is great! We have had good turnout at the last few market days, despite the stormy weather last week. Thanks to those brave souls who came out to support us anyway!

We are receiving applications or inquiries for additional vendors every day, and as we get closer to our early summer produce coming in, we are looking to bring in additional produce vendors.

Hopefully this coming week we will have a peach and apple grower join us, followed by farmers bringing peas, early okra, potatoes, squash, cucumbers, and of course the big ticket item, tomatoes! It will probably be a couple more weeks before we really start seeing the Summer produce coming in, so for now please do visit our farmers and grab up what we have left of our Spring plantings. We still have vendors with lettuce, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, radishes, etc.

If you are a home or hobby gardener and are pondering joining us, please do! We have vendors of all shapes and sizes. While we are pretty booked for non-produce vendors, we will always accept vendors with fresh locally grown produce!

Success!

Opening Day market goers

Well opening day at our Dallas Highway location was fantastic!

Even though we are still early in the season, we had good vendor turnout and a lot of community participation. So many people were excited to have this market available. I can't wait to see what the rest of the season brings!

Thank you to all my vendors for your faith and participation. Thank you to the Paulding County Farm Bureau for your incredible support.

Our very first customers, Vickie and Elaina!

And thank you to all of our visitors for taking time out of your busy day to meet our farmers, growers and producers.

We have a great season ahead of us!

Shannon Davidson, PCFB Market Manager

We now have 2 locations!

As of today the Paulding County Farm Bureau will be taking over management of the Hiram Evening Harvest Farmers Market. The Hiram market will be run under the umbrella of the PCFB Farmers Market, with a few other minor changes:

Opening day has been pushed back to Tuesday May 10th, 2011. Hours will be 2:00-3:00pm vendor setup, and 3:00-7:00pm market operations. We have also secured the Ben Hill Strickland Park for this year's market. This is going to be a fabulous venue!

All vendors who previously signed up for the Hiram market will be contacted to update information and payment.

We are also opening a new Dallas location at the intersection of Hwy. 92/Hwy. 120 in Dallas, in the empty lot across from Stars and Strikes. This is an incredible location that promises to bring in heavy consumer volume!

Opening day for this location is Friday May 6th, 2011. As with Hiram, the hours will be 2:00-3:00pm vendor setup, and 3:00-7:00p, market operations.

As an incentive to bring vendors to participate in both markets, there will only be a single fee of $25.00 charged to participate at both locations! We are absolutely open to bringing in more produce vendors (direct growers only, no reselling), but we need our vendors to contact us and submit their applications as soon as possible. Opening day is just around the corner and there is still a lot of organizing to do!

Vendor meetings:

Monday April 25th, at 5:00pm at the lot in Dallas for vendors planning to attend the Friday market.

Tuesday April 26th, at 6:00pm for our Hiram Vendors at Ben Hill Strickland Park.

It is important for vendors to attend so we can discuss the market layout. The more people in attendance the easier it will be for us to visualize and organize.

Please contact me for more information or questions.

Shannon Davidson, PCFB Market Manager
678-429-8862
tufty68@gmail.com

Getting It Together

Welcome to the blog site for the Paulding County Farm Bureau Farmers Market. This is a new venue for Paulding County that has been long in coming!

Farmers, producers and growers in Paulding and surrounding counties in Northwest Georgia are coming together to provide our community with the best in fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, preserves, jams and jellies, eggs, fresh bread, honey, and many other homemade and handmade products.

We are still in the organization stage as we near opening day on May 6th, 2011. We ask that you join us in making this a very successful venue for the Farm Bureau and our vendors by following us on Twitter and by following announcements posted to our blog site. You can do so by following any of the relative links listed throughout the right-hand sidebar.

Thanks for visiting. We look forward to seeing everyone on May 6th!

Shannon Davidson, PCFB Market Manager