Blog Archives

August 28th, 2021 FArmers Market

8/26/2021

Thursday was National Dog Day and Tomball Farmers Market loves our fur babies patrons and we are proud of being a safe place for you to bring your beloved pets. We've seen all kinds of pets over the years including a snake and a parrot!! We are incredibly fortunate to have wonderful Dog food, treats & stress relief options at our market. They each provide unique healthy LOCAL options for your pets. K-9 Campus Café has been with us several years and offers dehydrated healthy treats for your pet. Doggy Moma has fresh made refrigerated dog food and frozen puppy treats for your baby. And Angie's Gardens has a section in their booth for stress relief options including CBD peanut butter for your pet. Stop by and visit with them and check out their healthy options this weekend. We loved seeing pictures of you with your pet at our market. Show off your fur babies on our social media pages and tag us!

Dog Day of Summer Contest:
In Honor of National Dog Day (which was Thursday) We are having a Contest!
Take a PHOTO with your fur baby while at Tomball Farmers Market and post it to any of our social media pages and tag us!

We will collect all eligible entries (Must be photo take August 28, 2021 of your fur baby at our market and you if they don't mind sharing the spotlight.) Next Weekend Sept 4th, 2021 we will draw 1 lucky Fur baby patron (and their human) who will win a goody bag live on our FB Live!

Instagram:@tfmmarketdays FB: Tomball Farmers Market or our FB page made for our patrons to interact with vendors and each other, FB Group: Tomball Farmers Market Online.

This will be the last weekend for produce from Theiss Family Farms so come get your watermelon and veggies from them this weekend. They will be back next season! Manzioni Bakery is back this weekend as is Rain Song Farms! YAY!!

Avila Flavor Experience will be showcasing his Steak and Potatoes this weekend! BEST Steak I have had in MONTHS! Hubby is now spoiled!

We have a couple vendors not in attendance this weekend:
J'Lynn Designs
Keanu's Cookies (will be back in October)
Miya's Munchies
Olivero Farms (Hopes to be back in October)
Steampunk Juice

Know where you food comes from more than ever eating local is important and healthier! Remember all our vendors make it, craft it and GROW it within 150 Miles of Tomball, TX! How cool is that?

We can't wait to serve you this weekend.
Tomball Farmers Market
Amanda Kelly- Market Manager

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5 Local Ways to Change our future

8/24/2021

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5 LOCAL WAYS TO CHANGE OUR FUTURE
Guest Post by Brandi McRill
www.TheFlourishingTimes.com
TOMBALL FARMERS MARKET BOARD PRESIDENT

A few weeks ago, I was able to attend the Southern Family Farmers & Food Systems Conference in San Marcos, TX. This is the third year the conference has come together under the collaboration between The Farm & Ranch Freedom Alliance, the Small Producers Initiative and the Council for Healthy Food Systems.

When I saw the programming, I was intrigued but I was on the fence about going.
But let me tell you- I’m SO glad I went.

My head is still swimming with information but I wanted to highlight a few things that I learned and provide you with some resources if you share the same interest!

5 Local Ways to Change Our Future

1. Children are the Seeds of our Future.

While this may seem obvious, changing our role within the food system starts at home with the foods we feed our family. Processed foods and sugar laden ingredients do more harm for our bodies than good.
Teaching children to eat whole, fresh ingredients builds brain powe r as they grow and results in adults who will eat a greater variety of fruits and vegetables.

I talk about some simple changes you can make today that will last a lifetime in this blog post.

Consider for a moment:

How do your children interact with their food?

Do they know that healthy vegetables are grown in nutrient rich soil? Or, do they think it is grown in the grocery store?

When children are able to connect directly to their food sources, magical things can happen. In my kids cooking classes, when I teach the children about veggies and how they need sunlight, water and nutrients like we do, something changes...they get EXCITED about cooking with them. I have charmed the pickiest of eaters to try something new and each one of them has walked away with a new veggie they like.

According to LifeLab.org, “studies show that garden-enhanced nutrition education is a profoundly engaging and effective way to establish healthy eating habits with youth. It is now well documented that, when children have a hand in growing food, their understanding of food and its relationship to their health increases.”

Does a garden seem like a HUGE task? I get it. Life is so, SO busy. And, time is precious.

Have you considered your local farmers? In lieu of your monthly produce bill, consider visiting the farmers market once a month. Look into joining a CSA or co-op. Connecting to the people who grow your food will inspire you (and your family) in a variety of ways while supporting your own health and wellness.

— KERRY JONES, RD

2. Soil Health is Wealth...and our Planet is Going Broke.

So, this is probably the most heartbreaking news of all.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, our soil degradation is proceeding at such a rate that the world may only have 60 harvests left.

Sixty.

Anyone else alarmed by that?

Science Direct QUOTE:

Soil degradation causes include agricultural, industrial, and commercial pollution; loss of arable land due to urban expansion, overgrazing, and unsustainable agricultural practices; and long-term climatic changes.

Healthy Soil is the foundation for healthy food.
Healthy food is the foundation for our health and wellness.

What are we going to do without healthy food?
While this all feels HEAVY, I recently watched the movie, Kiss the Ground and it helped bring the information together for me. I’ve learned that the smallest actions, when combined with the efforts of others, can yield MAJOR results.

We can, each, take simple steps like:

composting,
omitting the use of lawn chemicals,
improving our own soil through sustainable backyard gardening practices
and; supporting small, regenerative farms.

Kiss the Ground is one of 2 movies I would recommend that is a MUCH WATCH. My hope is that it brings you as much awareness as it has brought me.

Each of us has the power to make a difference in our community.
It just starts with taking one tiny step...and telling a few friends what you’ve learned!!

3. Why Shop & Think Local First

How many times have we heard the words ‘Buy Local. Eat Local. Shop small.’
When we buy from small businesses and local farmers, we know that our dollar is directly going into that business without the layers of corporate structure. We know we are supporting local families; and over time, their success becomes our success.

Buying from local business owners & local farmers makes us feel good emotionally as well as physically, doesn’t it?
When we make conscious efforts to keep money within our community, we are stimulating our local economy and strengthening the businesses that reside in our area. By shopping small, YOU help create and sustain jobs!!

Did you know that Buying Local is the best way to be environmentally friendly?
We hear a lot about reducing our carbon footprint. But don’t just think about the good you're doing by reducing emissions from shopping locally in your own neighborhood.

When you shop at the grocery store much of your food, especially meats and produce, may come from as far away as over 1,500 miles...and, often from other countries.

I challenge you to look at your PLU codes next time you are in the grocery store.
The day I bought a bell pepper that was grown in Israel probably changed me forever!

For more on PLU codes, check out my blog post on How to Help Local Farmers while Feeding your family, too!

4. Act Global

This is one area where I will be evolving. I am a HUGE advocate of my local community. I shop, eat and BREATHE local. The majority of the charities I donate to are within my community.

At the conference, a variety of communities converged, sharing commonalities along with individual challenges.

I often think of the ancestors that brought my people to America and I have been very proud of my family history. When my ancestors arrived in the latter part of the 1670, America had already seen close to 200 years of colonization.
Between the years 1492 to 1600, the population of indigenous Americans had seen a 90% decline. By 1691, it was reduced to a remaining population of 5%...

Indigenous Native America are greatly connected to their land, working WITH it for food, shelter and religious practices.

As I learned from Lyla June Johnson, one of the conference keynote speakers:

Many religions practiced in Euro-American culture, such as Christianity and Buddhism, are also geographically unrestricted. We see churches and temples spring up in every region because these religious activities do not involve particular sites on the earth, but rather have been reformed to be able to involve any site on earth.

While it seems that almost every culture holds endemic as well as cosmopolitan aspects, we see a great discrepancy in the degree of endemism between American culture and that of smaller place-specific indigenous societies around the world.

Native Americans farmed this land for a millennia prior to the arrival of the Explorers. They used natural waterways and the land structure to sustain their communities. Native Americans have been robbed of their land, their agricultural heritage and their spiritual safe havens through poor choices made by the American government time and time again.

To this day, America continues to betray their promise to the people who have already lost so much. I encourage you to look at Line 3 and the Winnemem Wintu Shasta Dam raise and consider the roulette game we are playing with our planet and our Native People.

Being a global citizen is really just about being part of the network of people out there fighting to keep our waters clean, our climate sustained and Mother Earth healthy.

5. Mushrooms May be the Solution.

Yep, you heard me.

So the good news is that mushrooms may hold the potential to not only heal our bodies but also heal our planet.

Mycelium is the vegetative part of fungus that creates a network of fine, white filament. It is an essential part of the Earth’s ecosystems, holding together soil structure and helping create new, fertile soil while removing industrial toxins.

(WOW! Say that again 3 times...)

QUOTE:

In forests, gardens, and deserts – mycelium colonies form dense mats that intertwine and merge with the roots of plants and trees, building symbiotic relationships with all species that grow in soil. Without mycelium, entire ecosystems would collapse.

https://www.incrediblemushrooms.com/mycelium-garden-soil.html

Paul Stamets, a leading mycologist, has identified 6 ways that mushrooms can save the world.

According to his research, mushrooms can:

Clean up oil spills.
Absorb Farm Pollution..
Fight off Diseases such as small pox and some flu strains.
Combat insects.
Re-Green the planet.
Create a sustainable fuel source.

The most important work of mycelium for our planet is that it builds new soil, provides adequate drainage and helps prevent soil erosion. (Are you sensing a pattern here…)

Another Netflix movie to check out is Fantastic Fungi. It digs deeper into the world of fungi and teaches of the power of this underground network that holds everything together, acting as a communication web buried beneath our feet.

So, there you have it, friends.

Five Simple Ways YOU can help save the planet in your community.

A journey of a million miles starts with one step.

Are you ready to take your first?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Brandi McRill is the owner of Flourishing Fern, LLC and a local food advocate. Her blog, The Flourishing Times, provides fresh ideas on how to use Food+Herbs+Alignment to help you live your most fulfilled life.
Brandi and her husband, Jack, founded the Farm to Kitchen Collective in July 2015 in an effort to bring fresh to the Cypress, TX and surrounding communities. Brandi advocates for our fresh water resources, youth in agriculture and connecting the community through the local farming community.

As an avid mushroom lover, Brandi has written a cookbook dedicated to this fantastic fungi that is free for download.

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August 21st, 2021 Tomball Farmers Market

8/18/2021

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Vendors NOT Attending this weekend.

Body Buzz Skincare
Buckets of Blooms
Flour House Bakery
Green Up Growers
Keanu's Cookies
Manzioni Bakery (will be back next weekend)
Olivero Farms
Rain Song Farms (Will be back next weekend)
Verdegreens (August is a hard month for lettuces)

As always we can't wait to serve you this weekend.
Tomball Farmers Market
Amanda Kelly, Market Manager

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August 14th, 2021 Tomball Farmers Market

8/4/2021

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This has been a busy but great week. Several vendors, members of our TFM Board, Vendor Committee & myself attended The Small Family Farmers & Food Systems Conference in San Marcos this week. We learned so much about ways to help small businesses and our local farmers grow and be better advocates for them.
We will be meeting to discuss everything we learned and will use this knowledge to continue to grow our community. We are nothing without you all and are grateful beyond belief to be able to continue to learn and grow our market and our community.

Here are the vendors who will not be attending this weekend:
Buckets of Blooms
Chocolates By Dalila
J'Lynn Designs
Keanu's Cookies
Manzioni's Italian Bakery
Olivero Farms
Rain Song Farms (will be out next weekend too)
Verdegreens

All our farmers have been busy getting their soil ready, replanting and cultivating their lands to bring you the freshest produce this fall. What do you do to prepare your yards for the fall? Don't know where to start? Our Master Gardeners from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension will be back this weekend to help answer your questions and turn your gardens beautiful and productive.

As always we can't wait to serve you!
Tomball Farmers Market
Amanda Kelly, Market Manager

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August 7, 2021 Tomball Farmers Market

8/4/2021

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This Friday starting at 5 PM
Tomball Celebrates
Tomball Night!
So Many Reasons
Tomball, TX
is the best kept
secret
in
Houston, TX

Then Saturday from 9 to 1, come out to our local farmers market & grab your seasonal local produce, meats & prepared foods our vendors have worked hard to make for you this week! We have everything you need to sizzle into August with healthy options for your family and some treats to go with it!
Come stock up as our local farmers have been working hard on their farms prepping their lands for the fall season and some will have limited quantities of fresh produce. They only grow and sell what comes from their ground locally. You never have to worry about where your produce & meats come from as all our farmers are local within 150 miles of Tomball.

This weekend we have a couple of vendors out and one new vendor interviewing with us! Sweet Caledonia will be serving up Scottish treats for your family to enjoy!

Vendors out this weekend:
Buckets of Blooms
Keanu's Cookies
Indulge Bakery
Manzioni's Bakery (still visiting family)
Olivero Farms
Verdegreens
Dulce Vida Treats Sorbet
Low Carb Bakery & Beyond

Next Week:
Rainsong Farms will be out for 2 weeks as he preps his gardens.

As always we can't wait to serve you this weekend!
Tomball Farmers Market
Amanda Kelly, Market Manager

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Lessons I wish I learned about eating local

8/4/2021

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I can't believe August is already here. It seems like yesterday we were just celebrating the New Years and putting 2020 behind us. As we roll in to August, the weather heats up and our local farmers start preparing their farms for the fall season. We are fortunate to live in an area where we get a "Third Season" of seasonal produce from our local farmers. It's one of the great things you can always look forward to when you come out to Tomball Farmers Market. Knowing where you food is coming from is so incredibly important. And all our farmers & producers grow it and make it all within 150 miles of Tomball, TX. We take great care to ensure that what our farmers are putting out on their tables for you weekly is locally grown for your families table.
As another school year gets ready to start this is a great time to develop and continue serving your family fresh local foods to set them up for success, build strong minds and bodies and allow mother nature to heal your bodies from within. We are also a safer option to grocery stores as less people are handling and preparing your food every week. True Farm to table eating for your family. Food you can feel good about putting on your table, inside and out. :)
My great-grandmother used to say, "Eat where you live, child and eat to live not live to eat". I never understood the first part of her statement until I was much older. She grew up in a rural area where her family and neighbors had to grow what they ate & they canned and "put up" the rest for the slow non-producing months. They couldn't go to the local grocery store for avocados can you imagine?? As I got older I forgot her lessons and now really wish I had paid more attention to her lessons she had to teach me. I like most of us went to the grocery store and bought everything there not knowing where it was sourced from and if I am being honest I wanted the convenience and didn't really think about it.
I slowly evolved though as my family and I started suffering from different health issues. I started only shopping the "outside isles of the grocery store" opting for healthier options over processed foods. I tried growing my own vegetables but knew nothing about seasons or the soil and my plants didn't produce enough in our small yard to feed us for even a summer. And I knew nothing about canning and the idea was overwhelming to me. But I kept hearing my great-grandmother in my ear and her voice has gotten louder and louder over the last two years or so. Now, we buy a lot of our food every two weeks from the farmers market. And my family and I feel better when we eat better and eat locally sourced foods. I also find we actually eat less than when we don't. Not to say I am great at it by any means but I try a little harder each month and don't beat myself up when I fall short. Trust me, my body and my husband's body let me know plenty when I am failing us.
So my challenge to you and to myself is buy one more thing from your local farmers market this week. Prep one more meal this week. Make it fun and involve the kids in meal prep and cooking. Not only will incredible memories be made but you will be teaching the next generation not to take for granted where our food comes from and be teaching them the importance of eating where your at. Though, I am definitely still buying avocados, I am not an animal! I need my guacamole.

Amanda Kelly, Market Manager

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August 28th, 2021 FArmers Market

5 Local Ways to Change our future

5 LOCAL WAYS TO CHANGE OUR FUTURE​Guest Post by Brandi McRill www.TheFlourishingTimes.com​TOMBALL FARMERS MARKET BOARD PRESIDENT​

August 21st, 2021 Tomball Farmers Market

August 14th, 2021 Tomball Farmers Market

August 7, 2021 Tomball Farmers Market

Lessons I wish I learned about eating local

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5 LOCAL WAYS TO CHANGE OUR FUTURE
Guest Post by Brandi McRill
www.TheFlourishingTimes.com
TOMBALL FARMERS MARKET BOARD PRESIDENT