Sweet Belly Farm

Lemhi County Farmers Market tomorrow! I helped harvest literally bucketloads of garlic scapes at Swift River Farm that will be for sale at the market! Sweet Belly will also have spicy salad greens, perhaps some spinach and the first tiny crop of strawberries. We sell our produce at the community farm booth, and reserve space at our own booth for our many jams and herbal goodies. See you Saturday folks!

Will be off this weekend seeing family for a wedding, so will not be at the Farmers Market. Life got busy so fast, but I've remembered to enjoy the sweet faces of salsify while they are blooming in the orchard. (Scientific name sounds like a Harry Potter spell: Tragopogon dubius) Catch you all next weekend, back in action June 22nd!

At the market tomorrow, Sweet Belly will be sligin' tasty greens at the community farm booth, sweet pepper plants from friend Tawna Skinner, and be sharing our normal herbal goodies and jams!

Everything is full to bursting with growth and simple joy. We're so happy to join the fun again at Lemhi County Farmers Market- look for Sweet Belly Farm's herbal teas and other goodies, local jams, and produce (spicy & spring mix) at the community farm booth on Saturday It's hard to make time for community and friends during busy springtime planting, watering, and wildcrafting. But starting Saturday, June 1 we'll be socializing while selling at the market-so come join us.

Kittties helping out at in the garden! They are such good helpers, making sure the wheelbarrow smells right, keeping the irrigation tubes from running away, and always tightrope walking on our rock borders. The best thing is, they taste test our catnip to make sure it's authentic. Later on, we'll harvest and dry it, then mix into your Sleepy Belly Tea blend. Thanks kitties!

Short notice- but Sweet Belly Farm is excited to be headed to Pocatello this earthday weekend for the (Goodbye Hello Craft Show) at the MEC on Saturday! We still have a dazzling array of local fruit jams left this season, so get 'em while you can! Herbal healing body products, medicinal teas, tinctures, and elderberry syrup as well. Looking forward to it.

What a great experience being a vendor in The O'Hara Commons & Sustainability Center online market. Throughout the spring, winter and fall we get a platform to share our jams and herbal goodies with customers in the Bitterroot Valley. It's also so fun to shop as a customer and get access to a huge variety of local food like winter veggies, mushrooms, and even lentils and grains!

Visit the Online Farmers Market to order your local food for the week!

https://oharacommonslocalfoodsmarket.localfoodmarketplace.com/Products

As small business owners, there's often a moment of reckoning where you realize that doing what you love isn't paying the bills. Do you keep your passion as a side business while working other jobs? Do you jump in with both feet, getting loans and employees and trying to market to a wider audience?

I'm not into either option at the moment. While I am growing my business Sweet Belly Farm, I am going to be gentle on myself, and be OK with growing at a slower pace. To value the time and costs I put into my products, I raised some prices last year and will raise more prices of jams and fruit preserves this year. I hope this doesn't make buying from Sweet Belly unaffordable for people, but I think it's a necessary step for my business to continue in a sustainable way.

In the next month or so I am going to ramp up improvement projects on the farm and be tending to many little growing trees and plants.. scaling back at my other job. If I don't meet my business goals this month, this season or this year, I'm going to remember to be kind to myself. I am creative and capable, and will figure this business stuff out eventually, one way or another! Thanks to all my customers, friends and family for your support in this process. -Cameron

Update on Sweet Belly Farm appearances in the wider world!
1. Can't wait till farmers market season. Look for us at the Lemhi County Farmers Market in Salmon and the The O'Hara Commons & Sustainability Center market in Hamilton this summer.
2. We are attending two upcoming shows as a vendor, and jazzed to be spreading our local herbal goodies and local fruit preserves far and wide. First up: Little Red Truck Cottage Market's spring fair in Missoula, March 22 &23rd. This one always attracts a delightful bounty of fun handmade vendors, and is at the Missoula Fairgrounds.
Next up: Goodbye. Hello Craft Show on April 20th, in Pocatello. We always enjoy seeing our Pocatello friends and Sweet Belly has attended most of these shows over the past couple years, bringing repeat customers galore!
3. A big shout out to our consistent retailers, who provide a space for Sweet Belly's salves, lip balms, bath salts, and more year-round! Mountain Harvest Community Market, Odd Fellows' Bakery, Nature's Pantry, The Village at North Fork, Made In Idaho Store, and White Cloud Market. Thanks for your continued support of our small business!
4. Website, of course. Not really an appearance but always a presence.. www.sweetbellyfarm.com

Can't wait for market season, I love the atmosphere at the farmers market! Each week we get visited by our awesome regular customers, see our fellow vendor friends meet new folks at the same time.

We're just three months away from the first market of the season!
As you start to plan your garden for the year or make summer plans, consider joining us as a vendor at the Lemhi County Farmers Market!

If you're a local farmer, grower, or maker and interested in learning more, go to https://www.lemhifarmersmarket.com/vendorapplication and submit an application. Current vendors are good to go, we're just looking for new & more vendors if you know someone who is interested!

New this year is a shared community farm booth open to backyard growers with fruit, vegetables, flowers, or plant starts who may be hesitant about the cost or time commitment of running their own booth. We are hoping this option will be attractive to backyard gardeners who grow great stuff, but need a low-cost, easy option to join the market.

Submitting an application does not guarantee you a spot at the market nor does it commit you to participate. It is simply the first step; a way for us to connect and see if you’re a good fit for the Lemhi County Farmers Market! Once you submit an application you’ll hear back from a market manager via email within a few days.

It's still free seed February! Want some Tulsi or Calendula seeds? We'll include a packet with any order until Feb 29th. Speaking of Tulsi--have you tried our tea blends? Our Women's Belly Tea is a great one for that time of the month- supporting our bodies during menstruation, helping alleviate cramps, bloating, and depletion of nutrients. It also lifts my mood to drink a cup of herbal goodness made from local Idaho herbs!
Also getting outside to chop wood with help from a kitty usually works too. See our teas on our website:
https://www.sweetbellyfarm.com/collections/tea-blends-and-dried-herbs

Free seeds y'all!! We grew some great seeds of Calendula and Tulsi basil, and want to you to have some too! These are collected from plants on our farm, and are for sale on our website-- but if you make any purchase on our website in February you will get a free packet! We have Calendula and Tulsi Basil, both of which are amazing flowering plants and make great herbal medicine. If you want one rather than the other, be sure to specify in the "notes" section at checkout.

www.sweetbellyfarm.com

Remember: Lemhi county locals can select "local delivery" at checkout to avoid shipping costs, I'll just drop your order off in person!

When it's below 0 degrees and you hired a super upbeat, motivated builder friend, he says no problem, we can work outside! So we did! Chris helped me build these rad bypass barn doors for our timber frame garden structure. Now I'll be able to close off a nice cozy environment in there, finish siding the top storage area, and see my friend's great craftsmanship every day. So grateful to have his help designing and building this project.

Pop-up appearance! At your favorite local foods store, .harvest community market on Sunday, Dec. 17th from 1pm-3:30pm. (Jody Brostrom) will be partnering with and selling her hand-knitted fingerless gloves, hats, and holiday ornaments. We'll be bringing a dazzling array of local fruit jams, fruit preserves, and of course our herbal healing salves, teas, and more. It will be great to see folks again- it's hard not to become a recluse in the cold of winter. So bring your re-useable bags and say hello as you shop for groceries Sunday afternoon!

Next up on the travels, headed to Pocatello for the on Saturday! I always appreciate the pocatello crowd, coming out for their local herbal goodies, jams, and gifts even though the weather is usually cold and windy at this event. This time there may be snow too, but we'll have hot chocolate and crepes at the event. See you there Poky crowd, at the MEC Saturday, Dec. 2 from 10am-5pm.

Sweet Belly Farm will be at the annual Holiday Marketplace at the Elks Lodge today (Friday the 17th) from 4-7pm, and tomorrow (Sat the 18th) from 9am-2pm. Get your gifts this year from local artisans, crafters, and makers! Or simply, treat yourself to a fun afternoon out and connect with our community. See you there!

From plant to salve.. Lavender from our garden and from friends makes the most amazing herbal salve. It's soothing, buttery and soft, smells calm and amazing. This time of year the lavender is going dormant, waiting though the cold winter for spring to put on new growth. A rub of the leaves still kicks some of the essential oils into the air, but even this will fade in the coming months. Good thing we need to make salve in the winter, which fills the house with that strong calming smell.

Hello again, world! After having taken a small hiatus from Sweet Belly in October, we're back and gearing up for fall holiday and craft fairs. Upcoming show: the Holiday Marketplace (@ the Elks Lodge in Salmon) November 17th & 18th. This is a great event to find locally made gifts for your loved ones this season. Several Soecial appearances by local artisans and crafters. See you there! Nov.17th from 4pm-7pm, and Nov. 18th from 9am-2pm.

Hello, world! After having taken a small hiatus from Sweet Belly in October, we are back and gearing up for fall holiday shows and craft fairs. Upcoming show: the Holiday Marketplace (@ the Elks Lodge in Salmon) November 17th & 18th. This is a great event to find locally made gifts for your loved ones this season. Several special appearances by local artisans and crafters. See you there! Nov. 17th 4pm-7pm, and Nov. 18th 9am-2pm.

Hello, Pocatello! We are set up today at the Portneuf Valley Farmers Market. Enjoying connecting with new customers, and being out in this beautiful fall weather. If you are in the area, come on down! Throughout the winter you can place an order on our website, www.sweetbellyfarm.com and get ahold of our local fruit jams, herbal teas, salves, and more!

Jam time! This summer I purchased a small chest freezer and it allowed me to pick and freeze the bountiful Rhubarb, while spending week after week also saving my mid-week harvests of Strawberries. The weekend harvests were sold fresh at the Lemhi County Farmers Market.
Finally with enough Strawberries and back from vacation, whipped out several flats of tasty Strawberry Rhubarb Jam! And earlier in August, I had the pleasure of using The Salmon School Garden Project Apricots to make a few small batches of apricot jam. Gonna be a long canning season, but look forward to more local fruit jams by the end of the season. Get yours at the market or online at: https://www.sweetbellyfarm.com/collections/fruit-preserves-jams-jellies-sauces-butters/fruit-butter

What a lark- we've had a whirlwind of markets these days, with the street fair and Lemhi Co. Farmers Market every Saturday. So happy to get my herbal healing goodies and jams to the local community and those folks "just passing through". Spreading the local love far and wide. I think I need to get a permanent 'I ♥️ Farmers Markets' tatoo!

The garden at Sweet Belly Farm this time of year is beautiful and full of pollinators buzzing about. I've been buzzing around pulling weeds, harvesting herbs to dry, and picking raspberries. Hard to keep my chin up with all there is to do, but when I stop and rest, I can't help but be grateful for the incredible bounty this land and garden gives to us.

Happy to be there tomorrow at the Lemhi County Farmers Market! Yes, there will also be some strawberries for the early birds. For the late birds, we'll still have yummy local herbal goodies and jams!

Special appearance at the Farmers Market of Swift River Farm produce! Come get garlic scapes, radishes and snap peas at the Sweet Belly Farm booth! Happening tomorrow at the Lemhi County Farmers Market, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Get local. Get fed. Get there!

Big thanks to the star helpers of the day: Romina and Mercy! (food sovereignty interns from Swift River Farm/Salmon Valley Stewardship) they both helped at Sweet Belly Farm with harvesting, processing, and drying herbs for tea, and we also found time to make a batch of herbal salve and massage oil. A fun learning experience for them, and helping hands for me! Muchas gracias por su ayuda!

Strawberry Season is here! Rewards go to the lucky few who get to our farmers market booth early in the morning and snag this week's strawberry harvest. This little one last weekend did not like the green calex on the strawberry but loved the red part! I'm freezing the mid-week harvest for Strawberry Rhubarb jam to enjoy later in the season. Yumm yumm.