We are pleased to announce that on Wednesday, Aug. 20, North Star Farms will be hosting its first ever farm tour. The Foundation for Agricultural and Rural Resource Management and Sustainability (FARrMS) is sponsoring the tour.

The day will begin with a tour of the farm, which actually has two growing areas, but the larger of the two will be emphasized because most of our produce is coming from "Field 1." Afterward, we will actually get the visitors involved by having them help us pick produce for that night's market here in Carpio. We will later clean it, weigh it and pack it and Ilene will explain how market displays add to the appeal and thus bring more sales.

As for myself, I will talk about the products we grow and explain the different varieties and why they thrive in northwestern North Dakota. I will also discuss the Des Lacs River and why it is so beneficial to our production.

Holly Mawby, the director of the Entrepreneurial Center for Horticulture at Minot State University-Bottineau, will also be on hand to talk about educational opportunities regarding the growing of vegetables and marketing them.

The tour will conclude when our visitors attend North Prairie Farmers' Market in Carpio with us. Whether they want to purchase or not, that will be up to them, but they will attend and we will show them firsthand, what it is like to have a market garden.

But because we are certified organic, we have been picked for this tour because organic market gardening is something new in North Dakot, in fact, we've done a fair amount of research and have found only three bonafide certified organic vegetable producers in the state, and North Star Farms is one of those three.

We have a big day ahead on Wednesday. We've had inquiries from the North Dakota Deptartment of Agriculture and the North Dakota State University research center in Williston. At least one TV station and one newspaper are interested in covering the event.

So, there is a lot of work to do. We just passed our annual organic certification on Monday but there is plenty to do to get the place ready for a statewide audience. I have weeds to pull, grass to cut, trellises to mend, mulching and a bit of irrigation. The sun has been up for two hours and here I sit writing a blog entry when I should working in the field.

A report on how it went will be next week's entry. See you on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m., at 101 Washington Ave., in Carpio.