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145 articles
2014 Long Range Forecast

2014 Long Range Forecast

As much as I was hoping that the Farmer's Almanac might be wrong about the 2013 forecast, I'm equally hoping it will be right about it's 2014 forecast. See, the Farmer's Almanac stated last winter that 2013 would see a long, cold spring and a long, cold fall with a short, hot summer stuck in the middle and that's exactly…
December 27, 2013
2013 Harvest Totals

2013 Harvest Totals

After a banner year in 2012, I have to admit that I have been quite disappointed with our harvest totals for 2013. Not that ~200 lbs of food is anything to sneeze at, but the comparison is a bit sad. The truth is, there are factors that can be controlled (my attention to sprouts and plants alike, my complete inability…
December 14, 2013
Echinacea Tincture DIY

Echinacea Tincture DIY

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned harvesting Echinacea seeds...What I didn't mention was that I also harvested some Echinacea roots to try my hand at my very first Echinacea Tincture! As mentioned in the seed post, our Echinacea is in its third year and did absolutely amazingly last summer!  In addition to being full and beautiful, though, once your…
November 17, 2013
Harvesting Echinacea Seeds

Harvesting Echinacea Seeds

  2013 marked our Echinacea's third year and it was absolutely gorgeous this summer with all of its brilliant blossoms and visiting pollinators (bees and butterflies) buzzing around them all summer long!  Though I didn't actually measure them, I would say the stalks got up to about 4 feet tall for the most part which made for a brilliant eye…
November 8, 2013
2013 Potato Harvest

2013 Potato Harvest

Well, despite our best efforts and great plans, our potato harvest this year has been another failure.  Let's look at the numbers:German ButterballPlanted - 5 lbsHarvested - 3 lbs 1 ozAll BluePlanted - 2.5 lbsHarvested - 2 lbs 14 ozSweet Our sweet potatoes were a bonus this year as they were only planted after a piece of a sweet potato was…
October 21, 2013
How to Plant Garlic

How to Plant Garlic

Garlic is, hands down, my favorite and most used spice! Whether it's whole and roasted, chopped and simmered (or sauteed) or in powder form, it goes in pretty much everything savory I make in the kitchen! Who: I always purchase my seed garlic from either Seed Savers Exchange or our local Farmers Market and would recommend the same for you.…
October 13, 2013