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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Truths...

This year has been…hard. It’s been hard, enlightening, and so much more fun than I ever would have guessed. We have laughed, cried, and sweat more than any other summer in my 30 years on earth. We have learned; we have lost; we have fallen more in love with each other as the days go on. We wanted to share throughout the year…but that seemed too hard, too much, and sounded a lot like excuses. Now that we are winding down and dreaming about next year, we are re-evaluating the entire season, where we want to go from here, and how best to refocus for the upcoming season.  Weather: Okay, to be fair, we knew that weather was going to be a huge factor in growing things. I did not expect, however, for every weekend to either be approximately 1,000 degrees or rain. With half our garden being in another zip code, this made it extremely challenging to find a good time to drive out & work in the yard. Health: I also did not expect one of the worst allergic reactions to the sun (blistery hives)

Breaking news: Market Updates!

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  We are so excited to see everyone this upcoming season! 

Breaking news: 2024 Vegetable List!

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  We are so excited to start this season! We are still working on the locations, dates, and times that we will be out in the community selling items, but we are currently working on getting certified to accept the Senior & WIC farmer's market food stamps in both Kansas and Missouri!

Food should never be considered a luxury item.

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It's no secret - food insecurity currently affects 44 million people in the United States every day. 865,400 of those individuals currently reside in the state of Missouri! Peachie Lou Farms is dedicated to searching for permanent solutions to irradicate the ongoing hunger crisis in Missouri. We offer a unique experience by providing affordable, high-quality vegetables, fruits, and herbs to Missouri communities. We sell produce and have launched a website at www.peachieloufarms.com to provide updates to our homesteading adventure -- complete with recipes, trial and error, and raw honesty about what it is like to transition into self-sufficiency.  Peachie Lou Farms: where healthy food is no longer considered a luxury. Popular links:  Home  *   Facebook  *   TikTok   *  Twitter   *   Privacy Policy  *  Terms and Conditions  *  About Us  * email:  peachieloufarms@gmail.com. 

Tip Tuesday: Companion Planting, Cover Crops, and Humus, Oh my!

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This year was our first year digging into the dirt of farming, homesteading, and self-sufficiency. One of the major learning curves was learning how to speak the language of homesteaders! For this weeks tip Tuesday, we thought we would give you a glossary to always have at your disposal! Annual : a plant that blooms, produces seed, and dies in one year.  Aquaponics : combines raising fish and growing plants. They can produce both fish and plants for food.  Bolt : a plant that has gone to seed prematurely. Chill hours : the number of hours vegetables and trees needs to be exposed to temperatures between 32 and 45 degrees. This is important to develop properly and to become productive.  Cold frame : season extender that is used to protect plants from frost.  Companion planting : planting seeds that are beneficial for each other instead of competing for resources.  Compost tea : brewed blend of organic matter to give your soil a boost toward optimum health. Cover crop : plants grown in an

Thought Thursday: The Story of Our Name

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Marcus, Manda and I were fortunate to grow up with families who have very similar values -- which is probably why we are so intertwined with each other. They taught us to love hard and unapologetically; that there is always a way to get where you are going; and once you get there, you better turn around and help others get there too. When Marcus and I first started planning owning a homestead & developing our self-sufficiency skills, we traded a lot of stories of our families growing up -- the way my dad always fed anyone who showed up hungry to his table; the way my mom could sew anything you put in front of her; the way his mom refused to give up in the face of endless trials and tribulations. His granny being terrorized by a particular rooster, my grandma being terrorized by several chickens. One thing rang true throughout the late night conversations: self-sufficiency skills ran in our blood, and it was time to return to the homestead to humbly honor our ancestors. While thinki

Tip Tuesday: Common Pests and Diseases

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Photo by Bambang Suryadi: https://www.pexels.com/photo/jewel-beetle-on-tree-branch-950327/   There are several pests and diseases in the gardening world --- it can be hard to track what affects what! Below is my list of common pests and diseases for various fruits and vegetables you might find in the garden!  Name Common Pests Common Disease Peppers Aphids Colorado Potato Beetles Flea Beetles Leaf-Miners Root-Knot Nematodes Spider Mites Tomato Hornworms Cucumber mosaic virus Blossom-end Rot Bacterial Leaf Spot Anthracnose Carrots Carrot rust flies flea beetles leafhoppers root-knot nematodes wireworms black canker aster yellow disease Corn corn earworms cucumber beetles cutworms earwigs flea beetles japanese beetles raccoons wireworms Downy Mildew Anthracnose Cucumbers aphids cucumber beetles, squash bugs, whiteflies powdery mildew cucumber mosaic virus blossom-end rot anthracnose Garlic onion maggots onion thrips white rot Green Beans aphids cucumber beetles cutworms japanese beetles