Cass County Wellness Coordinator Brigham Hoegh says this should be a big month for planting. In her weekly “Grow Another Row” update, Hoegh says now is a good time to start planting carrots. Carrots are great to donate due to familiarity and shelf life. You can start planting now and plant additional rows of carrots every two weeks to harvest all summer long! Keep seeds continuously moist for best germination. A quick note on tomatoes: although the temptation is strong, it is best to hold off setting those tomato plants out for another couple of weeks. Tomatoes do best when temps are consistently above 50°F.

“Grow Another Row, Cass County!” is a campaign to encourage residents to grow more food to share in 2020. The campaign was launched to address food challenges created by COVID-19, as more people are finding themselves needing a little extra help keeping food on the table. If you are looking to buy starter plants, check out Rolling Acres Farm. Denise sells many vegetables that are great for donations, including cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, and cabbage, and offers either deliver or farm pick-up. For more information visit: https://www.rollingacres76.com/.

Ready to donate now? Cass County food pantries love receiving fresh produce! Make sure the pantries are able to use your donations.

1. Contact the pantry ahead of time to let them know you are planning to bring produce and set up a time to drop off your donation (pantries don’t always have extra refrigeration space, so they may ask you to bring your donation on the day they distribute food). For more information, please contact: Brigham Hoegh, Wellness Coordinator Cass County ISU Extension 712-249-5870

2. Bring clean produce to the pantry (very little dirt). If you wash the produce before bringing it to the pantry, be sure you can dry it. If you can’t fully dry it, don’t wash it. This keeps produce safe.

3. If possible, bring the produce pre-sacked in quantities that could be sent home with a small family. (Example: please sack green beans, carrots, etc. in 1-pound bags).

• Anita Food Pantry Address: 208 Chestnut St, Anita, IA 50020 Hours: 1st & 3rd Saturday, 9-11 AM Produce donation contact: Tracey Lett (712) 249-4996
• Atlantic Food Pantry Address: 19 W. 4th St., Atlantic, IA 50022 Hours: Thursdays, 1-2 PM Produce donation time: Thursdays, 9-10 AM Produce donation contact: (712) 243-1820
• Cumberland Care & Share Food Pantry Address: 317 Monroe St, Cumberland, IA 50843 Hours: 1st & 3rd Wednesday, 4-5:30 PM Produce donation contact: (712) 774-5818
• Lord’s Cupboard of Griswold Address: 100 Cass St., Griswold, IA 51535 Hours: 2nd and 4th Tuesday, 11 AM-2 PM Produce donation contact: (712) 778-4178
• Cass County COVID-19 Mobile Food For All Address: Various locations across the county. Hours: Mon.-Thurs.

For more information, please contact: Brigham Hoegh, Wellness Coordinator Cass County ISU Extension 712-249-5870; For Produce donation contact: Brigham Hoegh (712) 249-5870

Watch for newsletters for more gardening news throughout the season. For more gardening tips and to sign up to participate in Grow Another Row visit
https://www.extension.iastate.edu/cass/content/grow-another-row-cass-county.