Puffer Roske Farms, just northeast of Iowa Falls, is a new vendor to the North Iowa Farmers Market. While it is only their second year of producing fruits and vegetables in Iowa, Charlie and his wife, Lonya Puffer are no strangers to gardening, having many gardens across the United States. Charlie spent 25 years serving in the United States Air Force and would regularly establish a garden where he was stationed. In the spring of 2016, the Puffers worked with co-founder Harold Roske and Puffer Roske Farms was created.
Currently, the operation sits on 149 acres, of which a portion of the land is used for fruit and vegetable production. The Puffer family has plans for expansion, hoping to add cattle (in addition to their pastured pork and poultry) to the mix. They also acquired a 20 by 80 foot greenhouse to utilize in their vegetable production for next year. Though the produce production occupies only 13 acres, the farm is extremely diverse producing blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, eggplant, green beans, tomatoes, a wide variety of peppers, kohlrabi, broccoli, radishes, sweet potatoes, pears, cucumbers, asparagus, okra, rhubarb, sweet corn, watermelon and cantaloupe…just to name a few!

Utilizing old wood chips for mulch helps preserve soil moisture and control weeds on the Puffer Roske Farm without the use of chemicals.

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Source: Holly Ebel- Agri News

One of the hazards of having great farmers markets is that we tend to buy too much. At least I do. Walking around and seeing the varieties of vegetables and greens, it’s hard to pass things up.

Here’s how it goes: Look at that spinach — get two bags. And there are beautiful beets, leeks and carrots. Get some of those. This cauliflower is amazing, and look at that cabbage. Asparagus? Picked last night — two bunches, a bargain at $3 each.

Never once do we doubt that we won’t eat every bit of it. The sad truth is that, on average, we throw out about one-quarter of all the produce we buy from both the market and the grocery store.

Mostly that’s our fault, and not just because we over-bought, but also because we are careless in how we store it. With just a little effort and information, though, we can keep what we bring home fresh and make it last longer — maybe even until the next time we get to the market.

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In 1956, on his hands and knees, Robert Furleigh planted one acre of strawberries just east of Clear Lake. As a recent Iowa State University College graduate, Robert had returned to the family farm with big aspirations. Sixty-one years later, Furleigh Fruit and Vegetable Farm has grown to cover 20 acres producing a wide variety of produce. While Robert and his wife, Donna, continue to be active in the operation, it is their grandson, Erik, who now manages the family business.

Erik Furleigh examines some of his strawberry plants that were planted this spring.

Do you love to garden, but don’t have the space? Or maybe you would like to learn, but the place where you currently live isn’t feasible to start a traditional garden. Regardless of your circumstances, here are 5 simple ways to start your own garden without a lot of space!

*Article originally published by Alanna Ketler in Collective Evolution* 

1. Plant What You Can Indoors
Great news, if you have windows, you can grow things! Certain varieties of tomatoes can be grown very well indoors and even in the winter, simply plant in a hanging basket and hang in front of a window that gets a lot of sunlight. You can also start a mini a herb garden by your window or by planting herbs in small containers. You can also attach mason jars to pieces of plywood and fasten them to the wall to start growing the herbs in jars, just make sure that this wall gets enough sunlight.
2. Use Pallets Or Start A Vertical Garden
A pallet can be a great tool to use to grow herbs and even lettuce on your balcony during the warmer months, and a great way to recycle old pallets as well. They are relatively easy to find and can sit neatly against the wall on your balcony or patio. For instructions on how to make a pallet garden, click here. Shoe organizers that are often used in closets can also be a great tool for vertical gardening and growing plants as well.

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When Ashley and Shea Coleman settled down to start a family they noticed that finding a single, one stop shop to buy local was impossible to find. Taking matters into their own hands, they founded BE WELLness, Clear Lake, a health and wellness cooperative encouraging healthy and local eating in North Iowa. Established just three years ago, BE WELLness is proud to have four excellent employees working under the family owned business. BE WELLness makes it a priority to source their “specialty” market with local food. Depending on the season, 30-50% of BE WELLness inventory is locally produce (within 150 miles) of Clear Lake.

BE WELLness works diligently to provide their customers with a wide variety of healthy, local food options.

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On the next visit to your farmers market, take a moment to observe the wheels of your local economy in motion. The rows of fresh, colorful produce. The delicious aroma of sizzling fare. The neighborly conversations. At the center of this lovely atmosphere transactions take place between farmer and customer; the exchange of money for goods.

 
Enticed by festive sights, sounds, smells, and tastes, more and more people choose to shop at farmers markets. According to an impact study conducted by Civic Economics, locally owned retailers like farmers markets return more than three times as much of their revenue to the local economy than do their corporate competitors. This means your farmers market purchases not only stock your pantry with fresh, healthy food, but recycle money throughout your community, boosting economic activity and job creation.

 
And as the demand for local food continues to grow, farmers markets are recognized as important retail anchors for economic commerce. The more than 8,500 markets nationwide are the impetus of consumer support for local farmers – while at the same time create opportunities for small businesses to stimulate local and regional economies. Farmers markets are more than just a venue for fresh food and a friendly atmosphere; the revenue they generate helps your community prosper.

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The North Iowa Farmers Market (NIFM) started their summer market season on Friday, May 19th despite the rainy weather. Vendor expectations were cautiously optimistic about the day, and rightfully so. The opening market is usually slow, a lot of produce isn’t in season yet AND the market moved this year from the Mills Fleet Farm parking lot. Vendors were pleased to find that customer traffic held steady from the start of the market at 4:00 p.m. until closing at 6:30 p.m.

“I looked at our records and we did 5 times as well [this opening] Friday as we did any other market in May from the previous years”, says NIFM vendor, Becky Huang. Five years ago, Becky and her family established North Iowa Berries and More where they grow, harvest and market chemical free fruits and vegetables among other items.

North Iowa Berries and More brought a variety of items to the opening market including fresh produce and baked goods.

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When Becky and Jesse Huang first moved out into rural Mason City from town, they never dreamed they would become “farmers”, yet when Jesse lost his job of twenty years the Huang’s needed another source of income for themselves and their 7 children. And so, with the help of their Mennonite friends and neighbors, they learned how to grow their own fruits and vegetables on their 3.5 acre farm.

 
“All our farming practices are chemical free,” says Becky Huang, “at the time of starting our business, we noticed that it was difficult to find stores and vendors growing their products without the use of chemicals. For the needs of our family and for the benefit of our customers, we decided to fill that niche”.

North Iowa Berries and More is a 3.5 acre farm growing a variety of fruits and vegetables. This year, the family is growing a lot of their greens in their high tunnel utilizing a drip irrigation system to water their crop. 

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At the North Iowa Farmers Market, we are passionate about providing you with the highest quality, locally produced goods and produce you can find! There’s countless reasons to buy local but with the start of our summer market season just one week away, we wanted to share with you the North Iowa Farmers Market Top 5 Reasons to Buy Local.

1. It just tastes better.
Commercial fruits and vegetables are often grown to have tough skins that prevent produce from bruising while shipping. This industry also tends to focus more on how the produce looks, rather than how it tastes. At the North Iowa Farmers market, all goods and produce are locally produced so our producers are able to worry less about the ship-ability of their produce and focus more on what’s important: quality and flavor.

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Mary Jane Newswanger wanted to start a business to supplement the income from their 200 acre corn and soybean family farm that was established in 2001. As an avid gardener and living only 20 miles away from the North Iowa Farmers market, growing and selling fresh produce sounded like an opportunity. Fourteen years later she and her family are still capitalizing on that opportunity and have been selling their high quality, fresh produce at the farmers market every season since.

In addition to corn and soybeans, the Newswanger family farm also raises cattle.