Old Maxims for a Bountiful Harvest (tips to help you grow the good stuff)

Yes, Probably, Maybe, Sure We Can Can
This past year America saw a resurgence of one of my favorite ‘lost arts’: home canning. And why not, there’s no better way to know what is in your food than to grow and prepare your own. My first experience with this do-it-yourself skill involved just-picked blackberries, an open fire and a hippie encampment. It was 1973. We lived in tents. I’m not making this up. This is as good a place as any to mentio

Morning Dispatch
Ah, the morning mail. Ten pieces of junk. That’s ten bits of wasted paper with which I have been forced to deal. Here’s how it went: ten pieces of mail, all junk

Seed Savers and Swappers: Here’s a Simple Seed Germination Test
Seeds lose up to 30% of their viability each year It’s easy to determine the viability of seeds you’ve either saved yourself or gained in an exchange. This simple germination test involves the seeds in question, a paper towel, water, a plastic freezer bag and a warm spot. Begin with dried, cleaned seeds. You say you’ve never saved seeds and want to know how? The International Seed Saving Institute maintains an excellent online resource.  Here’s a quick checklist: Save Your Own Seeds Harvest seeds from f

Storing Eggs Long-term
Use fresh, unwashed eggs, pickling lime, salt and water to store eggs long-term. If egg production is any barometer, chickens love spring. They are less fond of summer and not anywhere near as fond of winter. My evidence: last winter our entire flock of four Ameraucana hens stopped laying. To be fair, these hens came with this property and were three years old when we bought the place, so it’s no wonder they retired.

A Quick Peek in The Greenhouse
I’ll have a fully operational computer on deck this afternoon, and look forward to completing and posting a trio of blog entries by week’s end. Here’s what I’m working on:  how to store backyard eggs long term (3 months) without refrigeration; a comparison of English muffin recipes; how to save seeds (and how to germination test them) as well as my organic column for Luciole Press. Meanwhile, here are a few images of what’s growing in the greenhouse.