Mother Nature at Her Finest

In the Spring when we set out to plant, the land looks so vast and barren. "Oh, another plant in this row will be fine," we think. Then, come August, the lush packed greenery reminds us to leave a bit more space next year. In all my years of gardening, Mother Nature has never allowed me to escape incredulity as I gape and gawk at all she creates.

I see how she is, after all, a prude, who like me, prefers to adorn herself in magnificent layers. Sure, I complain about the weeds that fill in any exposed nook or cranny, but aren't you just blown away by the beautiful full plumes of foxtail, the gorgeous tiny pink beads of smartweed and the rich lusciousness of goldenrod? She's rather glamorous in her choice of adornments, I'd say!

While everyone complains about weeds, I'd suggest we see them from a new perspective.

The presence of weeds tells us something. Either our soil fertility is off or Mother Nature needed to protect herself from exposure.

Instead of fighting the weeds, how can we work with them to build biodiversity and a healthy ecosystem in our yards, plots, gardens or farms?

It's nearly impossible to keep weeds out of the spaces I want for my vegetables and flowers, but I have a couple of tools that help keep the "weeds" at bay. 1) a good mower to mow around the garden edges, 2) a mountain of straw for mulch and 3) a pile of compost to replenish the nutrition in my garden beds.

I like a tidy garden just as much as the next human, but I also love those huge plumes, tiny pink seeds and luscious golden flowers. I'm willing to allow Mother Nature her dressing room accoutrements a place in my back yard!

The Farm Store is stocked with all sorts of wonderful late summer harvest fun: Elderberry Tonic and a Honey Elixir, a few fresh veggies (cukes, tomatoes, sweet corn), pickled onions, many new soups, plum jam and two varieties of hot pepper jam (which William may eat if you don't come fast! He loves the pepper jams on hamburgers and hotdogs!) This list is just a sampling of what we have to offer. We have been adding new products every couple of days lately as the gardens and the farm erupt.

This weekend (August 28 - Monday, September 1) you can still pick blueberries at Rush River Produce 8-2. William and I went to pick a couple days ago and let me tell you, THEY HAVE BLUEBERRIES!

A trip to the farms would be a great way to "end" the summer!

Sending love from "Fransconsin Farmlandia" as I like to call our beautiful spot on the planet,

Sarah