We've lived here in Northeast Kansas for more than five years now. I've come to the conclusion that most of the gardening success that I've had stems from starting seeds inside under grow lights. I do not currently have a... Continue Reading →
I haven't written a blog post here since November of last year; the posts on this site aren't widely read anyways. Regardless, I'm endeavoring to pick up my keyboard again and post more frequently to this journal/blog. In the interim... Continue Reading →
Last year I was inspired by an article I read in a magazine that highlighted the Lipscomb brothers of Bayou Cora Farms in Alabama and their heirloom corn that they have been growing on and off over the years since... Continue Reading →
It's high time I provided an update on my new garden area. We have just entered a cool and wet spell after being hot and super dry. Meanwhile, the empty areas in the garden have been overwhelmed by grass, which... Continue Reading →
I figured it must be time to harvest the garlic when I noticed they had all disappeared into a sea of weeds and grass. Sure enough, upon closer inspection, it was time! I was a bit shocked how successful I... Continue Reading →
We tend to cook more Asian food than other ethnicities. Right now the garden is bursting with several different kinds of lettuces that need to be eaten. So, we decided to make tuna and salad the Asian way. Salad rolls... Continue Reading →
Well, it's a start. I've got loads of room (~1300 sq. ft.) to fill with vegetable plants. Then I'm going to go crazy with mulch! So far, I've sown two 50' rows of Glass Gem corn, which is a flint... Continue Reading →
I'm too busy with other projects and I really don't want to use the push-mower or weed-whacker. Next act: rams and wethers trim the garden area. The rams and wethers have been hard at work all spring weed-whacking for me.... Continue Reading →
It's that time of the year again! When you're inundated with eggs and asparagus and you can't eat them fast enough... Every year around this time we are frequently checking on our historical asparagus patch (long ago a previous owner... Continue Reading →
Spring is on its way! I'm so excited! Even though we are in between a couple of snowstorms from the stretching of the #PolarVortex, I can finally see the end of the tunnel. It's time to plant seeds for vegetable... Continue Reading →
Yesterday we placed a large silage tarp over the grass and weeds in this area to attempt to start a new no-till/no-dig garden site. We tried super hard to find enough items to keep the tarp down, but in the... Continue Reading →
Well, Blogmas took a break over the last couple of days. We had quite a storm here on Wednesday night. Serious winds and then a line of storms like a derecho, which was then followed by worse wind, dust all... Continue Reading →
It's a dreary day and we might have severe storms and/or heavy rain later. Emma Mitchell, author of The Wild Remedy: How Nature Mends Us - A Diary, says to lift your mood, go and try to create a catalog... Continue Reading →
I don't know how the rest of you handle pumpkin harvest, but I'm really overwhelmed! Who even eats this much pumpkin?! TOO many pumpkins! I don't want to waste any of the Jarrahdale pumpkins that I grew, but after baking... Continue Reading →
Experimenting to see if I can ripen these green tomatoes. They are all pretty small. It's maddening because it was either too hot, too dry, or too cold for tomatoes this year, and I planted them 30 days late! Anyways,... Continue Reading →
We've just brought in all of our house plants, tropicals, and annuals/herbs we are trying to overwinter or keep alive (for just a while longer). Phew, that was exhausting! Now it's time to go harvest any remaining summer veggies in... Continue Reading →
Today the ewes were let back into their barn paddock, which they haven't been in for about five months. They were thrilled of course - barn sweet barn! It became apparent, as the ewes frolicked about with glee, that I... Continue Reading →
Here is my latest harvest. I've been getting something akin to this when I pick a couple times per week. The question is how to do it justice? Today, the tomato worm "massacre" was worse than normal as I haven't... Continue Reading →
Turns out the volunteer vines, probably from last year's seeds, aren't pumpkins, but orange gourds. The vines started dying off and revealed many, many orange gourds. It's unclear if it is due to lack of water, as we have had... Continue Reading →
The pumpkins are out of control! A vine came back from last year, which I think is either pumpkins or large orange gourds. It's taken over the ewe paddock outside their stall door. There are scores of baby pumpkins on... Continue Reading →
Every winter, as we crunch the last pickle made the summer before, we will sigh and wistfully calculate how far away (months) fresh cucumbers are. Every summer then, due to the pickle withdrawals we will have just survived, I will... Continue Reading →
Mulch is absolutely a must for gardens here in NE Kansas. The last thing I mulched my garden with was wheat straw, but unfortunately, wheat started growing! I won't use that again. Enter: wool! This year I grabbed some of... Continue Reading →
I was cleaning out a portion of my garden bed and knew there were a couple of onions ready to harvest as I spied their signature periscope-like flowers marking their location above a sea of weeds, but there were many... Continue Reading →
It is time to start harvesting carrots! Actually, might be a little past time, but that's okay! I hear sheep and horses love carrots as much as humans. We are trying to decide what to make. Maybe creamed carrots, carrot... Continue Reading →
We don't eat much takeout because we are way too far off the beaten track. The closest fast food is NOT worth it. Naturally, we haven't been dining out over the last 15 months either. Hence, we often get stumped... Continue Reading →
So, I layered on new compost and planted a garden in early December to overwinter under the low tunnel. When I went to check on the garden after the #PolarVortex in February, I was pretty sure everything was probably dead... Continue Reading →
We decided we are going to start raising our own chickens and ducks. We just received eggs from Sugar Feather Farm on Monday. So, we have a couple of weeks until the excitement begins. I'm really interested to see what... Continue Reading →
Well, it's over. I'm done. Today was my last day. I'm no longer employed by anyone but myself. I feel like I just hurled myself off a cliff! It was a long time coming and it was a hard decision,... Continue Reading →
I cleared the summer weeds and grass out of my low tunnel and planted a fall garden on September 18. The tunnel is roughly 25 feet long and sporting 6 mil poly. I thought I'd take you for a tour and show you how things are growing!
Well, it has happened. However, it's worth it, if it helped contain the #EastTroublesomeFire and #CameronPeakFire. It'll probably be melted by tomorrow anyways!
