Ingredients:
Half lb. of tomatillos, peeled
1 serrano pepper
1 qt. white onion, chopped
1 clove garlic
Half bundle of cilantro
Salt, to taste
Directions:
Boil serrano until soft. Add tomatillos and boil for 2 minutes.
Blend serrano, tomatillos, onion, garlic, cilantro, and salt. Add water from boiling pot until desired thickness is reached.
Every Spring, I find myself getting impatient.
I want the rows to be full. I want the fields to turn green overnight. I want to skip ahead to the part of the season where everything is growing, blooming, and buzzing with life.
But the fields don’t hurry. And they never have. All they do is ask us for patience.
One day, there is only fresh plastic in neat rows stretching all the way to the tree line. The next day, there is the tiniest hint of green — signs of freshly transplanted seedlings, barely big enough to see above the plastic, but mighty and full of promise just the same. Go to Read More
Kent Hamilton, of Norman Park, Georgia, has been selected as the overall winner of the Sunbelt Ag Expo Southeastern Farmer of the Year award for 2025.
Kent Hamilton is CEO of Southern Valley Fruit and Vegetable, Inc., based in Norman Park. Kent said, “It was founded in 1987 and is a family-operated corporation that’s spent generations growing, packing, and shipping fresh produce with care, integrity, and heart.”
Now spanning over 8,500 cultivated acres across Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, and the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, Southern Valley grows green beans, cabbage, trellis cucumbers, a variety of peppers and squash, sweet corn, trellis pickles, and eggplant, and owns 100 head of cows. Kent said, Read More
This past week, I took a walk through one of our newer fields—the one tucked just behind the greenhouses, where the dirt feels a little softer and the trees cast longer shadows as the sun dips low. I wasn’t headed anywhere in particular, just following a hunch and a little tug in my chest that said, “Go.”
The rows had already been planted, and tiny leaves were just starting to push up past the plastic, still a little shy under the weight of the world. I stopped and crouched down to look closer—those first few sprouts always look so brave to me. They don’t know what the season will hold Read More
When the clouds rolled away, the winds calmed, and the waters began to recede, we emerged from the storm like children, wide-eyed and full of renewed hope. In that moment, the sun began to shine, casting a warm glow on our farm and illuminating the path ahead. This scene, so vivid and transformative, serves as a powerful metaphor for resilience and the enduring spirit of not only Southern Valley, but of our industry as a whole.
The aftermath of a storm often leaves us grappling with challenges, much like the turbulent times we all face in life. Whether it’s personal struggles, community hardships, or larger societal issues, the clouds can Read More
I never really pictured myself starting off a blog with a warning about the water here at Southern Valley. But at this point skirting around it seems unavoidable, and I’ve concluded that something must be said, so here goes: There’s definitely something in it!
Let me explain. Between the months of February and September this year, we will have six new babies added to our Southern Valley family. Yes, you read that right – six little ones. See, I told you there was something in the water!
Needless to say our office is buzzing this Spring with extra excitement, not only for the new life cultivating in the fields but also Read More
It might seem to anyone outside of Southern Valley that the Georgia Fall season is just like the Spring. It’s a fair assumption that in the Fall, we’re bustling with the same Springtime energy and excitement in preparation for another busy season. After all, Fall means we’re back at home, picking, packing, and shipping every single day but The Lord’s Day.
But when the Fall finally hits and along with it comes the first cool breeze of the changing season, the pace around here seems to switch. That very first morning we step outside and the cool breeze hits, we slow down and breathe it in. Morning routines normally characterized by rush-rush-rush Read More
Our love for the land and people of Yucatan, Mexico began in January 2003 after a purchase of some 1,200 acres of farm land in the middle of the Yucatan jungle. And since then, the state of Yucatan has been a home to us and its people a part of our family.
If you’ve been around for a while, you’ve probably read or heard about what it’s like at our farm in Yucatan. We’ve written blog after blog about Valle Del Sur – the years of sacrifice it took to make it what it is today, the way the mud feels slick as snot under your boots, and the never-ending Read More
Last Friday, I randomly felt the need to take a drive. It was well before the typical lunch hunger pains start to creep up and sometime past the dew point, when the sun shines just right and the day really begins. I’m not sure what made me want to or even where I would go, but I just knew I needed it. So, I closed my laptop, slipped on my newly worn in ‘field boots’ that I keep tucked away under my desk, and grabbed my camera on the way out the door.
I put my car in drive and hit the gas, squinting past dusty road signs and Read More
This past July, I was asked to tag along on a dove hunting trip to the farm in Yucatan. I practically jumped at the opportunity, my passport begging to be stamped with a big ‘MX,’ another notch to add on my adventure belt.
We landed at the Merida International Airport around lunch on a Thursday, loaded up and hit the road. The drive from the Merida airport to the farm is about two and a half hours, and the first 30 minutes is pretty much just getting out of the city. We passed modern businesses, beautiful homes, and quite a few McDonalds. After that there was Read More