I've been hearing more and more about homesteaders and farmers growing mushrooms and was curious to find out what all the fuss is about. Though I love to eat mushrooms, I hadn't seriously considered growing my own until I read Mycelial Mayhem by David and Kristin Sewak. Now, I feel like I have really been missing out by purchasing mushrooms from the supermarket as there are so … [Read more...]
Planting a medicinal herb garden
I’ve spent the day curled up with my favorite seed catalogs and dreaming about my gardens. Every year between Groundhog Day and the first day of planting in the spring I struggle to find activities that allow me to feel close to green growing things. This year has been particularly maddening with the early spring teasing us to get outdoors, tempting us to do more than is wise … [Read more...]
Vermicomposting basics
Vermicomposting (worm composting) is one of my favorite gardening subjects. Worms are exactly the right micro-mini “livestock” for munching down kitchen scraps and transforming them into a nutrient rich plant food. I just can’t wait to encourage folks to keep a herd of red wigglers by the back door or perhaps in the kitchen. Affectionately referred to as worm farming by those … [Read more...]
Snapshot of Sustainable Agriculture Conference
I recently attended the Carolina Farm Stewardship Association Sustainable Agriculture Conference in North Carolina. It was an outstanding three-day conference, which included workshops, delicious local food, farm and food policy discussions, a seed exchange, and tons of exhibitors. While the conference was focused primarily on sustainable agriculture in North and South … [Read more...]
Book review: The Market Gardener
The Market Gardener is such a thorough guide to commercial market gardening that at first I wondered why Jean-Martin Fortier would want to reveal all of his secrets to potential competitors. However, it becomes clear that Fortier simply wants this information to be as accessible as possible to as many people as possible. I think this reflects Fortier’s desire for small-scale … [Read more...]
Compost: my only fertilizer
Most backyard gardeners use raised beds or dig up the dirt in the yard and plant directly in the soil. Because it is highly unlikely that your dirt will be suitable for growing anything other than a lawn, amendments are usually required. You could have your soil tested and buy exactly what you need and mix it in, or you could try what works well for so many of us gardeners who … [Read more...]
Beans: the perfect intro to seed saving
Did you know that pinto beans, kidney beans, black-eyed peas, and other dried beans are simply seeds? If you grew beans last year and dried some for eating through the winter, you can use those very same beans to plant in the spring. Although saving seeds from some vegetables can be complicated because of cross-pollination issues, this isn't normally a … [Read more...]
Q&A with market gardener and author Pam Dawling
Today we're visiting with Pam Dawling, author of Sustainable Market Farming: Intensive Vegetable Production on a Few Acres. Pam was born and raised in England and moved to the U.S. when she was 39. "In England I lived as part of rural intentional communities, and I heard about Twin Oaks in Virginia," Pam says. "I came to visit and stayed. I've been drawn to growing … [Read more...]
Book excerpt: Eat Your Greens
Lettuce makes up over 70 percent of all leafy vegetables sold in the US, and most of that is iceberg lettuce. If you were to stay up all night trying to think up the worst food distribution plan possible, you would have trouble coming up with something as illogical as the iceberg or head lettuce industry. While greens as a food category are extremely nutritious, head lettuce is … [Read more...]
Q & A with Eat Your Greens author David Kennedy
Today we are chatting with David Kennedy, author of Eat Your Greens: The Surprising Power of Homegrown Leaf Crops How did you learn about non-traditional greens? After a number of unsatisfying jobs in the janitorial and dish washing field, I decided to try life without a job by moving to the woods, building a cabin, and growing all my food. It turned out that building a … [Read more...]