There is nothing more disheartening for the pickling enthusiast than a soft, sad pickle. I’ve been there. It kept me from attempting pickles again for a few years. Completely avoided even growing cucumbers at all for fear that someone might ask, “Oooh, are you going to make pickles with those?” Why? Do I look like […]
It’s time for another update from the garden! Some quick background for new visitors: I garden in NE Minnesota where we have a very short growing season. I use hugelkultur raised beds and apply permaculture methods throughout my garden. Nearly everything I grow are heirloom varieties and all are organically managed- no chemicals, pesticides, or […]
It’s time for another update from the garden! Some quick background for new visitors: I garden in NE Minnesota where we have a very short growing season. I use hugelkultur raised beds and apply permaculture methods throughout my garden. Nearly everything I grow are heirloom varieties and all are organically managed- no chemicals, pesticides, or […]
I find it very helpful to take photos throughout the growing season to track progress and to help me better prepare for the years ahead. And I know that, when researching hugelkultur prior to embarking upon this permaculture growing method myself, there were few start-to-finish articles available. So I’d like to make sure I share […]
Today’s quick tip from the garden pertains to harvesting garlic scapes. Hardneck garlic varieties will produce a stiff, smooth flower stalk up through its middle that is distinctively different than the rest of the plant. This stalk, or scape, has a mild garlic flavor and is used to enhance all kinds of dishes from pesto […]
Although our last frost is just a few weeks behind us, I have been gardening for months. And by that, I mean preparing- taking in knowledge, planning in my garden journal, building new hugelkultur raised garden beds, drying out duck bedding for mulch, depleting the manure piles…and of course, planting and watching everything come to […]
Living on a busy hobby farm provides countless beautiful opportunities for great photos. Springtime is especially busy for us this year with all of the new babies surrounding us: pigs, turkeys, rabbits, and chicks. There’s no doubt that spring brings all kinds of new life, whether it be new animals, the buds on the trees, […]
There is no season I look forward to more than canning season. Except maybe gardening season, but the two go hand in hand, don’t they? It makes me as anxious as my kids are for their after-nap-treat. And as the canning shelves start getting lighter and my boxes of empty jars begin to stack up […]
Seed starting can be an intimidating task for some. And yet to someone who has never started seeds before, it may be the opposite. What’s so scary about putting a seed into some soil? But to those who have ever started seeds- and failed- it can be discouraging. Especially when you’ve invested a decent amount […]
It’s that time of year. I’m guessing that if you haven’t yet placed your seed order for the upcoming gardening season, you’ve at least thought about it. Because even if you might be under piles of snow at the very moment, spring is just around the corner. For some of us, that corner is a […]
