In this month of February, my garden plans continue to evolve and take shape on paper as I stumble upon fresh new ideas. My seed lists continue to be refined while reigning in any unrealistic, overzealous goals for spring planting, and I've been identifying sources for purchasing my organic, heirloom, non-GMO, open pollinated, non-hybrid veggie…

It's a given. If you are one in a family of twelve children, you help grow what you eat. Soup beans and potatoes were staples that carried us through the winter. What drives me to continue to plant these two crops in my own 3b Plant Hardiness Zone Garden each year is not necessity but…

Deep within the soil, the tiny seeds of carrots and the "eyes" of seed potato chunks that were planted in the early spring take root. Silently, steadily over the warm summer months root vegetables grow. Unseen. Until end-of-summer and the tease of autumn gently intersect.    For several years, I have been planting three varieties…

Our Barred Rock and Rhode Island Red Hens have a cluster of sixteen metal nesting boxes attached to the rear wall of their chicken coop… all lined with straw. Our hens are a flock of six. They could each have their own nest. However, five take turns laying their daily egg in one box and…

Each year, a local farmer plants, tends, and harvests grain on a portion of our acreage. Utilizing a four-year rotation plan, he intentionally selects crops that enrich the soil naturally and provide bees with nectar for honey production.   Last fall, in our field, he planted triticale (trit uh KAY lee), which is a hybrid…

This week, the overnight temps are forecast to be consistently in the 50s and the daytime highs in the low 70s, so today I moved my zucchini plants, that I had been growing in pots in my greenhouse, into my garden beds. This year, for the first time, I got a head start on my…

In the autumn of last year, I had removed the sundress and hat from my "scarecrow" during the garden's end-of-season putting to bed process. The wind and snow over the winter had toppled the simple board framework that formed a vertical "body" and perpendicular "arms" reminiscent of an old-fashioned telephone pole.  (See left side of…

Our hens. Olga, Phoebe, Flossie, Henny-penny, Opal, and Pearl. Three Rhode Island Red and three Barred Rock. With no roaming restrictions, their diet is varied and nature-inspired, exercise occurs regularly and freely throughout the day in the fresh air and sunshine, and human contact aids psychological health. They must follow two rules. Eggs must be…

Residing in one of the colder climates in the nation presents challenges, but not roadblocks. A cold frame provides a jump start on our plant hardiness zone 3 growing season in central Minnesota.  Growing up, Dick and I both learned from our parents that whatever you have, use what you've got. Whether it be finances,…

Although the soil's temperature in my central Minnesota zone 3 garden indicates that outdoor planting must wait a few weeks yet, I placed my seed potato order in mid-February. A few years ago, inspired by a purple sweet potato included in my weekly produce box and the pot of "Leek Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato…