Welcome back to the Lakeland Downtown Farmers Curbmarket this Saturday, Sept. 2nd! We will be back with our normal operating hours of 8AM – 2PM so there is plenty of time to come and stock up for the holiday weekend; However, come early to avoid possible rain.
~~It sure doesn’t feel like fall, but we’ll be back for our fall season this Saturday. Though we’ve had lots of flooding rains here at the farm, it could have been much worse–our hearts go out to the people in Texas! We lost our first tiny tomato seedlings to heavy rains, but replanted and are protecting the little ones from rain under plastic cover until it is safe to plant in the ground. We also have seedlings coming up for Lacinato Kale, Heirloom Collards, Arugula, Mustards and more. The dormant green onions were divided and replanted and new crops of sweet potatoes, okra, tropical pumpkins, and yardlong beans were planted during this rainy August.
~~This week for the first market of the season we will be bringing Yardlong beans, Okra, Chinese Eggplant, Tropical pumpkins, Avocadoes, Passionfruit, Starfruit and more. I’ll be picking up a fresh supply of Java Planet Organic, Whole Bean Coffees and it will now be priced at $15/lb. Karen made a fresh supply of Seasonal Pesto, with moringa, basil, no cheese, Vegan–great on grilled meats & veggies–and Super Nutra Loaves, chocked full of seeds and nuts, [very little] organic cane syrup, also Vegan.
~~I’m excited to get back and visit with customers and fellow vendors…I need some really local Red Roof Farms honey and some Organic Virgin Coconut oil from Natural Vibes for Life, both so yummy and nutritious in our Java Planet Coffees (with raw water buffalo milk of course). After shopping in grocery stores for fresh veggies and salad greens (and many other items that are usually available at our market) I can’t wait to get some decent food–and can’t wait until it cools off enough to grow winter greens and other good stuff. I was especially appalled at the price of good bacon–even crappy bacon!! BJB Seafood and More has good bacon and seafood for a fraction of the price….There are lots of other vendors I could mention–and some new ones I don’t know yet, but I can’t imagine Amazon and Goggle delivering our food. In the future will our bodies just evolve (devolve) into a blob with a finger that pushes a button to get everything we ‘need’??!! Let’s keep local markets and communities alive; I want to meet people–and my food–face to face!
~~We have had three births of water buffaloes during August; unfortunately, one of the calves didn’t make it; but we just had two of them born last week. With no place to sell the milk during August we’ve been eating a lot of really yummy ice cream. I also made a loaf of my two ingredient kefir/sourdough bread and lots of creamy white butter–and Jon made some good cheeses and yogurt. We should have a good supply of raw water buffalo milk for the market, but please pre-order to guarantee that we don’t sell out. If you are interested in anything besides the milk please contact us a week ahead to see if we can provide it.
~~Raw Water Buffalo Milk & other ‘Pet Consumption’ 
products (ask us if you don’t know what this means): When milk is plentiful we’ll have good farmers cheeses, Kefir, buttermilk (best for cooking; the fluffiest pancakes ever!), unsalted creamy white butter, Whey http://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2014/05/36-ways-to-use-whey-and-5-ways-to-make-it/
and of course Raw Milk, which is regularly priced at $9/half gal. or $17/gal. It’s always helpful to pre-order the raw dairy products if possible (ecofarmfl@yahoo.com).
~~For our complete availability list (except for last minute items) check below.
~~Thanks for your support!!
See you at the Market Saturday 
Check this out from the Lakeland Downtown Farmers Curbmarket Newsletter:Text to Win!
Keep up with Market news via text message!
- Just to make it fun, we are running a weekly contest. Text Keyword CURB to 51660 to join our text program and enter to win $10 worth of Market Bucks, which can be spent with any Market vendor. Winners will be notified via text each Saturday.
- What happens if you don’t win the week you joined? No worries! You can try again week after week. Just text CURB to 51660 each week (Sunday–Friday), and you’ll be entered for that week’s drawing!
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~~We are always happy to take your used, clean plastic grocery bags (no garbage please) and green pint baskets that strawberries come in…Please remember to bring them to us this week…Thanks!
~~Raw Water Buffalo Milk sales: We normally sell milk in plastic half gallon containers @$9 and a convenient quart size plastic container for $5. If you would prefer quart or half gallon wide mouth glass containers there will be a $1& $2 deposit to cover the cost of the jars and you will need to let us know ahead of time by email. Kefir only comes in quart sized jars ($8 or $7 with a wide-mouth quart jar to trade). Butter comes in 8 oz. plastic containers for $8. Remember, this is for ‘Pet Consumption Only’ by Florida law. Your ‘Pet’ will be eating like royalty 🙂
~~We grow everything organically; all ‘chemicals’ are OMRI approved for Organic growers and our fertilizers consist of composted manures (buffalo and more) and fish emulsion. We are not Certified Organic as the cost and ongoing paperwork is prohibitive for ‘real’ farmers–and there are too many variances allowed for Corporate Organic farms.
Ecofarm is currently able to participate in only one market with super fresh, organically grown produce (not Certified) and other farm products for your convenience:
* Lakeland Downtown Farmers Curbmarket Saturdays 8AM-2PM all year except August. We are located on Kentucky Avenue in front of Crispers restaurant. Check out the market website at www.ldda.org/home/farmerscurbmarket.aspx
and sign-up for the market e-newsletter. Dogs, children and fun galore!
Note: We have been providing some of our produce to this market and will continue to increase our support whenever possible.
~~The Lakeland Downtown Farmers Curbmarket is now taking your EBT/SNAP cards; and you can double your dollars by purchasing Florida grown produce & honey!! There are about 25 of us selling honey, cane syrup, cottage industry foods, produce, breads, seeds, edible plants and more that qualifies for SNAP; and about six of us that can double your money with our produce, thanks to the Fresh from Florida program. The Market booth is set up at the south end of the market and they can explain the process and you can purchase tokens. Vendors participating in the program will have a sign in front of their booths. In addition, you can ride the bus free in Polk County to come to our market and participate in this program. Please pass the word!
Following are some of the products we may be bringing to the market this week:
Super-Nutra Loaf – Fresh weekly; full of seeds & nuts. New Supply this week!
Pesto! Various Seasonal ingredients – great for seafood, pasta, potatoes and more! New Supply
Florida Red-Bay leaves – use like other dried bay leaves in soups, beans, etc.
Tropical Pumpkins – have small to large sizes available again!
Fresh Rosemary – We usually bring a couple of small bags
Israeli basil – very heat & rain tolerant; tastes and smells wonderful!
Lemongrass culms/leaves – may be available most weeks
Okra – Good supply, but it goes fast
Mixed eggplants (Thai, Indian & Chinese) – very small supply of mainly Chinese eggplant this week
Avocadoes – Brogdon and Winter Mexican; preferred by those that like Haas
Passion fruit – mixed varieties, so refreshing –
Starfruit – should have some this Saturday
Yardlong Beans! – aka Chinese longbeans – beautiful and tasty in so many recipes
Homemade jams made with very little sugar (organic) – strawberry, strawberry/basil, peach & Fig
Pure Cane syrup – Yes! Give our own local, sustainable sweetness a try; not just for pancakes. Not always brought to the market
Luffa seed packets – not currently available
Luffa sponges – Check out the real thing–and no, they don’t come from the ocean!
Java Planet Coffees (whole bean, Organic, Fair Trade, Shade Grown & Bird Friendly!) Good Selection of single, blends, dark & medium roasts
Thanks for supporting local farmers, artists, musicians and craftspeople!
Debbie, Jon & Billy plus C.J. & Hayley–the kiddies that inspire us
Ecofarmers do it in the dirt!