{"id":2346,"date":"2025-12-03T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/?p=2346"},"modified":"2026-01-02T12:30:45","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T17:30:45","slug":"georgia-grown-holiday-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/georgia-grown-holiday-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia-grown Holiday Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Several
Shrimp boats in Brunswick, Georgia help harvest Georgia\u2019s most valuable seafood. Photo courtesy of UGA Marine Extension.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Heather N. Kolich, ANR Agent, UGA Extension Forsyth County<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you know that Georgia agriculture and natural resources can supply just about everything you need for holiday entertaining and gifting? I\u2019m putting out a challenge to see just how many locally produced goodies we can incorporate into holiday festivities this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comforts of Home<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a sample of the fresh foods and plants provided by Georgia farmers, fishers, and ranchers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apples<\/em> \u2013 According to the Georgia Grown<\/a> website, the commercial apple industry started in Georgia. The season for several varieties of apples extends into November and December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beef <\/em>\u2013 Georgia has 159 counties, and beef cattle are raised in all of them. In fact, beef ranked higher than cotton and peanuts among Georgia\u2019s top 10 commodities for 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Honey<\/em> \u2013 Honeybees are the official state insect of Georgia. Cotton, wildflowers, sourwood, and tupelo are among the flowers that influence the flavors of Georgia honey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ornamental plants<\/em> \u2013 Ornamental horticulture is one of Georgia\u2019s top ten commodities, and Forsyth County consistently ranks in the top ten counties in Georgia for field nursery, container nursery, and greenhouse production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peanuts<\/em> \u2013 Peanuts are Georgia\u2019s official state crop, and Georgia farmers grow almost half of the peanuts produced in the U.S. each year. Check out the Georgia Peanut Commission online store<\/a> for peanut snacks, peanut gift packs, and peanut-themed gift items and clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seafood<\/em> \u2013Georgia\u2019s coastline yields fish, shrimp, crabs, clams, oysters, and more healthy seafood that is raised or harvested in sustainable ways. Find retailers for Georgia seafood<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gifts and Durable Goods<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Georgia-grown products are crafted into items like cheese, pasta, jams, salsa, soaps, candles, charcoal, fiber, pottery, folk art, wood crafts, pet treats, and natural cleaning products. Other durable goods include clothing, sheets, and towels made from Georgia cotton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Agritourism Experiences<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through agritourism, Georgia farms offer experiential opportunities such as picking apples, berries, and flowers; farm-to-table dinners; tastings of local wines, beers, and meads; crafting classes; and farm tours and farm stays. I was intrigued by the fiber art classes offered by Lasso the Moon Alpaca Farm & Fiber Studio<\/a> in Blairsville and the treehouse accommodation at 6 Ponds Farm<\/a> in Morganton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Forsyth County Locally Grown and Made<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shop close to home and support Forsyth County agriculture at these local businesses:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AboutFace Farm<\/em><\/a> \u2013Year-round lettuce, salad greens, herbs, and transplants for hydroponic tower gardens. Tri-county Plaza, Cumming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alsup Gardens<\/em><\/a> \u2013 More daylilies than you can believe. Elmo Road, Cumming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Andi\u2019s Way<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Organic wheatgrass, microgreens, seeds, and gifts for online ordering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B.L. Mullinax Landscaping & Shrubbery, Inc.<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Trees and shrubs. Peachtree Parkway, Cumming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bottoms Tree Farm<\/em><\/a> <\/em>\u2013 Choose-and-cut Christmas trees and fresh-cut trees; Christmas Barn Shop featuring jams, jellies, salsa, fresh wreaths, and locally crafted gifts and home d\u00e9cor; hayrides, photo settings, and walking trail to see farm animals. John Burruss Road, Cumming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campbell Gardens<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Annual bedding plants. Polly\u2019s Bluff, Cumming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chestatee Farms<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Everything for your landscape \u2013 and your edible landscape. Jot-em Down Road, Gainesville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Circle A Farms<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Fresh lettuce harvested daily and other locally-produced goods. Dishroom Road, Cumming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fairways Nursery, Inc.<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Landscape trees. Bennett Road, Cumming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gazaway Farms<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Online ordering for locally raised pork and beef. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kattula Family Farms<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Specialty vegetable, herb, and flower seeds and plants available for online ordering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kinsey Family Farm<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Choose-and-cut, pre-cut, and living Christmas trees; fresh wreaths and garlands; Harvest Shop featuring local honey, jams, jellies, and salsa. Jot-em Down Road, Gainesville.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marie\u2019s Italian Deli<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Features dishes made with locally-grown produce. Tri-county Plazza, Cumming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NoFo Brewery<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Features craft beer, hand-crafted cocktails, and live music. 6150 GA-400, Cumming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Simply Southard Bakery and Catering<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Jams, relishes and more made from locally grown produce, plus baked goods and meal catering. Tri-county Plaza, Cumming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stoney J\u2019s Winery<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Forsyth County\u2019s first winery features award-winning wines crafted from muscadines grown onsite, vinifera wines, handcrafted pizza, and Italian desserts. Stoney Point Road, Cumming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vickery Creek Farm, Inc.<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Flowering perennials and shrubs. Bently Road, Cumming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Warbington Farms<\/em><\/a> <\/em>and Warbington Farm Beef & Store<\/em><\/a> \u2013 Shop for locally grown beef (in store and online ordering); jams, jellies, and salsa; apple cider; local honey, and gift items. Visit the farm for seasonal activities, including strawberry picking, flower fields for cutting flowers, pumpkin patch, corn maze, hayrides, and fun park. Crow Road, Cumming.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Three
The Georgia Grown Holiday Shoppers Guide has information and links to hundreds of retailers who produce and sell products that are grown and made in Georgia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Find more Georgia Grown<\/a> products, adventures, recipes, and information and check out the Georgia Grown Holiday Shoppers Guide<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Please let us know if you accepted the challenge and how many Georgia products you used<\/a> this holiday season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Did you know that Georgia agriculture and natural resources can supply just about everything you need for holiday entertaining and gifting? I\u2019m putting out a challenge to see just how many locally produced goodies we can incorporate into holiday festivities this season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":192,"featured_media":2351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[425,424],"class_list":["post-2346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anr","tag-forsyth-county-agritourism","tag-shop-local"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/192"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2346"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2346\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2355,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2346\/revisions\/2355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}