John has been busy taking more new pictures for our website. it is really embarassing how long I have let these old pictures stay online - it is so delightful to see new ones up!


Our awesome African Black Gel Soap (a fair trade product).

Our awesome line of natural babycare products.

And our very popular Flowing Tresses hair care set!

A couple of things. First - it's SAMPLE SUNDAY this weekend. I can't believe it! It snuck up on me. Seems like we just had one! But - actually....that was a whole month ago. SO YES. Everyone in the central Iowa area - come on out for mad hijinks and fun this Sunday, October 18th! We have, as usual, chair massage, reiki, henna tattoos and tarot card readings, as well as a sample basket FULL of bodycare products for you to try (FREE). And other fantastic delights available on our neighboring farms. Check out Centraliowasmallfarms.com for more details and a printable map.

Next - are pleased to announce that we have been chosen to be a part of the first annual Des Moines Green Gifts Fair! It's gonna be LOADS of Fun - all your local eco-friendly holiday shopping in one convenient location! Sunday, November 15th at the Des Moines Social Center. See you there!

Last but certainly not least, we still keep (slowly) plugging away at improvements on our website. John is updating product photos, here are his latest 2 of our colored lip glosses:


Lovely, aren't they?!

Luxury soap of the month FRESH AIR is now available! It's lovely - brisk, fresh, clean, crisp - just like the fall air. ahhhh.....


ALSO! Now until October 20th - our whipped shea butters are a whopping $5 off. Yes, $5 off - they were 15$, now $10, so get them while you can!

Dear Mother Nature,

Hey. How's it going? Just a quick note from two of us here in the middle of the prairie. We totally get that you can do whatever you please - hey, it's part of the perks of being the Green Goddess and all! We were pretty tolerant of the long cold damp spring. It happens sometimes. And then the cool summer, that didn't allow our tomatoes to ripen, and make all our our tropical herbs thing we were torturing them? We TRIED not to complain, really we did. But now - going from 60 degrees to freezing last night, and then waking up to SNOW on October 10th...and a low of 22 tonight? Is that really, TRULY necessary?? Just wondering. Not that we want to tell you what to do or anything.....just wondering.

bundled in wool in the midwest,

-Donn and Maggie

It's going to frost Friday night....and be rainy all day tomorrow. That means, this afternoon was our final chance to harvest our tender herbs. I harvested the last of the eucalyptus, white sage, lemongrass, and lemon verbena. These will be distilled in the few remaining nice days of the season.
Here they are, hanging in our drying shed.

Local folks, you can now buy our goods at Adel Quilt Shop - it's a lovely store, and we're glad to have our items there!
In a couple of housekeeping notes - we have THREE spots left in this Saturday's Hot Process Crock Pot soapmaking class - if you're interested, there's still time to sign up!

For those of you that read the blog regularly, you know my grandpa (Donna's dad) has had some health problems this summer. Well, we are utterly delighted to announce, he has gone through his physical therapy with flying colors and will be returning home THIS FRIDAY! (He was in a local nursing home for physical therapy, after he had a stroke earlier this summer.) We're very excited! There is now a wheelchair acessible entrance to Donna's house, and a few other in-home modifications had to be made, but over all he is great shape and very, very ready to be home. Hurrah!!!!

It's time to order your saffron bulbs!

We got some from the Rosemary House last year and were utterly delighted with our first saffron harvest! I want to plant lots and lots more!

Here is an idea of what we've been doing the past few days.

Packing boxes.

LOTS of boxes!

and to amuse ourselves, we have been stacking them up as high as we can. :) Yes, this is how life goes at Prairieland Herbs....it's the little things that amuse us....

(no boxes were harmed in the making of these photographs...we didn't overstack them, even once!)

What a cute chai recipe! Thanks to Jill for the link!

John took some GORGEOUS Pictures from last Sample Sunday - check them out!

Prairieland Herbs 11th Birthday Bash!

The Classroom Project!

THose of us who constructed the classroom know what a huge undertaking it was. Here are a few pics - the first ones are from ca. 2001. We had a whole barn full of junk we had to get rid of, then strip the walls down, and break out old concrete.





Next: wiring, plumbing, insulating, doors, windows, heating.


And then for a while it looked like this: Usable, but not exactly tidy or neat.

But THEN, thanks to a generous gift of countertop and cupboards, we got it to look like this!





Neat, huh?? We're pretty pleased. :)

Quick note: Mercury Retrograde struck again, my computer is broken. And I can't update the website until I get it fixed. BUT - our first Soapmaking 101 class is FULL. There are still 5 spaces available in the Nov. 14th class. Sign up soon if you're interested!

Fall 2009 Class Schedule

Check out the fully up to date Central Iowa Small Farms website - we have 2 new confirmed guest vendors out at Prairieland Herbs. The farm is absolutely going to be JAM PACKED with cool stuff!

Also, please note that both Picket Fence Creamery and Prairieland Herbs are offering printable coupons for extra FREE STUFF for Sample Sunday...so don't forget to click, print, and bring them out to the farm on Sunday!

Prairieland Herbs 11th Birthday Bash!
Sunday, September 20th, 12-5 PM
Come help us celebrate! 11% off EVERYTHING in the store!

Plus, we have gourmet, locally-baked herbal cookies to snack on, and a free, 2 oz. Special Edition Handmade Soap to everyone, as “thank you” for 11 great years in business!


Guest Vendors:

Sally Kilkenny, Gourmet Handmade Jams

Sally Farley with Spring Valley Ranch will have gorgeous alpaca fiber, yarn, fabric and clothing for sale.

Martha Williams of Old Orchard Fibers will be doing spinning demonstrations and have handmade yarn for sale.

Kelly and Claire from Whispering Acres Woolies and Woodworks
will have handspun yarns, local fiber and wood and cork trivets for sale.

Roxianne Classes from Firehouse Yoga will be doing yoga and breathwork
demonstrations.

Lynn Marie Parkey will be doing FREE Gauranga reiki sessions, and have Reiki and Essential oil enhanced hemp bracelts for sale!

Dawn Torrents-Suarez from Morning Rain Massage will do doing Ear Candling for $25, or $15 with a receipt from Prairieland Herbs or any Sample Sunday Vendors! Chair Massage available, $15 for 15 minutes. All barters and trades will be considered, so bring something cool/handmade/homemade to trade :)

Henna Tattoos FREE for kids, $5 for adults.

Angie Lambert with AKC Collections will have her pillows and crafts made from upcycled and repurposed wool, available for sale.

Rev. Dr. Hans Van Latenstein will be demonstrating his TFE Energy Psychology technique.

....and more info to come....but mark your calenders, this will be a fantastic day on the farm!

PS - to our wonderful customers NOT in the central Iowa area - fear not...we have some GREAT things planned for you soon...watch the blog for information next week!

Gorgeous local fibers - now in stock!


Naturally colored fiber from Spring Valley Alpaca Ranch in Perry, IA. Mohair/alpaca blends, merino/alpaca blends, and some 100% alpaca. SO. SOFT!



Naturally colored wool from Hedgeapple Farm in Earlham. Shetland, Romney cross, Cotswold (particularly luscious!) and Jacob.

Beautiful, one of a kind (not to be repeated) Day's End from High Prairie Fibers in Letts, IA.

And luscious painted roving, again from High Prairie Fibers in Letts, IA.

FINALLY! The website is updated. (I've been a little busy - sorry folks)

September Luxury Soap of the Month is available - Bergamot Mint. YUM!!!!!!!


ALSO our fall class schedule is now available!

Aromatherapy Body Wraps, Healing Touch for Stress Management, Herbs for Cold and Flu Season, THREE Soapmak...ing Classes, and a Sock Knitting Workshop. Sign up now! :)

what happens when you have 2 - 8 year old boys, a bike, digging implements, and an old bike?

that's right. mulchpile alchaeology.

turning chaos.....

into order. :) slowly....

Our greenhouse is going to a new home! We haven't used it in years, and have to move it to put in Donna's new septic system, so, we just took this opportunity to give it to someone who will use it. It's going to a great new home in southern Iowa. :)


This is what happens when you don't cut back your mints! This is mountain mint - it's up past my waist, but you can see when I start cutting it - it's all stem! I'm systematically cutting it all back - to the ground - and using it in smuge, distillation, and drying it. The plants will be smaller, bushier, healthier and much more prolific next year. I'm also giving away bags and bags of it, so if anyone in the central Iowa area needs mint....just stop by the farm.

Here's a rare shot - both Donna and her doggie Monk (aptly named after the nerotic detective on the tv show) are camera shy - to get a picture of the 2 of them together is a real treat!

You can see some cupboards in the back ground....we are installing new cupboards, cabinets and countertops in the classroom and doing ALOT of cleaning and decluttering. It's going to be transformed! I can't wait!

Sorry for the lack of blogging, folks. It's been a bit crazy around here!

We have been busy preparing the farm for a new septic system, and next week will do some work on my mother's house. She is having some renovations done to make the house more comfortable for my 90 year old grandfather. Meanwhile....Grandpa is actually in a nursing home. He had a mild stroke a few weeks ago, and is needing more care than we can currently provide for him at home. He is, however, recovering pretty well, and we think chances are quite good that he will be able to come home when he regains some strength and balance. Meanwhile we visit him at the nursing home daily, where he keeps tabs on the farm ("And how are the plums coming along? And my tomato plants?") through us.

We had an amazing Sample Sunday last weekend (we're still recovering!) and are already planning our next one - can you believe that on Sunday, September 20th, Prairieland Herbs will celebrate it's 11th birthday?? We have been so incredibly blessed to have had these wonderful years with all of you...and look forward to many more.

So now we are harvesting, distilling, and planning our fall classes and our 11th birthday party events. We have fun things planned for our local folks for next Sample Sunday, but also will be showing our appreciation to our customers nationally and internationally! Stay tuned!!!!

Um...I forgot Freebie Friday last week. TOTALLY forgot it. SO SORRY! I will post something extra good this friday. :)



AND NOW! A reminder about the upcoming Sample Sunday - this weekend! Sunday, August 16th. It's gonna be GREAT! Amazing handmade jams and jellies. Hula hooping. Awesome lunch available. Mini horses, dogs, cats, goats, and cows! FREE Reiki, chair massages and henna tattoos!

Gorgeous sterling silver jewelry for sale. Hay maze and pony rides! Food samples GALORE. Awesome handspun yarns and beautiful alpaca roving and clothing items.

In short....it's the place to be this Sunday. 12-5, rain or shine, be there or be square.

More info and printable map here: Central Iowa Small Farms Website

We will be at the Downtown Des Moines Farmers Market tomorrow - come see us! Our market location for this Saturday is on Court Ave, near 4th St., on the North side of Court. (Across the street from where we have been vending this year). See you there!

BODY POWDERS ARE ON SALE! 30% off - now until August 15th. Talc-free body powders are great for keeping you dry in the summer time!

Check out this great tutorial on crystallizing borage flowers. *YUM!* Thanks for sharing, Sabbath!

Happy Freebie Friday!!

Jennifer Vander Molen is the winner of our Luxury Soap of the Month! :) Yay Jennifer!

This week's Freebie - one of our Mini Facial Care Samplers. These are AWESOME for traveling, or just a great way to try out 3 of our most popular facial care products: our Luxury Soaps, Eye and Face Creams, and our Facial Serum.


These kits are customized for 3 different skin types: Mature/Dry, Normal, and Problem/Oily. Winner gets to choose the best type for their skin.

If you'd like to enter yourself to win one of these kits, simply comment on today's blog post.

Rules:
1) One entry per person.
2) You must have a registered ID to post - if your post shows up under "anonymous", we don't know who you are, and therefore you can't win.
3) You have until the next Thursday at midnight, CST, to enter your comment.
4) Winner will be announced the following Friday - you must check back to see if it's you!
5) International folks are welcome. We ship Prairieland Herbs items all over the world, so we'll ship our "Friday freebie" anywhere too!
6) Each eligible post will be assigned a number, and we'll use a free online random number generator to determine the winner.

You gotta love a product rave blost post entitled "I'm Going To Smell Like Awesome". :)

Thanks, Kasey, (Last week's Freebie Friday Winner) for the excellent review, and great blog post. You are giving us a big big happy here at Prairieland Herbs today! :)

Here's a great blog post about a small essential oil distiller in Canada. I have a heck of a time explaining to people why we don't distill our own essential oils....they see we have an herb farm, and a still...so why aren't we making essential oils? The question is one of scale. We have a TINY herb farm (less than 2 acres, most of which is occupied with house/barn/outbuildings/store/parkinglot/miniature horses), and a tiny still. You need many many pounds of herbal matter to make OUNCES of essential oils! This article and pictures give a small taste of the size of still needed to make quantites of essential oil.

Happy Freebie Friday!

Congrats to last week's winner - Kasey aka Captain Awesome! Kasey, email us at shop at prairielandherbs dot com with your address and we'll send out your aromatherapy bath salt kit!

This week's Freebie - a bar of our July Luxury Soap of the Month! That's right - it's baaack! We've gotten our act together and are once again posting a new, luxurious soap once a month. These are limited edition specialty bars - so get them while they're here, because when they're gone, they're GONE!

This month's selection is scented with a luscious blend of herbal and citrus essential oils - basil, rosemary, spearmint, lime, tangerine. YUM. Like a visit to your favorite spa!

If you'd like to enter yourself to win one of these bars, simply comment on today's blog post.

Rules:
1) One entry per person.
2) You must have a registered ID to post - if your post shows up under "anonymous", we don't know who you are, and therefore you can't win.
3) You have until the next Thursday at midnight, CST, to enter your comment.
4) Winner will be announced the following Friday - you must check back to see if it's you!
5) International folks are welcome. We ship Prairieland Herbs items all over the world, so we'll ship our "Friday freebie" anywhere too!
6) Each eligible post will be assigned a number, and we'll use a free online random number generator to determine the winner.

Today we're working on an order for our buds at Soul-Flower.com. Did you know that they carry 4 custom-made Prairieland Herbs products that are ONLY sold at Soul-flower.com? That is how much we love this super-cool business! If you love patchouli, go here to check out their custom scents: Patchouli Flower solid perfume and body balm, and Patchouli Soul solid perfume and body balm. Too cool!!

We still have kitties that need homes! Yesterday they all got spayed/neutered, microchipped, vaccinated and treated with Revolution. Today, they're recouperating. :( If you are interested in adopting a kitten...let us know! (thanks for the photo John!)

Happy Freebie Friday everyone!

We will be at the Downtown Des Moines Farmer's Market tomorrow, on Court Avenue in front of Dos Rios. Stop by and see us!

Last week's winner of a Milk Bath is Melanie from the UK! Melanie, drop us an email - shop at prairielandherbs dot com - with your mailing address and what scent of milk bath you'd like!

This week's Friday Freebie is our Aromatherapy Bath Salt Kit! 4 refillable/resealable tubes of bath salts packaged together in a mesh bag make a fun aromatherapy bath salt kit. You receive 1 tube each of Peppermint, Rosemary, Tangerine and Lavender bath salts. These are AWESOME as a gift, or a delightful way to pamper yourself! If you'd like to enter yourself to win one of these kits, simply comment on today's blog post!

Rules:
1) One entry per person.
2) You must have a registered ID to post - if your post shows up under "anonymous", we don't know who you are, and therefore you can't win.
3) You have until the next Thursday at midnight, CST, to enter your comment.
4) Winner will be announced the following Friday - you must check back to see if it's you!
5) International folks are welcome. We ship Prairieland Herbs items all over the world, so we'll ship our "Friday freebie" anywhere too!
6) Each eligible post will be assigned a number, and we'll use a free online random number generator to determine the winner.

Just a quick post to update everyone. Sorry we've been so quiet lately. Summer is always a challenge in any year - our workload more than doubles, due to gardening, distilling, harvesting, and farmer's markets. We do all those thing in ADDITION to making, packaging and shipping our products, running the blog/website, and just general business maintenance "stuff" (paperwork, paying bills, cleaning, the boring stuff!). I'll try to be better about keeping the blog interesting with photos, recipes, etc!

This summer is even a bit more different. Our business is located on my mom's property, along with her house. She has to have a new septic system go in....which HAS to be located right where the majority of our herbs were grown. That's fine, we dealt with it, moved the plants we needed, and adjusted our other growing areas. THEN, the fellow who was going to put in the septic system sorta went MIA. So now the area where the septic system will go is suddenly a field of 12 ft. weeds. Niiiiiiice. *sigh* So we've given up any great ideas of having a "pretty" farm this year. :)

Another challenge for our summer involves my grandpa's health. My grandpa lives on the farm with my mom. He turned 90 just a few weeks ago! Overall, he's been in great health, and is an utter delight to have around. However, the last few weeks he's been struggling with some health problems; doctors visits and extra health care needs have kept my mom very busy with him, and introduced new challenges to her life.

We are able to enjoy and care for him in the last years of his life, BECAUSE we are a small family-run business able to work near home. For this, we owe you, our customers, a tremendously huge THANK YOU. Thank you for allowing us this job and lifestyle, full of both challenges and flexibility! Thank YOU for allowing us this job and lifestyle that allows us to care for the oldest and youngest (my sister's young children are here often) members of our family as needed. I wish everyone in the world had such options.

So if we're occasionally quiet on the blog, or your order ships a day or two later than we had anticipated, please, know that we are doing our best. We appreciate each and every one of you more than you know, and truly do our best to juggle work and family to the best of our abilities.