THE OPTIMISTIC FARMER-JULY 2026
- theoptimisticfarme
- Jul 1
- 4 min read
Tall and (Small) Tales from the Great Basin of Northeast Nevada
Happy 250th birthday to the United States of America!!
What a ride and we’re just getting started!! Pops of color are exploding all around the Great Basin and July is a month to enjoy and celebrate! There is a ton to celebrate with a plethora of stunning flowers dotting the landscapes and yards! It is time to enjoy the warm, maybe even hot days, and plenty of opportunity to stay busy with summer barbecues, baseball games, and kids running through the sprinklers.
News from the Garden
All sorts of flowers are doing their thing in July! Roses, make sure you take time to smell them! Dianthus, in pretty shades of red and pink, along with the oranges and yellows of the blanket flower, mixed with the spiky purples of lavender and salvia, the flower beds are putting on their own show this month! Even the succulents may show a bloom or two!
From L to R: Hens and chicks bloom, rose bush, blanket flower, lavender, dianthus
Innovations and Ideas
Labeling people is not a wise thing to do, but labeling the seeds you plant can be helpful and is recommended. Most seasoned gardeners have said to themselves, oh I’ll remember what it is, once it starts growing!!! If those thoughts cross your mind, reject them and get out your plant labels! You can find them premade with the names of common plants already noted, or you can create your own. Plastic knives or popsicle sticks, along with a permanent marker are an inexpensive option for labeling, or you can Pinterest plant labels and the sky is the limit!
Inner Work
Can gratitude be your attitude? There is much to be said about living a life of appreciation and with a little practice anybody can do it. Even though human nature or years of conditioning makes us often see the negative, there is always an opportunity for an appreciative spin.
Let Gratitude: Ugh it’s raining again, everything is going to get muddy, can easily become what a great rain and so refreshing for my garden!
Be your Attitude: These gosh darn bugs are eating everything, can become ok bugs I know you have to eat too, so take a bit and move on, also thank you for attracting good bugs to my garden and alerting me to possible deficiencies!
Plants in Science: Rosemary
From the kingdom Plantae, family of Lamiaceae, genus of Salvia, we present the species S. rosmarinus, aka Rosemary! In case you are wondering, the spotlight this month is on Rosemary! Rosemary is a shrub that grows needles, much like an evergreen, that pack a powerful punch! The fragrant, needle-like leaves of the Rosemary plant add a delightful explosion of flavor when added to soups, stews, chicken dishes — heck, the sky is the limit!! One rosemary plant in your garden can provide years of the herb. Cooking, however, is not the only use of rosemary.
One option is rosemary water. Rosemary water is easy to make, and it also has many uses. Simply infuse the leaves in hot water, let the concoction steep, and then strain. Rosemary water is a refreshing drink that packs antioxidants; it may also help balance blood sugar, and it helps support digestion!
Rosemary has also been used to promote hair growth, so you can bottle some rosemary water and spray it on your hair after a shower — it can also provide an aromatic mist if sprayed during a shower!
Burning rosemary — also known as "herbal smudging" — releases volatile oils, including cineole, camphor, and alpha-pinene. Burning rosemary indoors provides natural air purification, likely better than cans of aromatic chemicals. The scent has also been known to help relieve stress, along with many other benefits. Read more at the links below.
Last, but Not Least: Ingredients
An ingredient is an edible substance that is used in making a dish or other food. Did you know there is a trend toward ingredient kitchens? An ingredient kitchen relies on stocking the basic staples needed to build fantastic meals. If you are interested in healthier eating and saving a few bucks on your food budget, having a kitchen stocked with the basics is essential.
Finding out meals can be created without the help of a box, can, or frozen entrée may be a new concept to many, but with a few simple ingredients you can whip up deliciousness in the kitchen! Start by keeping your pantry filled with the building blocks of great meals like beans, sugar, flour, herbs, oil, and vinegars, and you can even use your garden harvest, keeping onions, garlic, potatoes, carrots, herbs, and peppers at the ready! Not prepping your meals from a box opens up all kinds of possibilities for creativity and experimentation in the kitchen — once you get the hang of it, you may wonder how you ever got along before...
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