And then, August

A warm (and humid) welcome to new readers!

August might seem an unlikely month to celebrate. (It claims no major holidays, a cause for cheer right there.) I salute August because it is Not July.

June is the month of high hopes, of planting “just one more row” because why not. Of savoring the sight of stalwart emerald rows against chocolate paths, results of faithful cultivation. Of courting the hope that this could be the year of the upper hand.

July on the farm is when everything goes to crap. Redroot pigweed and velvetleaf run their annual con game. I used to fall for it, thinking the hardest work of the summer was over because everything looked so good. The leafy pests were just laying low until after a good rain. Overnight, weedy chaos all over. Remember the scene in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” where the Cornish Pixies, freshly released from their cage, fly amok in Gilderoy Lockhart’s classroom? Yeah, like that.

July is heat that burns the blue from the sky. Raise your hand if you have ever sweat through a pair of leather work gloves. You’re my people.

August is a promise. Corn is tasseling and pods are filling. In two weeks there will be shelling beans. August is farm parties under a canopy, baguettes, cheese, and a cooler piled with rosé wines. We’re in the homestretch.

This year, in addition to the usual stable of favorite beans, several new varieties are in the mix. Some of you remember River Rock, the wildly multicolored offspring of the demure tan Ireland Creek Annie. River Rock is taking a break this year, but from the last crop I selected out two especially striking examples. One is a white-splotched black colored bean which now goes by the name Galaxy. The other is Janice, a red bean with black mottling named in honor of my aunt, a lifelong farmer, who passed away this year. We’ll see if they are true to their parents or if they, as kids sometimes will, go rogue.

Joining them is Zolfino, a pale yellow bean originally from Italy’s Piedmont region. They received a rousing “welcome to Minnesota” beat-down from last week’s two and a half inches of much-needed rain. The seed packet said nothing about their tendency to vine, and they sprawl more than they stand. They’ll take longer to harvest, but they’re worth it. Think melty and silky.

Several good people have requested (demanded?) a new issue of the Bean Zine and so Issue #4 drops in October. When the owner of your favorite bookstore in all the world (Hi Sue at Subtext!) wants a new zine, you hop to and do.

We return to Mill City Farmers Market, October 3, 10, 17, and 24, Mother Nature willing.

Come by for beans and zines. You’ll be well nourished and well-read.