Alton Yard Farms

12/31/2024

2025, is that you?

It feels like you're going to make 2024 hold your drink. As it should! After a year like this, the only thing certain about what's next is that it's coming in HOT 🔥

FYI. It's been SUCH an honor to grow with you and for you once again.

The recap. AYF...
*planted roots with the help of many volunteers, friends, and students 🌱
*made many plant babies with
*faced financial uncertainty 💸
*continued a beautiful lettuce program
*learned *a lot more* about land agreements🤔
*started veggie pickup
*endured displacement during peak harvest
*collabed with & co to bring Alton a damn tasty farm-to-table experience🤌
*continued microgreens
*attended ~90% of
*I personally enjoyed countless moments teaching individuals, families, and groups about the epic power of honoring our natural drive to work with the land.

None of it would be possible without your support!!!

I'm sending a warm and fuzzy THANK YOU from my quiet winter of writing, Alton 🙏

And wishing you a bright and beautiful New Year surrounded with reliable, authentic hearts 💚

🍃🍃🍃
Maggie

10/31/2024

📢📢📢

🌙 On Friday, November 8, Community Christian Church will be hosting a Sleep Out to raise awareness and funds for the Overnight Warming Locations. The Sleep Out is an experiential event that instructs participants on the silent issue of homelessness, elevates discussion among their circles of influence, and raises funds for OWLs to work with those experiencing homelessness.

➡️ You can sponsor Sleep Out participants with a donation here: bit.ly/OWLsleepout

🦉 The group's night IN the cold helps those experiencing homelessness come OUT of the cold this winter. Money raised by the Sleep Out event will support OWLs as we help to guide those experiencing homeless to the resources they need to get warm, get connected, and get well.

🖐 If you're interested in participating in the Sleep Out or hosting your own, please send us a message!

10/19/2024

That's a wrap. THANK YOU Alton Farmers' & Artisans' Market Alton Main Street x Ashley Luster Foxes-Boxes Honeycut Creek and so many more market friends who don't bother with socials 😘

10/16/2024

Your farmer girl is a writer and a premier painter, too. The vibe headed into the winter ✨️ See you 8-12 Saturday for the last Alton Farmers' & Artisans' Market of 2024!

10/05/2024

There's 3 chances left to come say hi before we shake our tail feathers at the season! To say this has been a wild one would ... be on brand. And I wouldn't have it any other way. Thank you, Alton 🙏

🍠Sweet potatoes & more will be available for pickup at Maeva's Coffee + Foxes-Boxes ... soon.

📋 Stuff about stuff next year: this winter.

😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘😘
Maggie 🪶

09/28/2024

Holding it down at . Beautiful fall weather is upon us! We have snacking peppers, watermelon, LETTUCE, MICROGREENS, tomatoes, eggplant, jalapeños, and swag!

Next up: Sweet potatoes 🍠🍠🍠🍠🍠🍠🍠

09/22/2024

Enjoy a delicious breakfast and grab garnishes for your week :) It makes sense!

09/21/2024

These sweeties are headed downtown 💚

🌱MICROGREENS🌱
$5/ea
Lettuce Mix or Mild Mix
8-12
SATURDAY
Alton Farmers' & Artisans' Market
Foxes-Boxes will also be stocked

Goods cc:
+Sweet basil, mint, sage, lavender, thyme
+Heirloom + grape tomatoes
+Snacking peppers
+Jalapeños
+T-shirts + stickers

Then head over to Mississippi Earthtones Festival 2024 at Alton Amphitheater from 12-10pm! I'll be on stage at 3 📢👩‍🌾💚

THANK 🐑

09/16/2024

Happy birthday to me! 🎉 (and these microgreens) 🎉

09/13/2024

📣📣This Saturday!!

09/10/2024

Microgreen mode 🔛 ETA 10 DAYS!

🌱Microgreens are an easy way to sneak supercharged nutrition into your diet. Harvesting at 8-14 days maturity means the plant is PACKED with minerals & antioxidants otherwise intended to grow a much larger plant.
🌱In this case I've seeded two organic mixes that, as regular lettuce/kale/broccoli etc. would take 35-60 days to mature. It's the difference between eating 1 cup or bowl of greens vs. 1/2 oz, sprinkled on top of your meal.
🌱Suggestion: Start with cruising for greens at your grocery stand of choice and try spending $5-$10 on what sounds agreeable to your palate. Many seed suppliers e.g. True Leaf Market have perfected pre-made seed mixes that range from mild to robust flavor. Many farmers' markets likely have at least one vendor slanging standards like salad mix, radish, pea shoots, and sunflower shoots.

Stay tuned for deets on how to get your hands on THESE microgreens being grown locally x organic-based practices! Get ready for me to gently, persistently encourage you to garnish every meal! Let's make garnishes great again! 😂💚👩‍🌾

Special thank you to Foxes-Boxes for providing the grow space 🙏 And to YOU, for supporting my goal of providing our community with access to healthy food stuff. It's good stuff.

09/05/2024

Fresh veg alert! The fridge, it is full Market at Milton.

09/04/2024

Rebuilding or building anew -- either way let's get it! Good morning Alton! I've spent the last few weeks planning and napping around what my feral, cozy crew has dubbed "the freak out farm", a stunning sanctuary a few hours from Alton that I'm also lucky to call my fall writers' retreat. It's away from busy roads and noise pollution. I often find baby deer and cardinal feathers during my walkabouts. Hell. Yes.

Truly this latest alignment is the sum of love, mercy, creativity, and hope, with a dash of mystery and a sprinkle of covid over the weekend. I'm OK! And I'm so grateful I can both safely continue to pursue the vision of serving up healthy food to our community, and to see serenity in the unorthodox. Here's the latest.

What is:
🌱The heart of AYF remains in its original location in Middletown as a mostly greens & herb farm, owned & operated x talented startup
🌱The garden at Market at Milton still serves fresh veg (harvest incoming) to the pick-up cooler in Maeva's + a landing pad for pollinator and education projects in 2025.
🌱The microgreens operation now overlaps in Alton and the freak out farm. So I'll have locally grown superfood for the last 6 weeks of market + a consistent source of retail microgreens in local shops through the winter.

What's next:
🧄Did you know? Some experts say supplementing your diet with garlic can increase your body's ability to get rid of toxins by up to 50%. I've been so busy clearing toxins that remaining with the garlic long enough to build a seed bank (2-3 years) wasn't tantamount to the demand. Ha. Ha. There are vampire jokes in here somewhere! Send them!
💭Since 2020 I've held the vision of being a garlic seed farmer. Pictured is one of 3 locations I'll plant out next month.
📆 2 of them are in Alton! I'll post an event inviting you to join in and learn how to do it yourself once I secure local seed.

WHAT IT DO:
Thank you. We couldn't do it without you! See you this Saturday 8-12 Alton Farmers' & Artisans' Market!

Virgo out 💚
Maggie

08/29/2024

It was a dream come true to see so many community-raised ingredients in the dinner x & co at FLOCK Food Truck Park & Bar Tuesday night! Every plate came with your choice of an alcohol/non-alcohol drink pairing e.g. this cucumber number that cooled us down during the all-local meatloaf with its pleasant kick. Shout out to the friendly, professional staff who tended to an even flow of service, lighthearted revelry, and adjustments to the climate, because yes, it was hot! Still, it was clear everyone present was happy to enjoy the moment for what it was: a gathering that both inspired new friendships, and a more rooted understanding that it simply serves us all to give a 2nd or 3rd or 4th thought to where the energy we choose to put in our bodies comes from.

Conclusion: Local tastes, and feels, waaaaaay better.

Congratulations on a successful farm-to-table experience to all the beautiful hearts involved in making it happen!
💚💚💚