Five on Friday - Earth Market, Upstate Farm Tour and GrowJourney

The Slow Food Earth Market has a new location! This community-run farmer's market was formerly at the Roper Mountain Science Center, but has found its new home at the Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery. Products for sale at the monthly market are local & seasonal, produced using sustainable methods, and are organically produced in natural environments to minimize environmental impact. Participants include BioWay Farm, Carolina Honeybees, Dahl Farm, Gibson Farms, Henson Farms, Timberock , Walker Century Farms and Forx Farm with their Gouda cheese. For more information on the market and vendors, please visit the Earth Market website.

If Forx Farm sounds familiar, it might be because they were featured here on Femme au Foyer during last year’s Upstate Farm Tour. This annual self-guided tour is organized by the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association (CFSA), a farmer-driven, membership-based non-profit organization that advocate for fair farm and food policies, build the systems family farms need to thrive, and educate communities about local & organic agriculture. Tickets/buttons are now on sale for the 2016 Upstate Farm Tour, which will take place June 18^th and 19^th. You can register on the day of for a cost of $35 per car at the first farm you visit, or you can register in person for $30 at the following locations: the Greenville Whole Foods, Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery and The Grain Loft. A few of the 22 participating farms are familiar from previous years, but there are also 6 new additions to interest veteran-tour-goers slong with the newbies. Sample itineraries and more on last year’s tour can be found in my articles Upstate Farm Tour part 1 and Upstate Farm Tour part 2, which were featured on the CFSA blog, the sweet potato.

While you are at the Swamp Rabbit Cafe picking up your Upstate Farm Tour button, make sure to grab a copy of the “Wild Plants on the Rabbit” brochure, your guide to the natural and exotic plants growing along the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Produced by the South Carolina Native Plant Society, the brochure has great pictures and short descriptions to help you identify the ferns, grasses, herbs, vines, trees and shrubs on the SRT.

The 30th Annual Greenville Greek Festival kicked off yesterday here in downtown Greenville. Thursday offered several dining options, while today marks the beginning of all the other activities including live music, traditional Greek Dancing, tours of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral, a plaka full of Greek goods, the children’s Carnival and traditional Greek Food and Pastries. A few posts on Greece to get you in the mood: Athens, Paros 1, Paros 2, Santorini, Antiparos and Dreams of Greece.

Finally, a local company is in the running for a 2016 FedEx small business grant. GrowJourney is a USDA-certified organic, heirloom Seeds of the Month Club that not only is a champion of organic farming in the Upstate, but also has supported local community and student gardens since day 1. It’s easy to vote, and you can vote once a day until June 13^th. For more on GrowJourney and Tyrant Farms, visit their website. Now go and vote! (And if the link below does not work on your browser, just click here to be taken to the FedEx small business grant voting!)