There are a couple of events that take place in August that I want to make a note of this year. One is a farmers market contest and the other is a Census.

I’ll start with the America’s Farmers Market contest. This is the opportunity for those who attend a farmers’ market to vote for their favorite farmers market to receive an award. This event has been taking place for the past 17 years. The top ten markets win a cash reward. Read more about the event and vote on your favorite farmers market.

It's also time to start planting fall vegetables. The planting guide for eastern NC shows that it’s time to plant arugula, snap beans, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, dill, kale, parsley, garden peas, radish, rutabaga, spinach, Swiss chard, and turnips. It would seem like it’s too hot outside to plant these vegetables that grow and produce in the cooler months, but most of these crops need 90 days or more to produce the edible part of the plant.

So, as the summer crops start to get tired and fade out, put some of these cool season crops in the place of summer crops like squash, cucumber, tomato, corn, melons and others that are finishing up for the season. Try it and see what happens. I would be interested to hear about your successes or failures this fall.