The big Chill tonight

We expect the temperature to drop to 19 tonight.    The caterpillar tunnels are up, closed and functioning well.    We will say goodbye to the salad greens not in the tunnels.     They served us well and they will be missed.     Some mustards, some loose leaf lettuces, some parsley, some cilantro and a row of pretty heading lettuces were harvested the last time Tuesday.   

We have beets, onion starts, carrots, lettuces, mustards, spinach and mache under the tunnels.     Mache was planted Tuesday, after pulling some beets and carrots.

There will be ample produce available at Farmer's Market in Exira Friday and Harlan Saturday.     Squash, pumpkin for that Thanksgiving pie, turnips, salad greens, spinach, kohlrabi, tomatos, carrots and beets will be sold, along with the baked goods Doris provides (banana bread, pumpkin bread, roll-up breads, wheat and white bread and pies).

We wish you a happy and prosperous Thanksgiving.    Doris and Carl look forward to dinner with the grandchildren in Audubon.    Our prayer is that all have a loving and caring family to gather with.    This holiday is the one that most emphasizes family, inventorying our multitude of blessings and reaching out to those less fortunate.     Share your meal with the less fortunate and forgotten in your neighborhood and you will be abundaqntly blessed.

October starts the Winter Gardening Season

October 18 brought the first big frost.    We were ready.   The caterpillar tunnels went up in time, protecting sensitive greens.   The tomato plants are hanging upside down in the garage, to finish ripening the fruit already formed.     Basils were pulled to dry.     Seeds from lettuces, parsley, radishes, buckwheat, rye, wheat, indian corn, etc. were gathered.    Potato seed is now going to the cold room for storage.    That includes the new all purple strain.     We will begin digging the sweet potatos and yams as soon as the frost kills the green plant.      Fall tillage and planting of cover crops is now under way.

The squash, mini pumpkins and pumpkins are now all gathered and have been committed to storage, awaiting sale at farmer's markets, CSA and Tomato-Tomato.    

It now appears that our efforts in Exira are paying off.    This town lost its grocery store and really supported the farmer's market.     We made a commitment to travel almost 1 hour each way every Friday, to serve them with fresh vegetables, fruits and the finest baked goods and preserves.      The operator of a grocery in a near-by small town may agree to open the grocery in a vacant building.      We hope the shareholders of the grocery can now move to obtain grants and find the building.     Nishnabotna Naturals will be allowed to extend the Friday evening farmer's market beyond October.      If all goes well, the organization of the grocery store will be created soon and we would hope to sell our fresh produce in the new grocery on a consignment basis, to minimize risk to the operator.     Perhaps the fresh baked goods can be supplied to this new grocer, as well.     

The granchildren live in neighboring Audubon and they are the real reason we are interested in the Exira market.     At just 9 more miles away, we can drop off our fresh organic produce and goodies to the family, spend time with the kids and indulge our grandparently urges.

Honored to Serve Foodies

Today, July 24, is a day we will not ever forget.    RAGBRAI, the Register-Guardian Bike Ride Across Iowa started in Glenwood and wound through Silver City, Griswold, Lewis and came to the overnight stop in Atlantic.    You can imagine that the riders come to camp or accomodations hungry, thirsty and looking for something out of the ordinary.     You might also imagine that restaurant owners, managers and food service professionals created a team years ago to ride in this 12,000 plus cyclist tour.     This group formed in Chicago and now has members in many cities across the US.     These are foodies.     These people know good food, demand it and make certain that they have it at each overnight stop and each breakfast along the route.

Imagine now, that in early May, Iowa City restauranteer and editor of the magazine Edible  Iowa River Valley, Chef  Kurt Michael Friese e-mails a request that you supply vegetables, salad greens and fruit for him to prepare and serve to 40 picky foodies.     This is a high-risk, high potential reward business opportunity.     Doris and I are humbled and grateful for the opportunity to supply Kurt and his "Team Cuisine" foodie cyclists.      We anxiously await feedback from Kurt.     We supplied our cross between All-Blue and Purple Majesty potatoes.    These are bright purple inside with an irridescent purple skin.     We also supplied All-Red potatoes, with bright red skins and very pink starburst patterns inside.    Some Yukon Gold were also supplied.    Kurt will steam them, then grill them.    The resultant burst of color, Red, Blue, Yellow, Purple should be an eye-popper.   

Our salad greens mix, with Rouge d'Hiver, Gold Rush, Green Oakleaf, Red Oakleaf, Outredgious, three basils, Parris Island baby Romaine, Flame, Grand Rapids Red and Grand Rapids Green, baby Swiss Chard leaf, baby beet green, Parsley, Cilantro, Carrot green tip and Ho Mi mustard, has reds, greens, yellows, maroons and whites.    The flavors range from tawny, robust to delicate sweet.    Kurt will make a raspberry vinegarette from our berries and serve his demanding team-mates this salad with grilled meats from other vendors.    Nishnabotna Naturals Kohlrabbi will be sliced and top the salad.      Yum!

Now, back to Kurt.    His magazine won 2011  Publication of the Year from the James Beard Foundation.    This is definitely not one of those 4 sheets stapled together newsletters.    It is a colorful celebration of the Local Foods of Iowa.    The photography makes you hugry.    The editorial staff includes Denise O'Brien, noted market gardener, ex candidate for Iowa Secretetary of Agriculture.    She writes in 4 installments about the assignment at a forward operating base in Afghanistan, where she is advising Afghans how to grow crops other than heroin poppies.    Writer, State Senator Joe Bolkom reports on local food and local microbrews.    Check this out on http://www.edibleiowa.com/.    

Summer is here!

We continue to serve the Exira, Iowa Farmer's Market.     Come see us Fridays, from 4 to 7 in the park on the East side of the square.     Small town, big heart.       Small market, big selection.

Now available:
Kohlrabi
Kale
Tongue Tickler Salad Greens Mix
Romaine
Baby Romaine Mix
Turnips
Beets
Raspberries
Onions

From Doris's bakery: 
White and Whole Wheat Bread
different fruit pies each week
Fruit and/or Cinnamon Raisin Roll-up Bread
Banana Bread, plain, with walnuts, with chocolate chips or both

From the nursery:
Hard Rock (Sugar) Maple trees
Silver Maple (Shade) trees
Red Osier Dogwood trees
Curly Willow, Fanning Willow or Pussy Willow trees
Jack in the Pulpit plants
Potted Basil plants for deck gardens

From Doris's jam collection:
Strawberry-Rhubarb
Raspberry
Raspberry-Rhubarb
Apricot
Apricot-Pineapple
Pear-Orange Marmalade
Concord Grape Jelly
Apricot and Rhubarb Ice Cream Topping

We are hosting the Garden Walk for Grist Mill Theater Saturday, July 9.    If you have not seen the organic farm and would like to, this is your chance.    Advance tickets are $8 and $10 at the door.     If you are just visiting our farm and not the others, register at the desk and we will issue Nishnabotna Naturals Customer credentials and you may visit us for free.

Market Season has started. Hope to see you soon!

We are in Exira, Iowa every Friday from 4 to 7 PM.     The produce, jams, breads, pies, herbs, trees, vines and shrubs you want are at this great market.     Live plant sales of Sugar (Hard Rock) Maple, Red Osier Dogwood, raspberry cane, and Silver Maple (rapid growing shade tree) will be augmented by Jack in the Pulpit later in the season.    Come see us, get your gardening tools out and grow your own Eden, then relax to a meal of the freshest greens and produce.

Exira is between Atlantic and Audubon.     Little town, with community spirit and a desire to have a market as big as the larger towns around.      Come see us, make it a Friday date night or bring along the kids.     We are on the East side of the park downtown.

Here's what is in now:
Asparagus-winding down the season, but wet weather should give us several more weeks.
Spinach-Top green for the early season.    Nutritious, whether fixed as a salad or cooked like  Spanacopita.    Ask for the recipe if you have not tried the mediterranean dish.
Radishes-Sweet, now at their prime.   We have French Breakfast, Scarlet Globe and Giant Crimson Globe.
Rhubarb-Now at its peak flavor.    Pies, jams, jellies, sauces, crisps;  the list of possibilities is endless.
Baby Mustard-We have curly green, Osaka Purple, green slick.     The leaves have that great mustard taste, but are so young and tender, there is no bitterness at all.    Add these to your sinach salad, topped with radishes.
Green Oakleaf Lettuce-There is an exotic taste; tawny, hint of oak.    This goes well as a salad base for that special dinner with a good Shiraz, Bardolino or Pinot Noir.    Definitely do the candlelight romantic meal with green oakleaf as your base.
Tongue Tickler Salad Mix-A combination of spinach, green oakleaf, baby mustards and all the reds like Rouge d' Hiver, Roasatto and Flame.    Limited quantities available until June 1.    

Doris has been busy.    She's baking apple, apricot and strawberry-rhubarb pies, apricot bars, banana bread, white and whole wheat loaves.     We will feature a different jam each week, to go with your choice of bread.     The list is endless, each small batch hand crafted by the lady who really knows jam, syrups and ice cream toppings.

Beginning Saturday, June 4, we will be opening the Harlan Farmer's Market at the Pamida store parking lot.    The other vendors will join us later.   We will be in Atlantic on Tuesdays and Harlan Wdnesdays when the markets officially open.     Our produce is featured at Tomato-Tomato in west Omaha, both in their produce case and for their CSA. 

We will host a Garden Walk at the farm Saturday, July 9, as a benefit for the Grist Mill Fine Arts Alliance, whose newly renovated McCready Theater in Maceonia, Iowa now features the chairs you used to sit on at the Omaha Community Playhouse.    Tickets are available by mail order, by pick-up at Hummell Insurance or at the farm.    Several other gardens, mostly floral, are also featured.     We will not be at the Harlan Farmer's Market that week.

Good eating to you all!

Spring

We thought Spring had sprung.   The grass was green, the maple buds swelled.    Daily highs were in the 70's.   We transplanted the onions, adjusted the winter mulch around the garlics, started all manner of tomato, pepper, beet, basil and several flowers indoors.   The seed potatos were inspected.    No rot, no wilt, no nematode larvae and only just a few had sprouted beyond the desired eyes.    Hundreds of purple majesty, all blue, all red, yukon gold, white Finn and a few Russett were cut, dried, planted and the rows were well heaped.    Alfalfa was planted in the 2010 field where tomatoes, okra, sweet potatos, and potatos were planted last year.    This will be a cover crop to improve soil organic levels, add some nitrogen and improve the environment for the parasitic insects, which attack and kill or eat the unwanted insects.    Cover crops will be crimped and killed, incorporated into the seedbed and support the lettuces, greens and mixed vegetables that will take their place.    Buckwheat and rye will also be planted as cover crops soon.

We transplanted the curly willow, fanned pussy willow and regular pussy willow.    We will be the local source for floral buds, sticks and twigs for some florists.

This coming week, we will plant new evergreens (concolor fir, white fir and spruce) in the established windbreaks where the pines and cedars are at their life spans.    That is, if we do not have frozen soil.    Yes, it's going to be one of those years.

The 2011 field contains the potatos, will receive the beans, melons and squash.    It triples our total garden space, allowing better crop rotations in future years.    New this year are litlle islands in the field that either attract pollenators or harbor and over-winter predatory insects.   Also new this year are two beetle berms.   Think of them as company towns for our workers, the beetles and spiders, who do the necessary work of eating eggs, larvae, pupae of insects we really need to control.    You will see the usual marigold and mustard borders around the 2010 and 2011 fields, as well as around the main garden.

When you visit, there will be red and crimson clover in the vineyard and under the apple trees.   Pollenators love these clovers and they are obstacles to the larvae of the moths we would just as soon not have.    You'll see the mini zinnias more prominently in the three gardens and near the soon to be planted highbush cranberries.

Sunday, we will try to plant more hazelnut seed, hoping to get 200 bushes to transplant next year.     We are starting rooting of Traminette, a wine grape, several red and one green seedless table grape variety.    These, like the blueberries, hazelnuts and our juvenile fruit trees, are long term investments, which will not bear fruit for 3 to 5 years.   

Get ready for the Farmer's Markets.    We will open at the site of Harlan Farmer's Market in May.   Look for the sign at the intersection of 59 and 44.   The rest of the vendors will join us in June.   You may purchase our jams, jellies, bread, sweetbreads, salad greens, rhubarb, kohlrabi, kale, asparagus, radishes, raspberries and plants for your garden spots.   

Look for our asparagus, rhubarb, radishes, salad greens, herbs and jams at Tomato-Tomato, the fresh market in Omaha at 156th and West Center.    Great things are happening there and we are proud vendors.