Tennessee Farmers Markets Offer Fresh Food in a Safe Way

Nashville, TN – Tennessee Department of Agriculture says Farmers Markets are opening across Tennessee and offering fresh, local food.

Whether you’re looking for meat, produce, or artisan products, a farmers market near you provides easy access to local, quality products. Shopping at farmers markets also serves as one of the best ways to keep your money in your community.

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Tennessee Department of Agriculture says more and more Farmers Markets accept SNAP

Tennessee Department of Agriculture

Nashville, TN – Tennessee Department of Agriculture says in Tennessee, a growing number of farmers markets are putting more dollars into farmers’ pockets while helping hungry people maximize their access to fresh food.

Forty of Tennessee’s farmers markets now work with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the federal government’s primary anti-hunger program.

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Farmers Markets Bridge Rural and Urban Communities to Help Both Grow

Tennessee Department of Agriculture

Nashville, TN – Tennessee’s farmers markets create an economic and social bridge between the state’s rural communities and its major population centers. There are many ways for you to celebrate this vital role during National Farmers Market Week August 5th-11th, 2018.

With 168 farmers markets listed on the Pick Tennessee website and mobile app, it is easy to find fresh foods and goods near you.

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Tennessee Department of Agriculture gives “Berry” Good Tips for Fresh Fruit Now, Freezer Fruit Later

Tennessee Department of Agriculture

Nashville, TN –  The Tennessee Department of Agriculture says that now through August is prime fruit picking time in Tennessee. Blueberries are already available at many farms and farmers markets, beginning a summer-long parade of fruits. Expect varieties of raspberries, blackberries, and peaches in the coming weeks.

Even apples, which are mostly associated with autumn, have early varieties that will be ready to harvest by mid-August.

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Summer Heat Jumpstarts Tennessee’s Growing Season

Nashville, TN – Tennessee’s wet and muddy spring quickly gave way to a hot and sunny summer. For the state’s farmers and for the customers who wait anxiously for seasonal you-pick farms and farmers markets to open, the race is on to fill buckets, market booths, pantries and home freezers with local produce.

Fruits in particular have relatively brief growing seasons, and the recent turn in the weather caused blueberry and blackberry crops to ripen rapidly. Early peaches are available at some Tennessee orchards.

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Hold Your Horseradishes, Wait To Plant Garden Until Frost Threat Passes

Nashville, TN – Go ahead and plan your best garden ever. You should even go out to the local farmers market or greenhouse and bring home those gorgeous tomato plants, seedling herbs, peppers and all the rest. Just please don’t plant them, yet.

Mark Twain may have been talking about Tennessee when he said, “If you don’t like the weather here, wait a minute.”

The current weather trend is a perfect example, with balmy mid-70’s days followed by stormy cold fronts with freezing temperatures at night.

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Tennessee Strawberries Prepare To Take Cover

Nashville, TN – Tennessee’s much anticipated strawberry crop will be ready for picking in the next two or three weeks. However, between now and harvest, if current forecasts hold, those berries may have to “take cover” several times to avoid frost damage.

Tennessee weather is predictably unpredictable. It may be spring, but Tennessee typically experiences a few more winter-like periods—called blackberry winter and dogwood winter—before the average late April last-freeze date has passed.

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