We have a few acres of questionably fenced pasture, that our neighbor had used to run beef cattle on an irregular basis. Because the grass can get quite long if it is not grazed, we occasionally consider additional animals to help manage that pasture. Cows are a little large for us, goats are a challenge to fence, and pigs generally do not graze. That leaves sheep. Last year had a little bit of a sheep theme to it. We traveled to Lafarge to attend the Ewetopia woolen mill's o

Yesterday, November 8, brought the first snow of the upcoming winter season, putting a bow on the 2025 garden. There is still work to be done, but the garden will largely stay untouched until next year. Our weather station reported snow had fallen The snow brings an opportunity to reflect on the hits and misses in the garden this year. Hits Landscape Fabric . We have tried several approaches to controlling weeds over the years, including no-till, mulch, and nonwoven landscape

We have two large black walnut yard trees, and every year they drop dozens of walnuts onto our lawn. Last year, one broke a windshield on our car. On a bit of a lark, I thought I would try harvesting walnuts this year. They literally fall out of the tree, so how hard can it be? As it turns out, it is a process. The walnut, which is what we are probably all familiar with from holiday nutcrackers, starts out encased in a green sticky hull. This hull turns black over time, creat

Looking at the calendar recently, and our to-do list, it struck me how little time we have until winter arrives. There is one week left in October; how did that happen? We have been making progress on our end-of-season projects, but there is still a lot to be done. Part of the work is preparing for spring and next year's garden season. With the garlic bed filled with chicken manure and the last of the bean succession crop gone, the end of October is time for planting garlic c

Given the size of our garden and the crops we grow, it takes several weeks for us to put the garden to bed for the season. It is important work, because anything we can do now to control weeds and build soil fertility sets the stage for spring. This year we have had the extra challenge of the weather - it has been too nice! Although most of our plants have faded and there is less daylight, it has approached or exceeded 80 degrees on some days. As a result, we have continued t

One of the challenges of growing winter squash and pumpkins in a big patch is that it is impossible to tell if we actually have any...

At the end of every garden season we are faced with a difficult choice. Do we continue to let the garden grow and produce, or do we pull...

Two Half Gallon Jars of Fermenting Cabbage and Kale and ... One of the remaining cabbage heads appeared to be going soft in the garden,...

Here at the end of August, our large slicing and paste tomatoes are finally ripening. We took a little time to gather some to evaluate....

One and a Half (Plus) Crates of Potatoes In the past, we've never been successful growing potatoes. Having now grown potatoes somewhat...

The tomatoes have slowing been ramping up over the past couple of weeks, and have reached peak. This year, it seemed like it took a while...

Canning on a Rainy Day In our family, Sunday morning is typically reserved for cleaning the house; however, it will have to wait until...

Growing corn in the garden has been hit or miss for us. If it grows at all, we find that racoons get to the ripe ears before we do. This...

One of my many side projects has been to identify the different plant species on our property, as botany has always been an interest of...

July was harvest month for our onions, garlic, and shallots. We unfortunately waited a little too long for onion harvest. Onions get...

Several weeks ago, I was walking through an IKEA store and saw a shallow cast iron pizza pan. Rather than being simply a flat piece of...

Like most gardeners, when conditions are right, we end up with a lot of summer squash. One would think we would learn from year to year...

We met a friend of Maggie's and another couple at Wild Hills Winery in Muscoda Saturday night for trivia. We had never been there before...

Wild raspberries are in season, and we have been picking them from several patches for the past week. We end up with less than a pound...

This past week I was able to take a week of vacation, which is something I have not been able to do for a long time. Planning it on a...