Today is a busy day.

The classroom is cleaned and ready for our Natural Cleansers class. (We still have room available - if you want to take it, be here by 1 :) ). For those of you who can't take it but are interested - check out our Laundry Soap recipe. That's one of the things we'll be making in class today.

Our herb plants have arrived, and are for sale!!

Becky at Willow Avenue Pottery brought us these super cute plant decorators...only $3 each! There's frogs and ladybugs too! Get 'em while they last!

Sally Kilkenny will be here with her fantastic gourmet jams! New varieties include: Strawberry, Spiced Strawberry, Blueberry-Cherry, Cranberry-Pepper, and Strawberry Rhubarb. YUM!

We have a few bars of the April Luxury Soap of the month left, so I"m leaving those online for a day or two.....if you liked Clear Mind, this is your last chance to grab a few bars. The new May soap of the month is SPECTACULAR...stay tuned!

And here's what's happening at Northern Prairie Chevre, our neighboring farm to the north, this Sample Sunday, 12-5!

• Meet Meg Fisher, owner/designer of Lincoln and Lexi children’s clothing and apparel.  Her items are amazing and SO SOFT!!!!
• Enjoy a juicy Sheeder Farms burger while listening to the jamming of Sweet Tater and Friends: The Home Brewed String Band
• Snus Hill Winery will sample several of their award-winning wines.
• Several new items in the store.  Make this your stop for gourmet foods that go well with goat cheese, wine, and more.
• Spruce up your favorite dog with Iowa made collars, leashes and harnesses – great designs and very well made!  All are 25% off!!
• Dreesman Buffalo meat in a variety of cuts – very healthy!!  Several cuts of Sheeder Farms meats and Skeeter Creek Elk.
• Baked goods from Country Lane Bakery
• Chair massages and hooping lessons
• Beautiful jewelry by Sun Creek Jewelry and interesting leather items by Saadja!!
• Many in-store specials!!!  For a limited time, Peppercorn Pyrenese - a new sharp aged cheese.
• LOTS of new kids!!!  Tours of the barn!  The kids, girls and Honeybump are waiting for some loving!
• Kids, the giant chalk board is back!  Enjoy the swing set while mom and dad listen to the music.
• Come in to Miss Tillie’s for samples of our cheese and MUCH MORE!

Sample Sunday, May 2, 12-5..WOW. There's just so much going on! Here's a rundown of what's happening at Prairieland Herbs.

Enjoy hula hooping with Candy Hoops! She will showcase her new Diva and Karma hoops...we guarantee you've NEVER seen hula hoops like this before!

How about tarot card readings, henna tattoos or a chair massage from Dawn of Morning Rain Massage?

Or a delightful reflexology treatment with Melodie, of Mind and Body Massage Therapy!

Lynn Marie Parkey will be offering reiki treatments, and will have beautiful aromatherapy pendants for sale - ask her to custom create a scent blend just for you!

Rebecca Brandow with Willow Avenue Pottery will have her gorgeous, locally made pottery available for sale.

And check out the wonderful gemstone jewelry from Compassionate Creations!

Laura Hess will be on hand to give you SHIMMERLITES! washable, wearable beautiful shimmering hair highlights!

Randi Stone of Lovin' Oven has baked DELICIOUS homemade cookies, bars and treats for you and your family.

Sally Kilkenny will be sampling her gourmet handmade jams and jellies, including some new varieties!

Angie of AKC Collectibles will have her fantastic recycled/upcycled crafts and home goods!

Meet "The Magnificent Seven" - the seven beautiful fostercats from Panora P.E.T.S rescue organization. They're friendly, spayed/neutered, vaccinated, sweet, loving, and ready to be ADOPTED!

Check out our May luxury soap of the month, and pick up a Mother's Day gift - Moms love handmade herbal bath and body items. We have FREE giftwrapping!

And - there's loads going on at Donna Jean's, Picket Fence Creamery, and Northern Prairie Chevre as well! Please visit Centraliowasmallfarms.com for a listing of events, deals, specials and samples and the other farms, plus a printable map. 

We had 2 celebrities visit the farm, Saturday.

First, the fantastic Miss Effie.....she drove all the way from Eastern Iowa to teach us how to make CHEESE! She taught 12 students how to make mozzarella cheese, then we feasted on 100% made-from-scratch pizzas afterwards. We hope to lure her back with promises of Picket Fence Ice Cream...she teaches a fantastic array of classes on local foods, canning and preserving,and more. It was a fantastic class, and we hope to offer it again in the fall. (Just pick a day, Miss Effie - you have a permanent standing invite to Prairieland Herbs!)

Abby did such a good job blogging it...I suggest you go check out her fantastic post :)

The other celebrity to visit PLH was the infamous CHICKEN HAT!

The chicken hat was made by Claire, and lives with Jill.... but has a life and personality of her own! She has an astounding presence....and inspires people to make very bad puns, apparently :) We are pleased she visited Prairieland Herbs!

Please note: We still have room in this Saturday's Classes - Enchanted Gardens, with Donna, and Natural Home Cleansers, with Maggie. PLUS! We have a FANTASTIC new lineup of classes announced! Sacred Spaces, Freezer Jams, Making and Using 5 Minute Bread Dough, Natural Dyes from the Garden, Sewing 101, Papermaking, and Pressed Flower Cards! Visit our Events Page for more information or to sign up.

Want to listen to Maggie yak about herbs, bodycare products, and more? Well, okay. :) I'll be interviewed tonight, 5pm CST, on the Renegade Farmer! Here is the link - in case you can't listen live, don't worry! It will be archived, you can listen at your leisure.

Renegade Farmer Radio Interview.

I also write for the Renegade Farmer, monthly, and one of our FANTASTIC friends, Karly, is a weekly writer (check out her chilling first post - the CHICKEN MURDERS!)

So...this is what I saw when I drove home from the post office yesterday.

As soon as I stuck my head in the door they were like "uh oh! BUSTED!" and they tried to hide. As if three mini horses could hide in a 24x30 room?!?!

We are hosting a plant swap! Saturday, May 29, 2 PM at Prairieland Herbs! This is a fun, informal community event, perfect for both new gardeners and those with lots of experience.

How it works: Bring any extra plants you would like to trade. You can bring leftover annuals, extra veggie plants, perennials that you divided out, excess bulbs, houseplants, even small trees if you like. Have extra seeds you don't want or need? Feel free to bring those too! Please, have your plants in a pot, box, or bag, so they can be easily transported and safely sit for a day or two until they are transplanted. PLEASE, if you can, have the plant marked (to the best of your knowledge). we will try to have some plant markers available at the swap, too.

If you have a ton of plants to donate, but don't want any in exchange, that's fine! You may bring them before the event if you like, you do not need to stay.

If you don't have anything to swap, but want to come and take home some plants to start or fill in your garden, that's okay too! Come on, join the fun. Gardeners are friendly fun people and are always willing to share.

We'll see how many people plan to show up, and then organize as needed...

Feel free to post here if you have specific plants you know you will be bringing to share, or if you are looking for anything in particular.

We'll provide snacks and a nice shaded comfortable area for swapping. This will be fun! Look forward to seeing you!

Tell your friends! This is a fun event open to ANYONE!

And *today's* post is inspired by my friend Jill, who asked about rhubarb recipes! I LOVE rhubarb. Alas..I am surrounded by rhubarb-haters. *sigh*  So mostly I see good rhubarb recipes, sigh, and put them away. But now at least I can blog them and hope you all make the rhubarb-ey goodness....

Buttermilk Panna Cotta with Carmelized Rhubarb topping pretty much combines my love of fermented foods, food in jars, AND rhubarb. It's PERFECT!!

Look how gorgeous this rhubarb liqueur is! I AM making this. Rhubarb-haters be damned.

And I AM making this gingery rhubarb chutney, too. Because, as she says, it is pretty  much heaven, when placed on top of good dark bread with a sharp cheddar cheese. ('scuse me while I wipe drool of the keyboard..)

This post is inspired by my super-creative friend Becky, who posted THE MOST GORGEOUS photo of lilac sugar the other day.

Lilac sugar, you say??

Why yes! Lilac is an edible flower. It has a strong, distinctive, fantastic scent....that is very in-your-face when standing next to a fresh lilac bush...yet nearly impossible to capture. All lilac scented bodyproducts are synthetically scented, as you cannot capture the scent of lilacs with the distillation process.

This spring trifle looks simply AMAZING. !!!

This fun blog has some easy and fun ideas for making lilac sugar, lilac muffins, and lilac syrup.

I think this recipe for lilac panna cotta sounds pretty amazing too.

How about lilac jelly? With a wonderful recipe for using it with (wait for it...) chicken breasts.

There's a few ideas to get you started. Now, go eat your flowers!

Saged Pear Butter! *swoon* I hope our pear trees produce well this year....

A Woman Unscensored  has a great product review for us. And we didn't even pay her to say nice things about us. :) She particularly liked our shampoo bars and facial serums.

....and now the dandelions have come out! Time to make dandelion jelly!! Recipe and photo tutorial here.

Another young herbalist in training......

The yard EXPLODED in violets! Time to make violet jelly!  Here's our tutorial for making violet jelly - complete with photos. ENJOY!

We are excited to have adoptable kitties from Panora P.E.T.S at Sample Sunday!

These kitties are looking for indoor homes. No de-clawing. The adoption fee for any cat is $75. Each cat and kitten has been:
▪ altered (spayed/neutered),
▪ vaccinated (age-appropriate) - rabies, distemper combo, & FeLV
▪ microchipped,
▪ tested for FeLV/FIV (negative unless previously noted),
▪ treated for fleas, ear mites, and worms.

Come on out to the farm and meet these fantastic kitties! You might find the perfect addition to your family. 

We are SO JAZZED for this Sample Sunday, April 11, 12-5. I mean, REALLY JAZZED!!

First. The weather is going to be spectacular. 70 and sunny. I would like to take this moment and mention that the only Sample Sunday that was snowed out in 2009? Yeah. The one in APRIL. Iowa is so weird.

Second. We have such GREAT VENDORS lined up. Are you ready for the list?!?! It's a doozy.

Willow Avenue Pottery is our new guest vendor. She has AWESOME STUFF. AWESOME.

Melodie, with Mind and Body Connection Massage Therapy will be doing her amazing reflexology treatments again. She was busy for 5 straight hours last Sunday...her reflexology treatments are wonderful!!

Sally Kilkenny will have her amazing gourmet jams for sale!

Lynn Marie Parkey, with Gauranga Reiki, will be offering releaxing and rejuvinating mini-reiki sessions.

Tracy Barton-Rouse, with Compassionate Creations, will have her gorgeous gemstone jewelry for sale - including these beautiful new chakra bracelets!

Angie of AKC Collectionss have her wonderful, inventive, upcycled/recycled/repurposed craft and household items.

Dawn Torrents-Suarez, with Morning Rain Massage, will be offering chair massage, henna tattoos, ear candling and tarot card readings.


and THIRD.....our fantastic neighbors at Picket Fence Creamery have amazing things happening at their farm too! Such as:

*FREE local food samples: Very berry (black and red raspberry) ice cream, Iowa wines, Neva's cheeseball, elk sticks, creamed honey, fresh almond and peanut butters, cheese curds, roasted and salted peas, caramel pecan apple butter, corn cob jelly, spring salad, our own sour cream, "the best chocolate milk this side of the Milky Way," and more!

Guest Vendors!  Penoach Winery, Adel; the Taste of the Town salsa, Waukee.

*Lunch is served! Grilled brats $2, hot dogs, pop or chocolate milk, only $1.  Music provided by HB Productions, Altoona.

*Kids!  Take a pony ride in the front pasture (free will donation), see Nova, and get FREE pencils! See our neighbor's Jack Russell puppies (call 515-438-2641 for information).

SUPER DEALS!

* Our own 90% Lean Ground Beef...$2.99/lb w/10 lb. purchase

*Any steak - $8.99/lb.

*2 dozen farm fresh eggs - $5  (reg. $2.99/dozen)

*Iowa wines - 2 for $22  (back by popular demand!)

*Pella's VanderPloeg Bakery pie and quart ice cream - $10

*Grill Pack - $45 - includes: 1 lb. steak, 5 lbs. ground beef, 2 lbs. Iowa chops, 1 lb. buffalo hot dogs, and 1 bottle Picket Fence sauce.

FREE 1/2 Pint of Ice Cream with $25 Purchase!

FREE COOLERS WHILE THEY LAST!

Just arrived...

*FRESH SPINACH - grown in Woodward with no chemicals!!!

*FRESH CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER - made in Dallas Center - it's delicious!

*TOM THUMB POPCORN - this is the hulless variety grown in Perry.  We've been waiting for this!

*PELLA'S VANDERPLOEG BAKERY GOODS - Choose from apple, cherry, peach or blueberry pies, apple cinnamon pecan bread, peanut butter monster cookies, Dutch letters, and fresh cinnamon rolls!

*TRAFFIC JAM and CARAMEL PECAN APPLE BUTTER from Amish territory in Missouri. Absolutely delicious!

Browse our store full of local and chemical free meats and foods from 90 Iowa families!  Try our new s'mores snack mix, and veggie chips. 

AND! Fourthly....(??) Donna Jean's, in Woodward, is joining in this open house as well! They have a fantastic assortment of local wines to sample, and local artists to meet!

Check out ALL the info, and get a printable map, at Centraliowasmallfarms.com

GARLIC!

Verigated lemon balm - isn't it pretty?

Yarrow

Par-cel (a sort of cutting celery...we use it like parsley)

The chives are up and thriving here! Time to make a delicious, light, springtime chive soup.

This post is about our fantastic and talented friend Lynn! (Shown on the left - Dawn Suarez of Morning Rain Massage is on the right.) She is a Certified Gauranga Reiki Master, and a talented healer - as well as being a wonderful lady!  She owns and operates Gaurangareiki.com, and has her practice located in Firehouse Yoga and Wellness Studio (2300 University Ave, in the Drake area of Des Moines).  Book an appointment with her in April and get 10% off your session!

Lynn graces us with her presence every Sample Sunday, and we are honored to have her here! She gives generously of her time and talents by offering  reiki sessions, often at no charge, to anyone who would like to experience Reiki. Many people do not know what reiki is, so here is an explanation from Lynn's website:

"Gauranga Reiki is an ancient, laying-on of hands technique that balances the subtle energies within our bodies. It addresses physical, emotional, mental and spiritual imbalances. This healing art is an effective delivery system, is gentle, non-invasive, and yet powerfully effective in promoting natural stress release, relaxation and emotional and physical healing.". 


We like to describe Reiki as an "energy massage". It is a wonderful healing technique for ANYONE, and can be done anywhere, anytime. If you haven't tried it, we HIGHLY recommend you call Lynn for a session, or stop out on a Sample Sunday to try it for yourself. 

Lynn's healing skills extend to animals, as well as people! Here she is, giving Reiki to Jake, our elderly lab. He passed away a few months ago, but his final months were greatly enhanced by Lynn's gentle yet effective techniques.

I think our dogs are the biggest testament to Lynn's fantastic positive energy. Everytime she come to visit - EVERY. TIME!  - she is immediately swamped by doggies begging for her Reiki! This is a typical scene when she comes to visit us a Prairieland Herbs.

For those of you in other parts of the country or the world - there are probably Reiki practitioners in your area too! Seek them out, and enjoy their services. Our lives have been blessed by this wonderful art, and we just want to share the joy! For those of you in central Iowa, come out next Sunday and say hi to Lynn, and  experience some Reiki for yourself!

Whoo!! April's Luxury Soap of the Month is BRACING! Clear Mind is an apt name, it's guaranteed to clear the cobwebs out of your brain. Crisp, clear, clean, fresh, like the springtime breeze itself. Terri blended essential oils of rosemary, peppermint, and fresh ginger to create this fantastic, unisex scent. We have 40 bars of this fantastic soap - when it's gone, it's gone, so enjoy it while it lasts!