Market Bulletin for October 8th

Gift sets are now available at the Downtown Tifton Farmers Market every Saturday through the end of the market season: October 29th.  We will also offer them after the farmers market season is over - simply email us (jessica@tonicpermaculture.com) or call (229) 382-0269.  Supplies may be limited; the Comfrey Cream alone takes two weeks to make.  So if you are thinking about a larger order, please let us know as soon as possible.  We will happily make sure that your order is filled in time. 

Local, Organic Japanese Eggplant

$2.50 per pound

Local, Organic Herbs

$1 per bundle

Locally Handcrafted Soap

$1 per ounce

Locally Handcrafted Spearmint Lip Balm

$5

Locally Handcrafted Comfrey Cream

$15  (It's Back!)

Hand-woven Grapevine Baskets from

Baskets and Bottoms ~ Tifton

$15 - $30

Market Bulletin for September 17th

 

Local, Organic Japanese Eggplant

 

$2.50 per pound

 

Local, Organic Sweet Banana and

 

Gypsy Peppers

 

$1.50 per pound

 

Local, Organic Herbs

$1 per bundle

Locally Handcrafted Lard Soap

$1 per ounce

Locally Handcrafted Spearmint Lip Balm

$5

Locally Handcrafted Organic Comfrey Cream

$15

 

Hand-woven Grapevine Baskets from

 

Baskets and Bottoms ~ Tifton

$15 - $30

Market Bulletin for August 27th

Local, Organic Herbs

$1 per bundle

Locally Handcrafted Lard Soap

$1 per ounce

Locally Handcrafted Spearmint Lip Balm

$5

Locally Handcrafted Organic Comfrey Cream

$15

Locally Made Organic Shiitake Mushroom Logs

The last two for the season! Get yours before it is gone.

$25

Hand-woven Grapevine Baskets from

 

Baskets and Bottoms ~ Tifton

$15 - $30

Market Bulletin for August 20

Local, Organic

Japanese Eggplant

$2.50 per pound

Local, Organic Okra

$5.00 per pound

Local, Organic Herbs

$1 per bundle

Locally Handcrafted Lard Soap

$1 per ounce

Locally Handcrafted Spearmint Lip Balm

$5

Locally Handcrafted Organic Comfrey Cream

$15

Locally Made Organic Shiitake Mushroom Logs

$25

Hand-woven Grapevine Baskets from 

Baskets and Bottoms ~ Tifton

$15 - $30

Market Bulletin for Saturday July 30th

It's Tripp's 38th Birthday!!  Come on down and support your local permies!


Local, Organic

Japanese Eggplant

$2.50 per pound

Local, Organic Herbs 

$1 per bundle

Local, Organic

Spring Onions

(very last bunches of the season!)

$2 per bundle

Local, Organic

Spaghetti Squash

$3 each

 Locally Handcrafted Lard Soap

$1 per ounce

Locally Handcrafted Spearmint Lip Balm

$5

Locally Handcrafted Organic Comfrey Cream

$15

Locally Made Organic Shiitake Mushroom Logs

$25

Handwoven Grapevine Baskets from 

Baskets and Bottoms ~ Tifton

$15 - $30

Mushroom Cultivation Workshop - Saturday, July 16, 4-6 pm.

In the shade of the old green barn at Tonic Permaculture we will cover four methods for cultivating gourmet and medicinal mushrooms.

1) Growing oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus spp.) in buckets on pasteurized wheat straw.

2) Growing shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) on oak logs - demonstration,  group participation.

3) Growing reishi mushrooms (Ganoderma lucidum, a medicinal varnished conk whose Chinese name Ling chi translates to "mushroom of immortality") on semi-buried softwood logs - demonstration, group participation, and speculation on running mycelium.

4) Growing lion's mane (Hericium spp., a wild-looking "toothed fungus" that tastes like lobster when cooked with butter and onions!) on large-diameter oak via the "totem method" - demonstration.

This is the first workshop of the series.  There is no formal charge for it, although donations to our on-going project are always appreciated.  Attendance at this first workshop will, however, grant you access to all future workshops at 75% of the advertised fee. 

No need to bring any supplies or tools; everything will be provided, although a notebook and camera might be useful.  Shiitake logs and oyster buckets will be for sale at the same price we list at the farmers market - $25 each.  Permaculture garden tour at 3:30 for anyone interested.  At 4:00 the workshop will get underway in the kitchen garden with a quick talk on growing oyster mushrooms on wheat straw, before we head to the barn for the other 3 segments.

Bring a cool drink with you as it is likely to be warm on a mid-July afternoon, even in full shade.  We should be done in time to make it home for dinner, or to join me for an icy margarita in town.;) 

Tonic Permaculture is located at the west end of Corrie Farm, 880 Zion Hope Road, Tifton, GA.  RSVP if you plan to attend.

Looking forward to it!
Tripp Tibbetts

Market Bulletin for Saturday June 25

Local, Organic

Heirloom Tomatoes

$4 per pound

 

Local, Organic

Red Russian Kale

$3 per bundle

Local, Organic Herbs and Lavender

$1 per bundle

Local, Organic

Spring Onions

$2 per bundle

Local, Organic

Spaghetti Squash (last offering this season!)

$3 each

 

Locally Handcrafted Lard Soap

$1 per ounce

 

Locally Handcrafted Organic Comfrey Cream

$15

Locally Made Organic Shiitake Mushroom Logs

$25

Locally Made Organic Oyster Mushroom Buckets

$25 pre-order

Handwoven Grapevine Baskets from 

Baskets and Bottoms ~ Tifton

$15 - $30

I love it when a plan comes together.

Summer '09, a very good friend of mine and organic gardener extraordinaire in Eastern Washington, toured my urban garden for the first and last time, plucking potato beetles from the leaves of my spuds and stomping them on the sidewalk.

"You don't want those guys hanging around," he said. 

"Why not?" I answered. "If we take on the role of predator ourselves, how will we ever get something else to do it for us? In other words, if there is no prey available, how will the predators establish themselves in my garden, and take the work load off of my shoulders?"

I think that was the first time his worldview had ever been challenged.

About a month ago I noticed that the top performing grape variety in my garden, which wasn't a muscadine or scuppernong just for the record, had a serious aphid infestation on the newer vines. A few years ago my reaction would have been to make a tomato spray, or break off the offending vines and take them as far away from my garden as I could. Sometimes I even put the aphid-infested vegetation in a black plastic bag, tied it tight, and left it in the sun.

But the new me resists those urges, and this time I said, no, I will let nature come up with a solution for these aphids. Tonight, a month later, when I toured the garden with my toddling son as dusk came on, I happened to notice that that grape vine was completely aphid-free! I stooped to inspect it more closely and there wasn't a single aphid to be found!

Red Guinea Wasps on the nest.  They pack a painful punch on anyone who dares to disturb their peace, but potato beetles are one of their favorite meals!  Don't rush to judge your helpers. (Photo courtesy of http://www.pbase.com/red_slough_wma/image/128764822)

And I didn't lift one finger to intervene.

If it matters, red guinea wasps are the potato beetle's main natural predator, and ladybugs are the aphid's primary, though certainly not only, hunter. I've left some "weeds" in my garden this season that I didn't particularly care for just because they seemed to be hosting ladybugs.  It's a hard lesson to take to heart, but the rewards are endless.

I could tell you a similar story about tent caterpillars on a few of my blueberries and pomegranates, but I'll save it for another time.

A reminder every time we come home.  Dump the hubris, and let Mother Nature do what she does best.

God I love it when a plan comes together...

Tripp

Market Bulletin for Saturday June 11

Local, Organically Grown

Ronde de Nice Zucchini or

Straight Neck Summer Squash

$1.50 per pound

Local, Organically Grown

Orange Fantasia Chard,

Tuscan or Red Russian Kale

$3 per bundle

Local, Organically Grown Herbs

$1 per bundle

Local, Organically Grown

Spring Onions

$2 per bundle

Local, Organically Grown

Spaghetti Squash

$3 each

 Local, Organically Grown Oyster Mushrooms

$10 per pound

Locally Handcrafted Lard Soap

$1 per ounce

Local, Organically Grown Lavender

$2 per bunch

Locally Handcrafted Spearmint Lip Balm

$5

Locally Handcrafted Organic Comfrey Cream

$15

Locally Made Organic Shiitake Mushroom Logs

$25

Locally Made Organic Oyster Mushroom Buckets

$25 pre-order  

Handwoven Grapevine Baskets from 

Baskets and Bottoms ~ Tifton

$15 - $30