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Homesteading Update: Midsummer Madness

7/19/2015

Our garden - mid-July.

Well, here we are in mid-July, and it's been quite an interesting summer so far.... What a year to start a huge, brand new garden! With almost non-stop rain for the past 6 weeks, this is unlike any summer I have ever seen before, but apparently most of the plants are enjoying all the water. The raspberry patch, and our new fruit trees are the main casualties, but little else seems too bothered by the consistent flooding, and in fact, most of the garden seems extremely happy.

We've yet to start on our geothermal project, but hopefully we will get that going within the next month or so. For now, the garden has been my main focus so far this year, so here's an update, and some pictures from yesterday - although these are already out of date, as everything looks even bigger today!

I've already learned quite a few important lessons during this garden season, as I will share below....

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The Agricultural Con Game

7/13/2015

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Decades ago, when people said "farming", the "organic" part went without saying. But during the second half of the last century, massive food producing conglomerates collectively now known as "agribusiness" have changed the way that we look at, purchase, and consume food.

As if this weren't bad enough, they've somehow managed to convince us that artificial fertilizers, pesticides, and genetically modified foods are the only way our planet can survive.

The truth, in fact, is just the opposite!

In reality, if we want to survive as a species, it's only a matter of time before we will find these modern methods completely unsustainable. (Hopefully, we'll figure this out before it's too late!)

Here are the 7 things that make our current model of industrial agriculture unsustainable, and what we need to do in order to fix this mess:

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Homesteading Update: Hay Bale Gardening - So Far, So Good!

6/7/2015

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Our hay bale garden - first week of June.

Well, we're into summer for real now, finally - at least so the thermometer says, if not the calendar! I haven't shared an update on the homestead in a while, and yesterday while marveling at the incredible garden that is taking shape behind the barn, I realized it would be a good time to give you an update on the hay bale gardening experiment we started last September.

Just to catch you up, last fall we found ourselves the proud owners of 20 bales of hay, given to us in "payment" by a neighbor for haying our field. While we do plan to add some grass-eating animals to the homestead eventually, right now we're still in the preparation stages.

So what to do with all this hay? I had seen videos about straw-bale gardening in the past, and had always found it intriguing, so I wondered if one could also garden in hay bales?

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How to Plant Asparagus: A Garden Saga

5/10/2015

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This picture isn't mine, but the ones below
are. I will try to post an updated pic when
ours come up!

Typically we would blog about this on our gardening blog, but as this activity actually encompasses a number of different holistic living topics (gardening, healthy eating, sustainable living, and of course, exercise!), I decided to write about my asparagus planting adventure here for you today.

For those of you who have never planted asparagus before, don't let this deter you - just be prepared for the amount of work it will take! And for those of you who have - well, you know what I'm talking about when I say that after this weekend I now know for sure that I'm a real gardener! :-)

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FREE GIFT: Small Space Gardening Report

4/12/2015

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Happy Spring!

In honor of the season, this month we're giving away a FREE E-Book on small-space gardening - perfect for all you gardeners who've been longing to grow something good, but don't have a lot of space to do it in!

No worries - we've got you covered! This short, information-packed report is full of lots of great ideas to help you grow more delicious veggies in less space than you ever thought possible.

Click Here to Get Your Free Small Space Gardening Report...

Here are just a few of the helpful tips you will learn when you grab your copy of this special Free Report:

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Homesteading Update: April Showers Bring...Spring Fever

4/6/2015

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The current swamp/site of future pond.

As brutal as parts of this winter were, it's hard to believe it's actually April already! Winter shook us like a dog with a rat, then rather suddenly lost interest and went away....

Now the sun is shining, trees are budding, and sap is rising - and I am chomping at the bit to be out in the garden! Only, I can't, because the "garden" is basically a swamp....

Hot with excitement to get out the tiller, build beds in our newly roped-off garden space, and plant asparagus, fruit trees, veggies, and more, our lofty ambitions were dashed last week when we checked the forecast and realized rain was predicted nearly every day for the next 10 days. :-(

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3 Reasons to Plant Heirloom Seeds This Spring

3/15/2015

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If you're anything like me, you love an uplifting, feel-good story about taking back control of our food supply - and this one comes just in time for spring planting! Whether you're a fan of Forks Over Knives, Food, Inc., or Fresh, you need to check out the new documentary, Open Sesame: The Story Of Seeds. This may be one of the most important food documentaries out there, as it tells a story that affects each and every one of us, no matter what your dietary beliefs, preferences, or choices are.

Everything starts with a seed. As it says in the movie, "without seeds, nothing else would exist." Whether you're a vegan, vegetarian, or omnivore like me, you and your food exist because of seeds. Everything you eat comes from a seed - even animals, which are fed on plants that come from seeds.

Yet you may be shocked to learn that 90% of the vegetable seed varieties in existence 100 years ago are now extinct! (I shared a helpful visual of this a couple of years ago on our sustainable gardening blog.)

The loss of seed diversity may seem like a shame, but how does it really affect you? In truth, it's actually a grave danger to our survival as a species (see #1 below).

The good news is, there IS something you can do about it: Plant heirloom or open-pollinated seeds!

Here Are 3 Reasons Why You Should Grow Heirloom Seeds This Year:

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Forward>>

Homesteading Update: Midsummer Madness

The Agricultural Con Game

Homesteading Update: Hay Bale Gardening - So Far, So Good!

How to Plant Asparagus: A Garden Saga

FREE GIFT: Small Space Gardening Report

Homesteading Update: April Showers Bring...Spring Fever

3 Reasons to Plant Heirloom Seeds This Spring

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