August

Wow, it’s August already!

I took advantage of the unexpected thunderstorm this morning to create this newsletter. Usually I wait till most of the items for the weekly share are chosen or picked. It began raining about 7AM when the crew for the day arrived. We pushed the wagons of onions inside so they would stay dry, and three people are cleaning and boxing them up for use during August. Their tops dried down after the hail storm 3 weeks ago Wednesday. Two others are in the greenhouse seeding trays so we will have transplants to put out in 3 to 4 weeks, which we will harvest in October and November.

Speaking of October and November, could you please indicate by email or by mailing us a check whether you plan to subscribe to the Fall Share? It starts September 7. For those who mailed a check this past week, Thank You! (See our mailing address at bottom.) You may also order online.

Janna is visiting our daughter Jessica, her husband Andrew and our grandson Joshua! So, John will be at the Sioux City Market this Wednesday, Anna will be in Sioux Center, and Spencer folks, please look for details at our Spencer Facebook page. I’m currently thinking it will be about 5 pm when I get to Spencer.

The camera on my phone broke about a month ago. Can you tell by the absence of new pictures? I wish I could include a picture of the buckwheat growing in the front garden. There are 3 beds Gretchen put into buckwheat about 6 weeks ago. It’s in full flower, about waist high and just smothering the weeds. We use buckwheat because it is heat tolerant, germinates well, and when planted in the fall it dies and dries with the first frost. We add organic matter this way. It’s a green manure. Of course, when used early like this you want to till it or mow it before the flowers turn to seed. The garden that will have potatoes next years will be seeded to buckwheat soon, and another to winter rye probably about the middle of September.

It’s August, so some families are on the move before school starts again. We need to say Thank You to a customer, friends and tremendous supporter of local, organic and flavorful food. Dan and Sonya Knauss are moving to Edmonton AB this month. We will miss their smiles, words of encouragement, and help. If you have been with us for 8 or more years, you may have noticed we been more up to date with social media and our website. Other members of Practical Farmers of Iowa have told us we have the best website. We just want to say thank you to Dan and Sonya. They have pushed and encouraged most with our online presence. We hope they have a safe move and find Edmonton to be a great place to live.

For the rest, you’ve got 3 to 4 weeks before people start thinking fall!