Peterson Farm

Greetings,

It has sure been a hot day at 94 degrees here. I have been out raking and baling hay. No, we don’t have a tractor with an air-conditioned cab. So we get the heat and dust but also the sweet smell of freshly cured hay!

We are hoping for rain since it is really getting dry. Our gardens are producing less because of low moisture. And we would soon have fall greens with a good rain. But that is all a part of the farming experience.

We lost one of our farmer neighbors this week. He was run over by a farm tractor while hauling up hay.He was only 53 years old. While the news was certainly a shock to us a statement in his obituary was even more shocking. It stated he was “only a farmer.” I don’t know who wrote that and maybe it was a mistake but I am afraid there are many in our society that don’t realize if it were not for farmers there would be no food. Someone has said one of the problems with American society is we have never been really hungry. That’s probably worth pondering. If we don’t value what someone does then we are not willing to pay much for what they produce.

In our last news letter we introduced our local organic shiitake mushrooms. Several of you have already bought some. The health and nutritional benefits benefits of shiitakes is well documented and those grown on natural hardwood logs, like ours, have higher levels of beneficial compounds than those grown on other materials. Some of the compounds aid in digestion, lower cholesterol, are anti-aging, suppress cancer tumors, and boost the immune system. With all the talk about the possibility of an influenza outbreak consuming shiitakes might be a way to bolster our immune system against that and other viruses.

Beginning this week, we are having a 10% off sale on all beef and chicken products. We know you like sales so we hope you will take advantage of this offer.

We continue to have a few dozen fresh free-range farm eggs. The early bird gets the worm on these so to speak. More will be available when our new pullets begin to lay.

Vegetable items include squash, field peas, purple hull crowder peas, red crowder peas, green beans, okra, about five types of heirloom tomatoes (including romas), eggplant, peppers, onions, potatoes, basil and arugula. Not all items are always available during the week but we try to have some of everything on Saturday.

Market hours are Tuesday through Friday (9:00 until 3:00) and Saturday (8:00 until 4:00). We are at the Piedmont Triad Farmers Market, Farmer’s area #2, booth 74.

Bring your shopping baskets and meet us at the market!