August - Enjoy Mouthwatering Watermelon and Prepare Your Fall Garden

August continues to be a hot one in Arkansas! We are deep in the summer produce season in Arkansas. While you would expect this season to be the most abundant one of the year, the recent hot temperatures and lack of significant rainfall has made it harder than ever on our produce and livestock farmers. The weather, coupled with the increased costs for everything from seeds to animal feed, fertilizer, and packing materials are making this season difficult for everyone.

Nevertheless, we celebrate each crate of tomatoes, pack of sausage, and dozen eggs that are brought over by our Farmers and made available to our customers. Thank you for continuing to support local food! Our farmers are depending on us now more than ever!

Available at the Farmstand All Summer Long (August - September)

What can you expect to find at the Farmstand this summer? The list below details what is in season in our local area! Although our fresh produce available  changes from week to week, so call in if you are looking for something specific!

Fruit and Veggies

Purple Hull Peas, Pinto Beans, Blackberries, Blueberries, Cantaloupe, Corn, Cucumber, Eggplant, Garlic, Herbs, Green Beans, Nectarines, Okra, Onions, Peaches, Peppers, Potatoes, Squash (Summer), Lettuce, Microgreens, Collards, Swiss Chard, Mushrooms, Tomatoes, and Watermelon.

Flowers 

Zinnias, Sunflowers, Gomphrena, Ornamental Basil, Dahlias, Lisianthus, Celosia, Marigolds, Ageratum, and Amaranth.

New Artisan Goods

• Lake in the Willows Apiary - Seasonal strawberry and blueberry creamed honey flavored with local fruit!
• Pink House Alchemy - Seasonal strawberry, blackberry, and blackberry sage syrups. These are great in sparkling waters, cocktails, and mocktails.
• Patterns and Pottery - Beautiful new handmade mugs.
• Loblolly - Summer ice cream flavors including key lime pie, peach cobbler, blackberry sorbet, pool party sorbet, watermelon lime sorbet, campfire s'mores, and many more (we get new flavors in weekly)!

Plant in Your Garden

Late summer is the time to start thinking about fall produce. Order your Kale, Collard Greens, Cabbage, Radish, Carrots, Turnips, Lettuce, Swiss Chard, and Bok Choi if you haven't already. Wait to plant these until late August or early September.

Starting a Fall garden can be tricky because, in the south, we typically have hot temps throughout September and even into October. Start your fall seedlings and keep a close eye on them. Make sure they have enough water and a little shade until they can be safely set out in your fall garden. The best thing about living in the south is our mild winters! This means a lot of the produce you plant in the fall will keep producing throughout the winter if you keep them covered during freezes. 

Fruits and Veggies

For fall planting, think leafy greens and root veggies! Kale, Mustard Greens, Swiss Chard, Lettuces, Collards, Cabbage, Carrots, Radishes, Bok Choy, Turnips, Beets, and Garlic.

Flowers

Flowers planted in the fall in the south are called cold hardy annuals. These flowers can be overwintered in our mild climate and will bloom in the early spring. These flowers enjoy cooler temps but will need to be covered during hard freezes. Cold hardy annuals include flowers like Bachelor Buttons, Snapdragons, Ammi, Dara, Statice, Rudbeckia, Campanula, Feverfew, and Nigella.