Part of our Backyard Farming / Urban Homesteading operation consists of growing dandelions and harvesting them to make roasted dandelion coffee. The roasted roots can be ground after roasting and put into jars or tea bags and sold online or at Farmers Markets. It...
It’s raining. Again. According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac and AccuWeather, the theme of Summer 2016 is above normal rainfall and heat. The rain will enable crops and gardens to flourish but it will also bring flooding and provide opportunities for many batches of...
For people who want to practice the organic and permaculture style of home gardening in the manner that is done on this site, it is always nice to have a few companion books to keep around the house. I decided to take a look at the top 5 best selling organic...
Backyard art. Smoothie garden. Privacy screen. The ultimate in wall art, indoor or out. Vertical gardening continues to offer opportunities that challenge the imagination and skill of backyard gardeners, especially those living with space-challenged yards. An interior...
In a previous post, I wrote about vertical gardening, an artful option for growing smoothies. That got me thinking of how to capture the garden’s abundance for the dark months ahead. Freezing is an ideal way to do that. The Old Farmer’s Almanac says that produce kept...
Convict Cichlids named for their black and white stripes, are a very popular fish for home aquariums. People like them because they are one of the easiest fish to take care of and do not get as large as other cichlids. They are fascinating to watch and will come out...
In 2010, the U.S. Congress designated National Farm to School Month to recognize the impact of such programs in improving child nutrition, supporting local economies and educating children on where food really comes from. One Small Step is the theme of this year’s...
In a recent National Restaurant Association survey, 44 percent of chefs surveyed identified local sourcing as the trend that has grown the most over the last decade. The drive for grow local/eat local is here to stay; restaurants and stores are growing their own or...
Monday, August 8 is National Zucchini Day. Yes, there is an entire calendar out there of months and days celebrating food. (August is National Peach Month.) Actually I think there is more than one. Not that it actually matters, to me, these food ‘holidays’ are just a...
According to the Farmer’s Almanac and AccuWeather, Summer 2020 will bring the Mid-Atlantic above average rainfall and lots of humidity (and a few heatwaves in July/August so brace yourself for a ‘sizzle and drizzle’ summer). The abundant rainfall will be...
We’ve only recently become separated from our food sources. Until a few generations ago millions of people lived on farms. Millions more grew vegetables and raised an animal or two in city lots. Those who didn’t were still connected to what they consumed....
Rosemary, sage, thyme, and basil surround a green smoothie. There are endless combinations of produce, grains, and nuts for creating smoothies for taste and for more purposeful uses; commonly touted smoothies are designed to detox, build the immune system, shed...
I recently left Ohio and spent a week in Europe, and what I immediately noticed was that apartment dwellers, at least where I was, in Belgium and The Netherlands, didn’t brew their own coffee. I found this to be amazing, given that in Ohio, I have been grinding...
When it is time to take down the Christmas tree, organic gardeners do not like to waste good organic matter. So that means we’re not going to drag the Christmas tree to the curb and let the City municipality haul it away for us. Just like not wanting to throw...
In this article, we’ll cover the basics of getting a backyard farm up and running. By backyard farm we mean anything from a small garden plot to a larger, more systematic approach. It all depends what you want to accomplish. We use the term backyard farming...
If one is serious about producing a large quantity of truly organic produce within a small space, then fruit trees are absolutely essential. The advantages of fruit trees in your backyard farm garden far outweigh the disadvantages. Let’s take a look at some of the...
In the winter in North Central Ohio, we get a lot of snow. One really awesome thing to do is to build a Quinzhee or Quinzee snow structure. The quinzhee is surprisingly big on the inside (you will be shocked). The walls of a quinzhee are thick and strong, and in the...
SOURCE: Pixabay What will my garden grow? Flowers and leaves artfully arranged on ladders, wallboards, or stands make an appealing addition to any living space. In the winter, having plants in the house adds to the humidity and improves general well-being. But...
SOURCE: Flikr.com On first pass, the words fungus and basement together in a sentence is a cause for panic for any homeowner. But mushrooms are a type of fungus. Lo Even though they don’t make chlorophyll, they used to be included in the plant kingdom; but now...
SOURCE: Wikimedia Commons Now that we’re feeling better about fungus growing in the basement, let’s look at what we never want to grow there. Because, wherever food grows, there they are: wee little things that will fly, creep, and eat their way through your garden if...
DISCLAIMER: This is a major departure from our usual posts here. It is, in fact, a sales pitch for a West Coast farm. A realtor contacted us, and we thought, ‘Why not? Sounds like fun.’ And I rarely pass up an opportunity to flex my storyteller’s muscles. We will...
