I have a friend in the Department of Natural Resources who hooked me up with the ultimate sustainable fertilizer: A particularly nasty invasive species, the Blueback Catfish is so good at killing off native species that the DNR periodically has to round them up and cull their numbers as best they can. Normally they’re just thrown […]
Took advantage of the gorgeous weather this week to go out to the bee yard. Here in Maryland we have a very short, very intense honey flow from April 15th to May 15th, and that’s about it for the year. If honey is going to be made, it’s pretty much got to be made in that […]
I scored an absolutely fantastic deal on a bundle of fruit trees. NewFarmSupply.com was advertising a special bundle through the Survival Podcast (a podcast with which I do not align politically but which is always interesting and has especially enlightening sections on homesteading and permaculture issues). Anyway, these fruit trees were all species I had […]
I got a sweet deal on a table saw last Fall – a brand-new, in-original-packaging Skilsaw model for $40. Sure, it’s dinky and light and not accurate enough for really fine woodworking, but it gives me so much more freedom to create larger projects. Especially ones from plywood. With three hives overwintered, my new problem is […]
Oops! I forgot to tell you what happened with all those eggs! Well, this: Despite a couple mishaps, everything went according to plan: First mistake: the thermometer I was using at first turned out to be 6 degrees too cool. I only found out about three days in (and then immediately Amazon Primed a replacement […]
Remember last year, how I got that absolutely massive couple of sweet potatoes from my new hugel bed? They turned out great, sweet and not fibrous at all like I’d feared. So in case part of their massive growth was due to amazing genetics and not just the pond goop I’d topped the hugel with, I kept the top […]
I’m finally to the point that I’ve cleared out and colonized all the land left inside the garden. I want more room, specifically more room to grow perennials, and I’ve been eyeing the little strip north of the garden – maybe 1,000 sf or so – between the top of the garden and the road. […]