Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Tomato Day in Carrboro

Carrboro Farmer' Market Hosts Annual Tomato Tasting Event – TOMATO DAY on Saturday July 13th!

Shoppers can sample a selection of the over 70 varieties of tomatoes at Market as well as tomato dishes from Acme and Pazzo!, and local businesses pitch in more than 35 prizes for a town-wide raffle in the week leading up to the event!

Saturday, July 13th, Event starts 8:30 a.m.

Carrboro, NC – Seasonal eaters, gardeners, chefs, and farmers alike wait impatiently for the first ripe tomato of the season, and that time has finally arrived! The Carrboro Farmers’ Market offers the largest variety and abundance of local tomatoes in the Triangle, and the arrival of tomato season calls for the Market’s biggest annual celebration and tasting event, Tomato Day - scheduled for Saturday, July 13th!  Last year over 5,000 eager tomato lovers flocked to this celebration, some even donning tomato-themed accessories and full costumes to celebrate the tasty goodness of local tomatoes.  Tomato Day is the same weekend as ACME Restaurant’s highly anticipated 11th Annual Tomato Festival, making it a weekend of tomato goodness for the local community!

On Saturday, July 13th, starting at 8:30am, the Market’s volunteer team will serve up an assortment of sliced tomato samples selected from over 70 different tomato varieties. Shoppers can experience the taste of local favorites like Sungolds, Romas, and Big Beefs, alongside truly unique varieties like Nebraska Wedding, Green Zebra, Black Krim, Lady Bug, Lemon Boy, and San Marzano - many of which can only be found at the Carrboro Farmers’ Market. The fresh slices will be paired alongside local breads, fresh cheeses and special tomato themed dishes prepared by Chef Kevin Callaghan of ACME and Seth Kingsbury of Pazzo! The Market will be calling on customers to tell us what they love best about local tomatoes; after sampling, shoppers will have a chance to share what word best describes their tomato tasting experience.

This year’s event will also include a town-wide raffle with over 35 awesome prizes from local businesses! The Market encourages shoppers to stop by participating local businesses July 7th through 12th and pick up free raffle tickets for chances to win prizes including dinner at Lantern Restaurant, a camping getaway courtesy of Townsend Bertram & Company, a $75 gift certificate to Back Alley Bikes, appetizers from Elaine’s on Franklin, dinner at the Spotted Dog, gift certificates from the Clean Machine, and much more! Other participating businesses include The Arts Center, Auto Logic, Balloons & Tunes, Beer Study, Carrboro Coffee Roasters, Carrburritos, Club Nova, NC Crafts Gallery, Neal’s Deli, Provence, Open Eye Café, Sandwhich, Tyler’s Taproom, Venable, Vespertine, Vimala’s Curryblossom Café, and more.  Raffle tickets should be turned in at Market on Tomato Day, and shoppers get extra tickets for every purchase at Market that day!

“Nothing says summer like a ripe juicy tomato,” says Market Assistant Manager Margaret Krome-Lukens. “Tomato Day is such a fun way to celebrate summertime, delicious food, and most importantly the wonderful community we’re lucky to share with each other.  We love the community’s enthusiasm for Tomato Day each year, and we can’t wait to see everyone out shopping locally and tasting fresh tomatoes this July!”

Additional festivities include live music by Craig Thompson, face painting, a photo display from Kidzu Children’s Museum recapping April’s Tomato Seedling Giveaway, recipes and more! Tomato Day takes place at Market from 8:30am-Noon on Saturday, July 13th. Tastings will be offered while supplies last.

Printing for Tomato Day is generously donated by the Market’s Big Beef Sponsor, Laser Image Printing and Marketing! www.laserimagenc.com

In other Market News, we are delighted to announce that UNC Health Care has renewed their Healthy Food Incentives Sponsorship that enables the Carrboro Farmers’ Market to match the first $5 of customers’ EBT, WIC, and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program Benefits.  The Market looks forward to continuing and expanding this exciting program, and thanks UNC Health Care for making healthy food incentives possible at Market!

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Homeschool Days

Last Wednesday was our first ever homeschool day.  Izabella and her mother came out to the farm to learn about weeds and what they tell us about a piece of land, its health and history.  They also learned, and taught me, some things about what some weeds are good for.  We learned why weeding is so important and even found some time to paint the chicken tractor.



Please come join us on Wednesdays, June 26, July 10 and July 17  
(note that we do not meet on July 3).  You do not need to be a homeschooler to join us, but this is a parent and child experience for children of all ages so do plan to stick around and learn something too.  Participation is free.  Please contact me (mmueller@emersonwaldorf.org) so that I know how many people to expect.  Next week we will be learning about insects and the roles they play in the garden.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Egg Tax!

Look who we caught in the hen house.  Twice now!  Both times she spit out an egg halfway in her mouth.  In spite of losing an egg or two, we are glad to see her around because she is certain to be eating some of the many mice who have been chowing on the chicken feed over the winter and on into the spring.  

Friday, June 7, 2013

Online Farmer's Market

A new idea is coming to our area.  At Durham.LocallyGrown.net, you can look up what produce, meats, dairy and other products are available, prepay by Tuesday, and pick up on Thursday.  The market is easy to use because you can shop at home and know what you are getting ahead of time.  On pick up day you are prepaid and just have to swing by and get your box.  Growers are local and list their farming practice (certified organic, no pesticides, conventional, etc.) on the growers page.  Give them a try and let me know what you think!

Sunday, June 2, 2013

Do you like tomatoes? Check this out...

Fourth Annual Great Tomato Festival, Saturday July 20th, 2013

Family fun, Farm tours, Musicians, tomato cooking contest, Taste 40+ tomato varieties

8 AM – Noon at University Farm at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University

  • Short seminars with expert advice on which varieties to plant
  • Information on caring for tomatoes in the garden.
  • Great ways to cook tomatoes. 
  • Tours of University Farm research plots.
  • Activities for children. 

Admission: $5 per person
Children under 10 and tomato cook-off entrants FREE.

Click here, then scroll down to the bottom of the list for a map of the farm location.  NCAT&T is located in Greensboro.