Come to the Farmer's Market!

The Clemson University Student Organic Farm is a project that was founded in 2001 and currently occupies approximately 15 acres of the Calhoun Field Laboratory. The farm was certified organic in 2005, meaning there are no synthetic, or chemical pesticides and fertilizers applied to the fields. Crop production mainly comes from the farm bottoms in Calhoun Fields, but just a couple of miles up the road we have a "heirloom" vegetable garden located in the South Carolina Botanical Gardens. (NOTE: FYI heirloom- cultivar of a vegetable or fruit that is open-pollinated and is not grown widely for commercial purposes. Heirloom's often exhibits a distinctive characteristic such as superior flavor or unusual coloration).

Above is a local garden plot just minutes away from our organic farm in Clemson, South Carolina.

So far, my experience working on the farm has been an absolute blast. While waking up at 6:00 am and biking, or walking to work might sound outrageous to some people, I look forward to every morning and afternoon, especially on Wednesday's.

Every Wednesday is our "big day" on the farm, because every Wednesday is market day (pending on seasonality, of course). From 4:00-7:00 pm locals from the Clemson area come to eat, pick out, and buy their fresh produce for the week. Some of the available fresh produce items include:

Zucchini
Beans (several varieties)
Cucumbers
Heirloom Tomatoes (several varieties)
Summer Squash (several varieties)
Peaches/Nectarines
Sunflowers
Cushaw Squash
Kale
Okra
Onions
Melons (several varieties)
Clemson University Eggs (12 in a dozen)
Clemson University Bacon (original, and smoked pepper varieties)

These are just crops and other items that we have available for this summer. Once fall is here, and thankfully it is only right around the bend, we will have new produce items due to the change in season.

Even though I am looking forward to the fall, I must say that I have thoroughly enjoyed every fresh peach, nectarine, and slice of watermelon that we have had. I feel it is a blessing to be able to work in a field that supports not only a healthy diet for myself, but for hundreds of people in the Clemson area. I am looking very forward to my career in this industry, no matter where it takes me. So come on out to our market every Wednesday from 4:00-7:00 pm, there is tons of "good eats" to go around.

Link: Clemson University Student Organic Farm
http://www.clemson.edu/scg/sust/student_farm.html

Picture from: My personal photo collection