Saturday Market Newsletter May 17, 2025

You can get your third week stamped on Saturday and drop your card in the gift basket drawing box. You still have three weeks in May to validate your entry. It's our way of saying thank you for fifteen years of support. Each month, we will draw one customer Passport Card for a gift basket from our vendors. 

Pick up your card at the Main Street tent and get a weekly stamp right there too.

When Susan and I started Possum Bottom Farms back in 2012 the goal was to make our 70-acre farm pay for itself or at least pay the taxes and upkeep. It would also hopefully serve Susan by giving me something to do as I eased into retirement, thereby not driving her crazy. Mushroom cultivation is challenging. In the beginning the failures were too numerous to count, but over time we learned to grow high quality mushrooms in commercial quantities consistently. When our production exceeded what we could sell in Chattanooga, we set our sights on middle Tennessee. The business grew beyond our wildest imagination. What started off as a "butter-n-egg" part time retirement business grew into us selling hundreds of pounds of mushrooms every week. That lead to us being recognized by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture as the largest gourmet mushroom farm in Tennessee! 

When you're a farmer’s market vendor, your customers become more than just customers. They become friends. It's that a little added something you just don't get at a grocery store. And it's the kind of thing you never want to see end. That's where we were in July of 2024 when Susan and I received the most devastating news of our lives. Susan was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive breast cancer called "Metaplastic Carcinoma." We knew immediately that we would need to put our entire focus on her treatment. That meant stepping back from Possum Bottom Farms entirely. Susan and I had started talking about retiring a couple of years ago, but we wanted to see our customers continue to have high quality gourmet mushrooms. So, shutting down our farm and walking away really wasn't an option. When we first started thinking about retiring, we approached Matt and Kelsey, the owners of Belle Fleur Organics, about buying our mushroom operation. They love our mushrooms; they love farm life, and they are a genuinely lovely couple. So, we talked some more. We offered to provide training, to help them set up to grow, and to provide ongoing consultation. And one of the side benefits of mushroom cultivation is organic compost, lots of compost, just the thing a thriving organic produce farm needs! They agreed. 

So, this spring Possum Bottom Farms (the business) was officially sold to Belle Fleur Organics! We've been working with them since last fall helping design the new mushroom facility on their farm in Bell Buckle. It should be at full production by mid-summer. Meanwhile, Susan and I wanted to take this opportunity to thank all the Murfreesboro mushroom lovers who have supported Possum Bottom Farms and local Tennessee agriculture! We enjoyed meeting all of you and wish you all happiness and success in everything you do! As for us, you'll see us at the market for a while, helping smooth out any wrinkles for Belle Fleur. After that, sometime later this summer, Susan and I hit the road to make some memories. So, come on out to the Murfreesboro Saturday Market on the Square and load up on some mushroomy goodness, now from Belle Fleur Organics! The torch has been passed!

When you are shopping at the Saturday Market, consider having lunch at one of these downtown eateries. With 15 restaurant choices, you can visit a favorite spot or try something new.