Crabtree Farms Fall Plant Sale And Festival Is Sept. 9-10

  • Monday, August 29, 2016
The Crabtree Farms Fall Plant Sale and Festival is set for Sept. 9-10
The Crabtree Farms Fall Plant Sale and Festival is set for Sept. 9-10

Crabtree Farms fall plant sale and festival celebrates the abundance fall and winter gardens can provide.  The sale takes place Saturday, Sept. 10, from 9 a.m-4 p.m. with a member’s preview sale on Friday, Sep.t 9.  

The event provides garden enthusiasts with an opportunity to purchase vegetable, fruit, herb and flower starts for the fall planting season.   

The sale is coupled with a series of workshops focusing on fall gardening techniques, vegetable fermentation and hand crafted beauty products.  Local vendors specializing in mushrooms, herbs, hand crafted garden décor, handmade beauty products, apples, and fermented foods will be present to share their wares and expertise.  

For those who enjoy music, the Tin Cup Ratters, Chattanooga Folk School and Just Us Gals will showcase their talent throughout the day. 

Workshop Schedule:
11 a.m. - Fermentation Demonstration with Harvest Roots Farm & Ferment
12 p.m. - Fall Gardening Tips with Sara McIntyre of Crabtree Farms
1 p.m. - Making Vinegars and Shrubs with Jane Mauldin of Wheelers Orchard & Vineyard
2 p.m. - Herbal Health & Body Products with Ali Banks 

Live Music:
10 a.m. - Tin Cup Rattlers
11:30 a.m. - Laura Walker & the Chattanooga Folk School
1 p.m. - Just Us Gals 

Vendors:
Garden Chick, repurposed garden decor
2 Angels Mushroom Farm, mushrooms and logs
Down to Earth, herbs and plants
Fireside Botanicals, health and beauty products 
Wheelers Orchard & Vineyard, apple products and pottery
Harvest Roots Farm & Ferment, fermented foods and kombucha
Master Gardeners of Hamilton County, information
Blue Indian Kombucha, kombucha by the cup and growler 

Vegetable Gardening Year Round
Gardens are meant to be tended year-round.  Soil microbes, the building blocks for soil, have short lifespans.  When stalks are pulled from the soil at the end of summer, the garden becomes barren and the food cycles which feed garden microbes disappear.  The garden’s soil is left exposed to wind blasts and rain which wash away nutrients.  When sprouts and seeds are planted in the spring, it can take several weeks to recolonize the microbes, slowing plant growth and exposing plants to disease and predators. 

Gardens tended throughout the year have higher levels of nutrients, because the soil microbes are fed, watered, and sheltered by winter hearty plants.  These microbes provide plants with increased levels of nutrition and protection from disease.  The plants in return reward their tenders with tasty seasonal delights such as fresh flavorful cabbage, lettuce, chard, beets, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts. 

For the gardener, a year-round garden reduces garden chores and enables the gardener to build a closer relationship with ecosystems within their garden.  Gardeners have the opportunity to delight in hidden surprises such as unearthing a hibernating insect or watching a warm patch of soil exhale steam into frosty air.  Plants grow more slowly during cooler months enabling gardeners to dream about next spring and summer’s flavor combinations and creative blends for the production of essential oils or soaps.  The gardener also has more time to transform the fruits of late summer and early fall into ciders, sauces, and fermentations.  When spring rolls around summer treats such as sweet juicy tomatoes, refreshing melons and delicate summer squash have a head start. 

Crabtree Farms Recipe
Marie’s Sage and 3 Cheese Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
Serves 6 – 8
Prep: 20 minutes plus 45 minutes for baking 

Ingredients
6 sweet potatoes, thinly sliced (about 3 pounds) 1/3 cup Asiago cheese, shredded
1/3 cup fresh sage (chopped) 1/3 cup Fontina cheese, shredded
6 cloves garlic, crushed 1/3 cup Pecorino cheese, shredded
1/2 cup heavy cream Pinch of ground white pepper
2 eggs beaten Pinch of salt 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Butter inside of a 4 quart baking dish.  Mix together eggs, heavy cream, salt and white pepper.  Arrange sweet potato slices on layer at a time inside the buttered dish.  Cover each layer with chopped sage, cheeses and egg mixture.  Repeat until all sweet potatoes are in the baking dish.  Cover with foil.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Remove foil.  Bake uncovered until cream thickens and the top is nicely browned.  The sweet potatoes should be cooked through and fork tender.


The Crabtree Farms Fall Plant Sale and Festival is set for Sept. 9-10
The Crabtree Farms Fall Plant Sale and Festival is set for Sept. 9-10
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