Adding a few perennial pollinators to your vegetable garden border can really get your garden buzzing. There are so many reasons these flowers made this list. But lush, easily accessible nectar and pollen sources paired with beauty and easy growth were baseline qualifiers.

These plants bring in pollinators, they add beauty to the garden, and all plants listed here are Minnesota native (unless you ask the DNR, then Yarrow is still in the ‘undecided’ category), unless noted so they are quite literally at home in your garden.  But really, pollinators are looking to get nectar and anything you plant will help them. There are just a few that do really well here in the Midwest that I want to share.

At this point in the season, we can see where our gardens have some holes. We likely know where we want to fill in or add another layer of color or texture. This is a great time to add perennial pollinators to your mix!

Milkweeds –
Asclepias syriaca

These plants hold a special place in any pollinator lover’s heart because of their direct symbiotic relationship with Minnesota’s struggling State Insect, the Monarch butterfly! I love the common milkweeds shape and form in my garden, which may explain why I let it compete with my potatoes, and the flowers are spectacular! Weed is part of the name But, with the milkweed comes the monarchs.

Both hunting for eggs and caterpillars and watching them grow in the garden and bringing them inside to raise is part of our routine. Swamp Milkweed is more often suggested for garden use as it is slightly less invasive and the monarchs love them just as much. Our plants just showed up once I started digging our garden beds- so I figure they’re supposed to be there! Here’s an earlier post all about Raising Monarchs with my kids.

Meadow Blazing Star – Liatris Ligulistylis

My Meadow Blazing Star creates this magical draw for ALL the butterflies and bumbles in August, but the Monarchs hold rein here! My boys patiently wait for the monarchs to gather so they can walk underneath them and just “BEE” with them.

“It blooms primarily in August, just when the Monarchs are preparing for their long migration south; a synchronization that has evolved over hundreds of years, and a good example of how native plants and pollinators are deeply dependent on one another.” – From the Prairie Moon Nursery website.

Blue Giant Hyssop – Agastache Foeniculum

Agastache was such a revelation to me. I’d heard of Anise Hyssop, giant Blue Hyssop, Lavender hyssop, but never seen it ‘doing its thing’ until a walk through a friend’s garden and WOW! This pollinator MAGNET is at home in the perennial border, the herb and veggie garden, and the prairie. She’s a true multi-tasker, attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds (I’ve had hummingbird moths visit ours as well!) with its long bracts of flowers. Its leaves make a delicious licorice tea that soothes throats—if you can bear to take away blooms from the insects… A very hardy Minnesota Native, it even boasts deer resistance!

I seeded mine and the plants were off and running first year. I’ve been getting tall flowy stalks of blooms since the second year. The free flowing form and solid later summer nectar make this a natural addition.

Bee Balm – Wild Bergamot – Monarda Fistulosa

With a name like Bee Balm it has to be good. Well, all the pollinators certainly agree this is one of their favorites. I have a large swath of native bee balm next to the path leading to my vegetable garden, and I dubbed it the pollinator runway (see photo below). All kinds of pollinators are drawn to these beauties—including the hawk moth!

These plants will take over an area, so be ready to pull out the babies that will pop up from underground runners. I rarely throw any plants away, though, usually just tucking them into a spot a little further away or back, adding to my pollinator radius. They have a shorter bloom time than the hybridized varieties of monarda—but some of the hybrids don’t have viable nectar sources for pollinators, which kind of defeats the purpose, right! I’ve got a list of verified pollinator-friendly stores towards the end of this story.

Yarrow – Achillea Millefolium

MN Native and besides bringing in the bees, it also accumulates nutrients, great for growing under fruit trees. It also has those special umbel-shaped flowers which attract so many beneficial aphid eating insects (lacewings to parasitoid wasps). You can also use it as a tea and compress for inflammation. The flowers come in an array of colors, the most common being white, ranging to bright yellows to pinks. Blooms June to September.

Comfrey – Symphytum *Non Native*

This may be a lesser known perennial, but it is making a fast and furious comeback due to its widespread use in permaculture gardens. The sweet little umbels of blue, then purple, then fading to white bell-shaped flowers emerge from a large (mine is over 4 feet tall and 3 feet wide) plant that attracts bees by the hoards. The leaves contain a chemical that jumpstarts composting when added to the compost heap that are most potent if clipped before the blooms open. It is an easy plant to tend that grows almost anywhere, with little disease and no pest issues. It is also used as an anti-inflammatory. Comfrey is toxic if ingested, so even though I have used it on myself I can’t recommend it here. Non-native from Europe and Asia.

Perennial Pollinators I’m Adding this Summer

Smooth Blue / Sky Blue Aster – Symphyotrichum / oolentangiense

Native to dry fields and open woods these aster take over in the late summer, blooming August through October. I’m adding these to extend my pollinator season a little further. I got a variety that’s close to this froma  frien’d raing garen gone crazy, but I’ll grab a few of the Sky Blues this summer.

Who’s Missing?

Where’s the Coneflower (echinacea)?? Well, while I do see tons of pollinators on mine, I think of these as more of a bird flower—as the finches go nuts for the seeds every fall. They are a beautiful multi-tasking plant too.

Where’s the Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa)? This is also a great perennial pollinator plant and, honestly, I just had to draw the line somewhere.

Where’s the False Indigo (Baptisia)? This is not often mentioned as a pollinator plant, but with this LARGE plant and all its blooms, it brings in the bumbles like mad.

Perennial Pollinators WITHOUT Neonicotinoids

Here’s a short list of my favorite places to buy local, chemical-free plants for pollinators:

White Bear Lake
Seed Library

Prairie Moon Nursery

Prairie
Restoration

There have been tomes written about pollinators and helping plant habitat. My favorite valuable pollinator sites are the Xerxes Society and our local Pollinator Friendly Alliance.

If you’re interested in digging deeper into your native flowers, check out our local chapter of  Wild Ones native garden club.

As I was collecting my thoughts on these plants, I kept noticing that many of the perennials that the pollinators are also loved by humans. I get such a kick thinking about flowers + bees + humans all evolving together to be mutually beneficial on this beautiful earth! Let’s see if we can’t be as beneficial as our pollinators someday.

What Are Your Favorite Perennial Pollinators?

Everyone has their own list of favorites flowers… our tastes grow from of a generous friend giving you a plant, memories of grandma’s garden, or maybe you were inspired by a photo on Instagram or in a magazine… I’d love to know, what are your favorites and why? Are you adding any flowers to your vegetable patch this season?

Dig In!
Michelle

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There is something magical about watching life transform before your eyes, and that magic gets magnified when you share the experience with children and their innocent, impressionable eyes… These memories are here to stay!

Like most of how my life happens, we were in the right place at the right time and stumbled upon a chance to adopt and raise these butterflies.

I love it when serendipity takes center stage!

My mom spotted this one in her gardens!

Most people find their eggs or caterpillars on milkweed leaves outside, but we were fortunate enough to get three monarch caterpillars from a very special children’s librarian, Anna Haase Krueger, who found our little gluttons on milkweed around the Maplewood Library grounds.

The Ramsey County Libraries are amazing “Monarch Mentors”; many of the libraries have been finding and saving eggs, raising and releasing monarchs for a few years now.  This summer all the libraries did it as part of the Countywide Pollinator Project! This grass roots effort is run by the awesome people over at the Pollinator Friendly Alliance.

The day we went to pick up our caterpillars, there was one butterfly that was ready to be released. Being a part of this butterfly’s first flight got my boys extra pumped up for raising their 3 caterpillars!

So with that we brought home our hungry little caterpillars! At first our runt was so tiny I couldn’t pick her up to move her so I just cut out the leaf around her and let her move off in her own time.

They grew and ‘grew on us’ quickly!  They are almost as hilarious as the chickens to watch. (ps- chickens and and caterpillars DO NOT mix!)

In the larvae (cute caterpillar) stage, they undergo five ‘instars’, which means they shed their skin around 5 times.

They poop A LOT! the cage needs to be cleaned pretty much everyday. If this is the part where you’re like, “I want to help pollinators and all, but already clean up after kids, dogs, myself etc- consider making your yard more pollinator friendly with a nesting site outside, Xerxes Society to the rescue!

The second biggest caterpillar didn’t want to leave the leaf her sister was on…for almost a day!

The next day, she made a webbing and attached her silver button to the GLASS!! Talk about adapting…

A few days later, the littlest sister snuggled right next to big sister and made her chrysalis there…which I happened to catch on video with my phone! Bare with the first few seconds, but the process is mesmerizing regardless.

The boys were especially entranced with how much the chrysalis changed after the monarch was done making it, before it hardened. The chrysalis on the right just finished forming. The one on the left is a day old.

In this stage, the pupa will not consume food but just hangs out for around 10 to 15 days. The first stayed quiet for 13 days, the second only 12 days. With the first two popping out withing hours of each other! They Chrysalises went from the gorgeous jade green color to paler and then transparent- when we could see the orange wings they broke through within the hour, but we missed all three times (arghh). Just another reason to gather some of our own next summer again!

It was really hard waiting for them to get strong and dry enough to fly… they pump a liquid  into their wings to inflate them fully and this takes a while. Add that it was raining the evening they became butterflies, which meant it was best to keep them inside rather than get cold and wet during their first attempts at flying. (Seriously, that’s got to be a weird feeling, right!!)

The last girl hung out for 5 more days, just like she went into her chrysalis 5 days after her sisters.

But finally, she decided to show off her stuff too. Her wings are not quite fully inflated here.

This was really such a fun experience for the kids (and me)! Being able to remind them (again and again) that these beautiful creatures also help pollinate the beautiful flowers and maybe even some of the food we eat was an added bonus for me – and one that finally sunk in for them.

Thank you to Anna Haase Krueger, and the Ramsey County Library for sharing these little nuggets with me and my boys- I just wanted to share this experience with you all as a way of paying it forward.

The look of pure joy at the butterfly’s first flight says it all!

Next summer, we’ll be checking our milkweed for eggs often and probably raising even more of these magical monarchs!

The more time I spend in the gardens the more I see how we’re all connected and dependent on all of nature. To that end,  I’m buzzing with excitement for the upcoming Polli*NATION Festival this Sunday! Party with a purpose for the bees, and support local food trucks, craft beer vendors, bee science and live music!

More info and Tickets HERE!

For now, I’m going to to Dig In and plant a few more fall flowering plants to help extend the pollinator’s nectar season!

Michelle

The post Raising Pollinator Lovers appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

The passions that bind this blog together: gardening, cooking, local farmers and food shelves all rely on one thing to exist:

Pollinators!

We need those busy bees, butterflies, wasps, ants, moths etc..

Now they need us.

**GIVEAWAY**
…has ended, thanks for all who participated

WIN 4 Passes to the Polli*Nation Festival Sept 10
Live Music* Food Trucks* Craft Beers*Bee Science*Art
Contest Ends Tuesday Sept 5 at 7pm
Like us on Facebook to enter: www.facebook.com/forksinthedirt/

Unless you’ve been hiding under a garden paver, you know that bees are in trouble. Honeybees in particular have received lots of coverage in the news- topics like Colony Collapse Disorder, Varroa Mites destroying hives, and pesticide kills after a windy day. Honey Bees get most of the news coverage because they are the easiest of the pollinators to observe, being raised in a controlled area rather than being so spread out like the other wild and native pollinators. But there are signs that ALL the pollinators are in trouble.

Luckily, there are many dedicated people already working hard to help our bees, butterflies, and other beneficial insects. From you and your neighbor planting pollinator-friendly flowers, to cities adopting Pollinator Friendly Resolutions, to farmers (including bee farmers) choosing to use organic practices over spraying pesticides, and legislators working to get state dollars to research pollinators and planting more pollinator habitat.

Yet we’re still losing bees…

My love of gardening has had me bumping into all kinds of pollinators since forever. As a child I was fearful of that buzz, but now I plan my planting precisely to welcome their buzzing into my gardens. Without bees, I’d have to hand pollinate pretty much everything I grow in my vegetable and flower gardens. I’m not sure I’d be able to hit all the blueberries on the bush…

Squash Bee Doing Her Thing

On a larger scale, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, “90% of the world’s food supply comes from about 100 crop species, and 71 of those crops (especially fruits and vegetables) rely on bees for pollination.”

Let that sink in for a minute. In the US alone, bee activities across orchards, pumpkin patches and alfalfa farms, not to mention many other kinds of farms, generate $15 to $19 billion (depending on sources) every year. Looking at dollar amounts is one thing, but imagine not having the variety of foods we enjoy now, like strawberries, almonds, cucumbers and pumpkins. So yup, we’d loose a lot more than honey.

If you really want to freak out your taste buds, here’s the Wikipedia list of foods pollinated by bees. Or just do a google search for ‘world without bees’ videos…

Honey Display at the 2017 MN State Fair

Vote with Your Voice

“Diversity is our strength, which by the way, applies to more than just bees and their food sources,” stated Representative Rick Hansen, from District 52A. He’s one of the good guys, fighting for protection of our pollinators. He spoke at a recent Honey Bee Club of Stillwater meeting I attended and is proud of Minnesota being ahead of the curve on legislation to help pollinators. Rep. Hansen’s a great source of honest info, follow his Facebook Page, Twitter account or get on the list for his email updates.

Our very own U of MN’s Bee Lab, being well known around the globe for advancing the understanding of bee science helps our local pollinators’ more than we can imagine. Dr. Marla Spivik heads this growing group of bee lovers with passion and it shows. I feel much better about my weedy lawn, now that I can call it a Flowering Bee Lawn, thanks MN Bee Lab!

Also, a huge shout out to the MN Honey Producers Assoc. – did you know MN State Fair boasts the largest pollinator & Honey display of any state fair in the country, not to mention the Honey Ice Cream!

From the best way to test for mites, to quick response testing of bee kills, these scientists are on the front lines of ‘save the pollinators’ campaign. But trying to stay and reverse the average 30-40% loss of bees annually is a tall order. One that needs our group efforts!

Grass (& Flower) Roots

Because state and federal legislation reducing or eliminating harmful pesticide use have been halted by lobbyist efforts (from Monsanto to the different state “Growers Associations”), city level resolutions have been huge in getting pesticides off city owned lands- and raising awareness of the pollinator plight. That’s where groups like the Pollinator Friendly Alliance come in.

Changing the system that allows the harmful pesticides into our communities needs the whole hive. Many of our Minnesota communities have taken the “Pollinator Protection Resolution”. Check HERE  to see if your city is on the list. If it’s not and you want to help your city become more pollinator friendly, check out the Pollinator Friendly Alliance online to get linked to ways to start the process. There are some powerful things happening in city legislation! If you have questions or are ready to help, email Laurie Schneider, Co-Executive Director at Pollinator Friendly Allinace.

Pollination Station inside a beautiful garden at Minneapolis’ Loring Park.

Just keep Buzzing

With articles like “Popular Pesticides Keep Bumblebees From Laying Eggs” and “The Honeybee problem is only getting worse” coming out every week we can almost get desensitized to the pollinator troubles.

Almost.

Although with the U.S. leading the numbers in bee die off (yes I see a direct relation to our high pesticide use and high numbers of ‘pests’ dying) our U.S. farmers will be the first to feel the pinch. Followed by U.S. eaters.  This is another reason I really like knowing how to grow some of my own food.

Remind Me…

“Bee researchers first reported massive die-offs back in the 1990’s. But the plight of the honeybee didn’t truly buzz into the national consciousness until the spring of 2013, when data revealed the average beekeeper had lost 45% of her colonies the previous winter. A mysterious phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder (CCD) further stoked the fires of public interest”. From a 2015 Time Magazine article.

Between 2008 and 2013, wild bee diversity in the US dropped by 23%, and a previously common bumblebee species was recently listed as endangered.

Varroa mites, one of the most well-known parasites definitely share in the blame. Neonicotinoids, a type of pesticide is also to blame. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), when bees die just outside the hive, for reasons unclear, is also adding to the decline in numbers, with losses of up to 43% of bees kept in hives around our country. More info on CCD HERE.

Feeding Healthy Bees

Turnip Rock Farm’s Hives hanging out between the fields.

Just like us, bees need to ‘eat the rainbow’ in pollen to be healthy and strong enough to fight off minor infections. Monoculture farming, with less and less land planted in anything other than Corn, Wheat or Soybean is also hurting the pollinators. There are so many ways farmers can be the heros in this situation, and some of them are rising to the occasion. The Big River Farm, part of the Minnesota Food Association, works with the Stillwater Bee Club whose hives are set up on their farm. They are an organic teaching farm mindful of the big picture, and true friends of the bees. Many of the small farms I’ve visited have a hive or three of their own, like this one on Turnip Rock Farm.

How you can BEE the Change you want to see

#1 Stop using pesticides!

Especially systemic insecticides including neonicotinoids and fipronil (these ingredients must be listed). Remember *There are organic pest control options*, they’re not the ‘point and shoot’ variety; most of these techniques work with the plants, against specific pests, for a shorter time. Rodale’s Organic Gardening lists them by Types of Products HERE.

#2 Plant more pollinator friendly plants!

Bumble attacking some Hyssop

Think season extenders like early blooming (dandelions and creeping Charlie are good early season flowers) and long lasting bloomers like Hyssop (agastahce), and fall flowering Asters etc. Bonus: They’re Beautiful!! The U of MN’s Bee Lab’s list of beneficial plants for bees is specifically for MN, letting you know if the plant is native to our area.

You have so much power in how you spend your dollars! There are many plant suppliers that have taken major measures to grow their plants without any Neonicotinoids. Choose to buy from THESE SUPPLIERS . Or ask how they grow their plants. Remember, just because the species attracts pollinators, it can still come from a nursery that used pesticides and end up hurting the pollinators they were meant to help!

Even the Minneosta Zoo has gotten on board with their “Plant for Pollinators”  initiative, tied to breeding the endangered Prairie Butterfly.

#3 Buy Local Food

Buy direct from farmers using sustainable farming techniques. For the bees, organic or near organic practices, diverse crops, reduced pesticide applications are all important. Get to know a farmer or three, it is so worth your time, and it tastes good too. *See ALL my other blog posts for more information on this

#4 Buy Local Honey

Local Bee keepers, who run Apiaries are on the front lines, and most don’t make much money from keeping bees and selling honey. What they do make is more pollinators, even though lately, beekeepers have had to regularly buy more bees to replace those that have died because of Colony COllapse Disorder (CCD), varroa mite infestation and pesticide kills.

Also, please buy REAL Honey. Basically this means buy honey direct from local bee keepers. They can tell you what kind of nectar the honey was made from, and after a few samples (oh twist my arm) of different honeys from different parts of the state, you’ll be able to taste the difference too! MN Grown has a mapped listing HERE.

If you’re looking for the Ultimate Hipster version of Honey production, look no further than the Beez Kneez, who harvest and deliver with pedal power.

There is a debate as to exactly what raw honey means, but if you buy your honey from the keeper, you can ask if they’ve pasteurized it or not. High heat kills off much of the good stuff in honey. And many additives have been found in honey that sits on the big box store shelves. You can test to see if your honey is ‘real’ in a few different ways. I tried the water test, luckily my honey from the local honey bee experts at Honey Pine Apiary  withstood the test!

#5 Support Habitat restoration projects!

As Representative Hansen explains, “there are four main areas of pollinator issues: Habitat, Nutrition, Parasites and Pesticides.” It seems like we can all agree on the first three, but changing legislation on the 4^th has trouble sticking around.

Minnesota is an agricultural state and our farm unions have deep roots. It seems that the lobbyists (not necessarily the farmers themselves) for these special interest groups hold a lot of sway in our state government and have pitted the ‘remove harmful pesticides’ bills against ‘farming families’; which is not only untrue, but also undermines the very farming communities they say they are working for. If we keep killing bees, the farmers will be the first to lose.

#6 Get your own Hive!

Become a beekeeper yourself! Add to pollinator numbers in your area by hosting them yourself. I am so close to doing this, but then again, I’m already in over my head. If you are on the fence about keeping bees, check out Nature’s Nectar, a long time, trusted and  local resource for bee keepers and their bees.

Or maybe you want to leave the bee keeping duties to the professionals, but still increase pollination in your area (a 2 mile radius) by having a hive on your property? The U of MN Bee Lab has you covered, with their “Hive to Bottle” program. You buy the equipment and bees, then they do ALL the work, literally from setting the hive to bottling the extra honey. It’s not cheap, at $875 for one colony, but you’ll probably see a huge increase in your pollination rates, from flowers to veggies, and get quite a bit of honey- and the knowledge that you helped spread the pollinator love. This might be a good option for a neighborhood split?

And, Drum Roll Please…

#7 Go to the Polli*Nation Festival and party with a purpose!

**GIVEAWAY:  WIN 4 Passes to the Polli*Nation Festival**
Contest Ends Tuesday Sept 5 at 7pm
Like us on Facebook to enter: www.facebook.com/forksinthedirt/

The Pollinator Friendly Alliance organizes this outdoor festival to raise awareness of pollinators. What a celebration it is: with Live music, Food Trucks, Art installations, Bee Science, awards given out and of course HONEY!! But seriously, the food trucks: Red Table Meat Company, Bakers Field Organic Flour & Bread, Finnegans Brew, Sociable Cider, Saint Pops, Foxy Falafel, and Kowalskis!!! More Details HERE

So, that was a lot of info. But I’ve still got questions about pollinators and bees. I want to spend some time with a beekeeper at their hives, and I wonder what a honey house is like when their ‘spinning’ the honey? Do you have any specific questions about honey bees, or pollinators in general that I didn’t answer? Let me know so I can ask for the next time around!

For now, take time to stop and thank the pollinators.

I’m ready to DIG IN and plant a few more fall flowering asters, and then enjoy some honey in my tea!

Michelle

The post Hive Mind.ed appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.

This summer is growing by fast. Even with Fall right around the corner, if you’re like our family we plan on squeezing every last drop of summer out of the rest of this Summer. And this weekend is ripe with opportunity to do just that, by exploring local farms, flavors and vineyards and learning more about our pollinators. Let’s jump right in, the sun is set to shine just in time for these weekend farm and foodie events!

Friday August 18th

Great Table Dinner at the Dancing Dragonfly Winery

Enjoy the vineyard like never before with a unique and memorable al fresco dining experience, while mingling with fellow wine lovers at our large, family-style table. A 3-course dinner, featuring locally sourced foods from the St. Croix Valley region. The menu includes: Wilted Spinach Salad with Bacon, Top Sirloin with Garlic Crusted Portobello Mushrooms, Champagne Chicken Breast, Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Vegetables, and dessert. The website also mentioned dressing in layers, which was the first time I got legitimately excited for Fall. You can also add on wine pairings (a glass chosen for each of the three courses) for $20. Our regular lineup of wine also available. Simply put this sounds like heaven.

Details: Friday, 6pm-8pm. $55 in advance Registration Link.
Dancing Dragonfly Winery 2013 120^th Avenue, Saint Croix Falls, WI 54024

Saturday,  August 19^th

Cheese & Wine Festival at Dancing Dragonfly Winery

Enjoy sampling premium cheeses and other food goodies from a variety of local vendors while enjoying your favorite glass of wine. Live music from Benny Weinback Trio, 12:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m, and David Ybarra and the Northside Dukes, 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Bring a lawn chair or blanket and make it a day! All this surrounded by the beauty of this vineyard tucked into the St. Croix Valley…yes please!

Details: 11am-7pm. Free and open to the public,
Dancing Dragonfly Winery 2013 120^th Avenue, Saint Croix Falls, WI 54024

Breakfast on the Farm at Gale Woods Farm

Get your breakfast straight from the source. Enjoy a farm-fresh breakfast made from locally grown foods and catered by Dakota Junction. Menu includes Scrambled eggs, sausages, cheesy hash browns, zucchini bread, cinnamon rolls and more!  Also, listen to live music, visit the barn, meet the animals and explore the gardens. Sounds like a dream come true for more than a few kids I know! Children 17 and under must be accompanied by a registered adult. Reservations recommended. Sign up at their Website.

Details: 8:30-11am. Reservations- 11 years+ $15, 2-10 $8, under 2 free.
Gale woods Farm, 7210 County Rd 110 W, Minnetrista, MN 55364

And…if the breakfast reservations get sold out, there’s another fun kid friendly option at the same farm…

Saturday Mornings on the Farm at Gale Woods Farm

Same activities as above without the breakfast. A great way to participate in seasonal farm activities, and get your hands a little dirty!

Details: $5 reservations, under 2 free. Gale Woods Farm Facebook Page
Gale woods Farm, 7210 County Rd 110 W, Minnetrista, MN 55364

Kowalski’ Markets “Joy of Local Food” Event

All Eleven Kowalski’s Market locations are showcasing different local suppliers throughout the day. My local market, The White Bear Lake Market, will be featuring over 20 different local producers including:  Salad Girl Dressings, Bolton Bee’s Honey, Grand Ol Creamery, New Bohemia Sausages and Unteidt Farms corn with K-Hand Rolled Butter, so much yum in one place! This is going to be a feast of local flavors. All this sampling will lead to new discoveries- I can’t wait! “We are excited to give the limelight to our amazing local partners on Saturday, they deserve it and we’re ready to share their good food with you,” said the White Bear Lake Market Assistant Store & Grocery Manager, Aaron Gallagher. I’m ready for some new local flavors, how about you!?!

Details: Saturday, 11am-4pm, All Market locations

Borner Farm Project Classes:

The Borner Farm Project is the culmination of blending agriculture with community and watching those seeds take root. They also have pizza nights, and other classes offered throughout the year.

Brick Oven Basics: Building and Baking Class  Saturday, 9am-5:30, $90
Learning how to build and bake on your own Brick oven is a dream of ours, talk about eating local! You can take your dream one step closer to reality by signing up for this class! Curious about baking wood-fired pizza and bread in your backyard, but not ready to commit to permanent oven construction? Want to find a cheaper alternative to a prefabricated oven? Join us and learn how to build a portable stacked-brick oven from loose bricks. After the oven is built, we will fire it up and learn how to make dough for flatbread, pizza, and artisan bread. Then we will bake, eat, and have a good time!

Gut Healing Cooking Class  Saturday, 10am – 12:30pm, $30

This class will focus on meal planning for GAPS and Grain-Free Sugar-Free Meals: Broths, Entrees, Side Dishes, and More”. Even though this is a specific list, the applications to all kinds of cooking are endless- and SO healthful! Join instructor Aileen Abliss to taste and learn how delicious nourishing food effectively treats depression, bi-polar, autism, ADHD/ADD, anxiety, autoimmune diseases, digestive disorders, arthritis, and other mental and physical conditions.

To register for either of the above classes, please email bornerfarmproject@gmail.com and include the following informa

tion: Name, number of people who are signing up, which class/es you would like to take, your email address, and your phone number.
Details: Registration Link
Borner Farm Project, 1266 Walnut St, Prescott, WI

Sunday, August 20th

Up Close with Pollinators at Steady Hand Farm

This is a unique experience where kids and parents can learn about beekeeping from an expert- Erin’s even got child sized bee suits! Last year about 15 kids and their parents attended and learned about pollinators, their habits in the hive and wider world, current ecological concerns facing them- all with lots of fun adding to the buzz. Same game plan for this year’s event. It gets real when getting into those bee suits and exploring the hives on Steady Hand Farm with Erin Rupp. Erin “founded Pollinate Minnesota in 2015, to connect with students and teachers of all ages to live honey bees and the science, policy and media story of pollinator decline,” straight from the Pollinate Minnesota website. Also, Steady Hand Farm looks like quit the place to enjoy!

Details: Register for the fun at Steady Hand Farm, 1231 135th Street, Amery, WI 54001

Just in case that wasn’t enough…Sociable Ciderwerks is holding a NE Brewers Block Party and Red Barn Pizza Farm has a Pizza Night this weekend as well; but since I covered them in earlier weekend spreads, I thought I’d give more space to the newbies!

So many options… Ohh August, you’re always worth the wait!

Dig In and Enjoy!
Michelle

The post Forks’ Weekend Spread: August appeared first on Forks in the Dirt.