Did your Grandma have a garden? If she was a Southern grandma, she may have raised Whippoorwill peas or knuckle-hull purple hulls. Those are two kinds of cowpeas, (the knuckle-hulls are a crowder) all similar but smaller than the standard black-eyed peas in the frozen section of the grocery store. Those varieties are considered “heirloom” now and can only be found at specialty or farmers markets – or even better, at the farmer’s barn.

Loganberry Heirloom Farm looks like the kind of garden your grandma would have had in her dreams. Bright sunflowers wave at the sun, zinnias and marigolds grow merrily alongside the rows of tomatoes and corn and a stone path leads to a bench in the shade of an old pear tree. Located between Helen and Dahlonega, Loganberry has been in the same family for five generations, since 1828. Sharon Mauldin, also known as “Organic Rose” runs the farm “naturally, biologically and ecologically.” She raises a number of heirlooms, some 20 different and beautiful tomato varieties, chard, beets, carrots, onions, squash, blueberries, figs and honey. On Farm Market days (most Saturdays from June through November) you can buy those, as well as free-range eggs, (sometimes free-range chickens) organic quinoa, organic olive oil, organic vinegars, and sea salts.

There are samples set out so you can taste the difference in those tomatoes – even taste the difference in the varieties of salt. This past Saturday I tasted jams, salsa, quinoa and both raw and roasted garlic varieties.

Loganberry has 11 varieties of garlic, which will be celebrated at the annual Garlic Festival August 27. The festival includes samples of not only much of what is grown here but recipes made from combinations of it. Chef Jamie Allred of the Lake Rabun Hotel Restaurant will be demonstrating cooking techniques and music will be provided by LD and the Blind Dates. Local caterer Nadine will be offering box lunches and there will be arts and crafts for sale. There is no cost to get in.

 My grandmother raised a couple of varieties of green beans that she called “string beans.”  When I visited in the summers, I hated having to go out to the garden and pick them. They were aptly named because they did, indeed, have strings.  I didn’t know until I grew up that modern green beans don’t have strings. And of course, once I did get older, I relished the taste of fresh-picked produce, even if I had to plant it, weed it and pick it myself.  

I married into a family with South Alabama roots and was introduced to Lady Peas, a tiny light green cowpea variety, which were served at most family meals. I’ve tried to grow them here in North Georgia, but they don’t seem to do well. One day at the So-called Farmers Market in Sautee-Nacoochee,  I overheard Organic Rose explaining to a customer that her Zipper Creme Peas actually taste like Lady Peas. It’s unusual for anyone in this part of the state to have even heard of Lady Peas, so I bought some Zipper Crèmes to try. And I was hooked.

Now I look for the weekly email from Loganberry Farms which tells me what is ripe and will be for sale on Saturday, as well as recipes and other information. Don’t miss Garlic Fest. If you get there early, there might be some Zipper Crèmes left.