Hello Everyone!

How have you been handling the heat? Wow, it has been hot! I love the heat because I would rather be warm. The rain has dried up here in my section of the state so I have been watering the gardens and potted plants everyday or every other day. It is cooler today and I am enjoying that too.

The garden is producing though! We have been getting cucumbers mostly. The peas have been producing, but are drying up. We have been getting a few zucchini, but I am dealing with blossom end rot with them. It's a first for me, but I have been crushing up egg shells and putting them around the plants.

The tomatoes and peppers are growing and starting to fruit. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will have fresh tomatoes! The garlic and shallots were picked in the last month and have been curing. The garlic will get minced up and frozen into cubes for easy use this winter. The bigger shallots will be used fresh and the smaller ones will go into the freezer too.

I picked the broccoli and started more plants a month ago. They will go back in the same bed this week. I also planted peas and green beans for a fall crop. I might plant some radishes and carrots for a fall crop too, but I haven't decided yet.

I am trying to produce what I can from my gardens this year to combat the ever-growing food prices at the stores. The prices are absolutely getting ridiculous and I don't know how most people will be able to afford groceries if this continues. I am actively adding to my food storage so I can manage through this crisis.

Preparedness, food storage, self-sufficiency, and finances are what is on my mind most of the time so that is what I write about. I want to help you get through these uncertain times and do the best you can.

Some new and old articles for you to check out this week at Living Life in Rural Iowa!
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​How You Can Simplify Your Finances with the Four Priorities​

​How You Can Be Better Prepared While Saving Money​

​Having a Reference Library May Save Your Life​

​21 Pieces of Advice for My Adult Kids​

Recent and old articles from Substack:

​How You Can Simplify Your Finances with the Four Priorities​

​How You Can Be Better Prepared While Saving Money​

​Reducing Life by 75% (from a year ago - I ended up reducing by 85%!)

Two of the articles overlap from the website and Substack. I felt they were important in both spaces so I published them in both spaces. One of the articles might be a little more opinionated on Substack...

Canning season is here!
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If you need ideas for preserving all of the homegrown goodness you're harvesting now, this Let's Start Canning Sale is just what you need! Grab whatever you need for late summer or fall gardening seasons. Check it out here!

You can also find me on:

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Please feel free to share this newsletter and posts with anyone you may think will benefit!

Thanks,
Erica