Perennials Forever: Seven Suggestions for a Lovely, Low-Maintenance Flower Garden
Perennials Forever Seven Suggestions for a Lovely, Low-Maintenance Flower Garden Dr. Dixie Dillon Lane In the semi-desert climate of my childhood, weeding was a thing I only ever read about in books. In our neck of the woods (well, desert), wherever there was not a building or pavement or deliberate landscaping, there was dirt. Just […]
Will Getting Chickens Ruin My Life?
Seven Questions Answered for the Curious & Concerned
Will Getting Chickens Ruin My Life? Seven Questions Answered for the Curious & Concerned Dr. Dixie Dillon Lane Sometimes, when I have the pleasure of taking a leisurely trip to the grocery store all by my lonesome, I wander wistfully down the dairy aisle and dream of the good ol’ days, when deviled eggs appeared […]
Gentling
Gentling Mr. Nathan Wiles Gentling. I must admit, it took me a while to come to grips with the concept. I am sort of a “Peter” type, prone to jump out of boats without thinking, speak first and forcefully, and so on — I have managed thus far not to cut anyone’s ear off with […]
Seven Suggestions for Growing Bountiful Blueberries
(and Some Commentary on Robert Frost)
Seven Suggestions for Growing Bountiful Blueberries (and Some Commentary on Robert Frost) If you are fortunate enough to live in a place that hosts an abundance of wild blueberries, free for the picking, then skip this article — there’s nothing here you need. Your time will be better spent revisiting Robert Frost’s 1915 poem “Blueberries” […]
Hydrologic Hysteria (in Two Flavors): And Seven Suggestions for Water Conservation
Hydrologic Hysteria (in Two Flavors) & Seven Suggestions for Water Conservation Dr. Ryan Hanning When I was young, apocalyptic levels of rhetoric regarding water shortages were all the rage. Fear mongering can motivate action, at least for a while. But, absent an actual apocalypse, it gradually loses its effectiveness. On the other hand, we seem […]
Seven Suggestions for Raising Goats (and Growing in Virtue)
Seven Suggestions for Raising Goats (and Growing in Virtue) There are two principal reasons to own goats. First, you want the milk, meat, and weed control they can provide. Second, you want to grow in virtue. Let’s start with the first reason. Goats are incredible milk producers. Pound for pound, they can transform hay into […]
Sowing the Succulent Squash
Sowing the Succulent Squash With jack o’lanterns adorning our doorsteps, pumpkin pies just over the horizon, and a variety of winter squashes standing ready to warm a cool winter day, autumn is the season when the squashes have their moment of glory. It’s also the time to begin planning a crop of your own for […]
Composting Carbon Credits
Mr. Tyler Storey Carbon credits seem to have been all the rage for some years now, but despite the passage of time, they remain a fairly confusing concept, especially when we read stuff like this: “An individual allowance, such as a Kyoto Assigned Amount Unit (AAU) or its near-equivalent European Union Allowance (EUA), may have […]
How to Own a Bull for More Than Thirty-Eight Seconds
An Introduction to Livestock Fencing
How to Own a Bull for More Than Thirty-Eight Seconds An Introduction to Livestock Fencing Dr. Ryan Hanning You may have heard that “good fences make good neighbors.” This is particularly true when you are hoping to keep a bull and your neighbors are hoping you will keep it on your own property. For […]
Stalled Out: Seven Suggestions for Getting Tomatoes To Ripen
Stalled Out Seven Suggestions For Getting Tomatoes to Ripen Tomatoes are the ideal home garden crop. They are relatively easy to grow. They do well in a wide range of climates. And the texture and flavor of homegrown simply put to shame the styrofoam varieties you’ll find at the chainstore. For these and other reasons, […]