Gardening

I FEEL SO BEHIND. Except I'm not. At least not yet. Wyoming is horribly deceiving this time of year. We've been getting lots of 70+ degree days the last week or two, and I've been spending all day outside piddling out in the garden and getting sunburns, which is quite heavenly after a long winter. My perennials are slowly awakening. The lilacs and ash trees are budding. And the prairie land all around is gradually turning a brilliant shade … [Read more...] about Preparing Our Raised Beds for Spring Planting

Once again, that familiar lightness is floating in the air. And my brain is bursting with the possibilities of SPRING on the homestead. The birds have started chirping, there's the faintest green tint to the prairie when you look out across the wide open space, and the air smells alive and fresh after many months of BLAH. Are we done with snow storms? No way. But we're getting closer. I can feel it. I repotted the tomatoes and peppers … [Read more...] about What We Learned by Having Our Garden Soil Tested

I'm about to say something very controversial. Sacrilegious, even. Well, at least in homestead circles. Like always, a part of me is stoked for spring. STOKED, I tell you. The seedlings are growing in the basement, and I walk through the dormant garden about once every 3 days dreaming and planning. But a part of me is (gulp) is entirely OK with the fact I have two more months until we're really ready to plant.  I heard the collective … [Read more...] about How Much to Plant Per Person in the Garden

Sometimes I have a hard time being flexible. I've been like that for as long as I can remember... If we had something on the calendar growing up, it was gonna happen. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. And if it didn't? Well, I pretty much had a meltdown. I've grown out of the meltdown part (although my husband might try to argue that point...), but dang it-- if I put something on the calendar, you can bet I'll go to the ends of the earth to … [Read more...] about How to Disinfect Seed Trays