March 28, 2024

Maxwell couple offers Backyard Flavors

Imagine an amazing salsa, one which every jar tastes fresh, like the vegetables were just picked, full of flavors straight from the garden in the back yard. Now imagine sweet jalapenos sliced and marinated in sweet brine, the perfect blend of heat and sweet.

Once you meet Dan and Julie Beougher of 7 Pines Farm and Backyard Flavors of Maxwell, you won’t have to imagine any longer.

“We started marketing our salsa and sweet jalapenos in 2008. We felt we had an exceptional product and decided to see how far we could take it,” Julie said.

Their salsa is made in small batches with fresh ingredients from their own “garden.”

The Beoughers purchased their farm in 2003, consisting of a house, ten acres of hay fields and an outbuilding.

In 2010, they decided to start using their land for income. “We became a certified organic farm, put up a high tunnel and tilled up one acre of ground to start growing vegetables for our salsas and sweet jalapenos,” Julie said.

7 Pines Farm and Backyard Flavors sell their produce, meat, salsa and jalapenos at Valley Junction Farmers’ Market on Thursday, Downtown Des Moines Farmers’ Market, Ankeny Farmers’ Market and Ames Farmers’ Market on Saturday. They also sell through the Iowa Food Coop in Des Moines and Farm 2 Folk in Ames.

Their salsa and sweet jalapenos are currently available in Whole Foods in West Des Moines, Fareway stores in Ames, Ankeny and Altoona, Heart of Iowa in Valley Junction, and Story City Locker in Story City.