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    Don’t know how to cook your new veggies? Google recipes for Market veggies. Then share your cooking experiences, and find new ones, on our Market Community Food Blog!

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    Market NOW Open - Mar. 16, 2015 - Welcome Valued Customers!



    Eckerd College students visited Nathan’s Natural Veggies in February to donate 80 hours of garden work. Nathan was delirious and his garden jumped for joy!

    Ready To Order?

    sign in & shop now
    FIRST TIME CUSTOMERS You are invited to watch our Market Tutorial before you begin. If you do not receive an email confirmation immediately after you order, then you did not click the SUBMIT ORDER button and we did not receive an order from you. Call your Market Manager for help.

    DIRECT ORDER Begins March 30th

    We are going to try something that will make it possible for you to order larger plants in bigger pots. We have not been able to manage these within our current deliveries on Fridays. Debra Black of Mrs. Chippy’s Plant World is the first Grower to experiment with what we are calling “Direct Order”. If it catches on… who knows? Here’s how it all works! Whenever you order an item that is labelled as a “DIRECT ORDER”, the Grower (initially, Debra) will take responsibility for delivering that item to you at a convenient pre-arranged time, separate from your normal SPLG Friday delivery. The price of the plant includes the Grower’s delivery fee AND you will pay for the plant(s) just as you always have, included with your regular order from us. The only difference is that you will receive an email from the Grower after Market close on Wednesday to schedule convenient delivery of your plant(s). Questions? Please call your Market Manager at 727-515-9469. We are grateful to Debra for having such a passion for selling the larger, more developed plants which will assist our customers in building beautiful edible food forests.

    Message from Your Market Manager

    WILL YOU ANSWER THE CALL?
    If you missed my volunteer recruitment post earlier this week, please scroll to the bottom of this link and read. Please consider that our wonderful little group could be just the uplifting experience you’ve been seeking.

    GROWER PRODUCT NEWS

    • From SPLG Market Organics, a $1 per pound offer of small organic red potatoes that came in for last Market. They have just barely begun to hint at some “eye” activity. Not much—mind you, but enough to want them out the door, cooked into wonderful potato salads, and chilled in your refrigerator for savory enjoyment!
    • This week we welcome St. Petersburg based Coquina Key Bee Sanctuary to our Market. Their “Save the Bees” combo pack with two beeswax lotion bars, bee-friendly flower seeds, and a complimentary honey sample debuts today! Just search the market for “Save the Bees”. BE SURE to visit their Grower page link to find out more about getting your own bees or simply providing space for them to produce honey on your property.
    • Faithful Farm has more romaine lettuce than they know what to do with this week! Take advantage of a 3-fer offer of 3 heads for just $6.45. No “fuzzy math” here! Check out their flat leaf spinach 2-pounders too.
    • Sunset Ranch formerly sold delicious ground lamb on our Market. This week Jim Kuntzelman is offering us new products from fresh ground pork. Our Market is introducing Mild Italian and Hot Italian sausages along with Coarse Ground Bratwurst made locally in Sarasota using Jim’s pastured pigs. Read all about Jim’s new venture on Sunset Ranch’s Grower page.
    • Nathan’s Natural Veggies is offering new vegetable seedlings for your spring planting, including callaloo and Seminole pumpkin squash. Just search the market for “Seedlings”.
    • Pioneer Settlement Garden offers celery stalks on our Market that will convince you that you’ve NEVER tasted real celery before. Try it before the season is gone. Even the color of the stalks are different than you’re used to. It is rare to find this grown locally. Ray has Strawberry seedlings too!

    THIS WEEK’S FRUIT
    Medjool dates, papayas, cripps apples with a flourescent pink skin, and kiwis. Due to low fruit sales last Market, we cut back this week.

    WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST CUSTOMERS
    Once you have submitted your order, if in doubt about what you owe, you can always confirm what you have been charged for by checking your account history and viewing your most current invoice. Instructions on how to do that are on our Q&A page under the question entitled Since you don’t provide an invoice with delivery, how do I know what I owe? Also, since your vegetables are picked fresh within 24 hours of delivery, they should be lasting for WEEKS in your refrigerator. When you accept delivery, please take a few minutes to inspect your order to protect your vegetables from unnecessary spoilage. Lastly, it is imperative that you understand our policy on Unclaimed Orders found on our Q&A page. When you make a purchase you are agreeing to abide by this policy.

    SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
    Our Market has high standards for what it sells. Despite that—as seasons transition—the challenges of evolving weather and pesky insects can take its toll on the crops. Market Growers are being very selective about what they are willing to present to you. No, it won’t always be picture perfect (which is part of its charm) and sometimes an insect is going to evade capture! But we won’t send you anything that we wouldn’t eat ourselves. If for any reason we have goofed and you are dissatisfied, please report it to me right away so we can rectify the situation. That’s how we get better and we all benefit from that. Your satisfaction is key to our success as a resource for St. Petersburgs’ lovers of chemical-free, organically & locally grown vegetables.

    Upcoming Events

    All these and more are posted on our Calendar of Events

    WORKSHOPS & EVENTS

    • REAL DIRT: Make Your Own” on Mar. 21st, 1-3PM Cost $35/$25. RSVP NOW
    • “Monthly Potluck Social”, Mar. 28th, Nathan’s Garden Tour Begins at 5:30PM for active Market customers, growers, and volunteers. BY Whoozin.com e-vite ONLY. Our Speaker is valued Market customer and local non-profit Executive Director Barbara Rhode, founder of a locally acclaimed program called The Red Tent Women’s Initiative. This important program has served more than 450 women since its inception in 2012. Barbara’s talk will focus on factors that prevent these women from reconnecting with community and become fully functioning members of society again. She will help us understand why it is so critical and what steps we can all take to combat our culture’s rampant “fear factor” mentality in support of community building that promotes inclusion and acceptance.
    • “Food Security Conference: Focus on Production & Sustainability”, April 24th-25th, Eckerd College Campus. Free to the public but registration is required. SPLG Market Manager will participate as a panelist to question presenters and then participate in making new policy recommendations. YOU TOO CAN PARTICIPATE! Just sign up.

    Volunteer Opportunities

    We are currently organizing our volunteer needs by Grower and by Market. So when you are interested in learning how to garden and/or how to run an urban market—including a model for great delivery service for the Market—consider volunteering for the organizations below. Check back for more Growers to be listed and don’t miss the link below to a (Goat) Nanny Program.
    Nathan’s Natural Veggies in St. Pete
    Pioneer Settlement Garden in St. Pete
    St. Pete Locally Grown Market in St. Pete
    The Dancing Goat in Oldsmar
    Alexandra Lake Farm in Dade City

    We thank you for your interest and support of our efforts to bring you the healthiest, the freshest and the most delicious locally-produced foods possible!