Apr 12, 2010 Posted by Tiffany

Building our first Aquaponics system

Last weekend I had another one of those wild ideas that suddenly just manifests in your brain when you look at something. A little light goes off and you wonder why that thought never crossed your mind before. We get a lot of those around here. Pure moments of genius. Well, in our world anyway.  And we always share them with one another in an almost apprehensive way; knowing what we’re about to say... read more

Mar 26, 2010 Posted by Tiffany

Come on spring!

It’s hard to imagine that spring would suddenly be here in full force after such a long, cold winter, but we have had some absolutely incredible weather the last couple weeks. Highs in the 60′s (15-18°F) and plenty of sunshine. So I decided to get outside and slowly start getting things ready for the growing season here. The almanacs and forecasts are still predicting some pretty cold nights... read more

Jan 5, 2010 Posted by Tiffany

Rethinking some of our projects for 2010

Aside from all the good cooking and eating we did last week, we also used the time to think a bit more about our projects for 2010 and hoped to get started on at least one of those projects last Saturday. There is a company in Frankfurt called Becker that specializes in all things wood. Wood for building furniture, wood flooring, veneers, outdoor wood, wooden doors…if it’s wood and has to do... read more

Oct 31, 2009 Posted by Tiffany

You need a salad table

Earlier this year, we decided to give up  the battle against the slugs and snails in our garden for fresh leafy salad. Seedlings stood absolutely no chance against the evil pests and we couldn’t stand the thought of throwing tons of chemicals down just to let the lettuce survive. So we came up with the idea of growing salad in our courtyard. We have a lot of space there for an expansive container... read more

Oct 19, 2009 Posted by Tiffany

Our garden in 2009 – a wrap up

Some would argue that it’s a bit early to wrap up posts on the garden for the year; but as far as fruits and vegetables go, things are pretty much done out there. There are still a few chili peppers hanging on in this cool weather, doing surprisingly well actually. And we have a few zucchini and eggplant that should become something, not to mention our very first brussel sprouts which I imagine will... read more

Oct 1, 2009 Posted by Tiffany

Late Blight – a tomato lover’s worst nightmare

We have been neglecting our garden the last few weeks. It’s been so crazy around that we just haven’t been back there to check on things…and as a result the rest of our tomato plants (a fabulous Big Rainbow variety with single tomatoes as big as both palms of my hands together) have gotten late blight and I no longer have to wonder what we’re going to do with all the tomatoes. Next... read more

Jun 23, 2009 Posted by Tiffany

Another little project for the garden to help us enjoy harvesting

I spent 2 hours cutting grass with the scythe, pulling weeds and pruning bushes in the garden Friday. The grass was 1-3 feet tall back there and just getting out of hand. Mackenzie was kind enough to sleep through the entire thing which allowed me to really get down to business. I was covered in sweat when I was finished and not only from the slighty warm temps! I couldn’t believe how sore I... read more

May 29, 2009 Posted by Ayla the Newfie

Time to bring down the ivy – and a little garden art

This past Sunday, we started the attack on the ivy once again. It covers the back of both sides of the barn, and unfortunately has worked it’s well under the gutters and up onto the roof. We’re talking about hiring someone to get up on the roof and take the stuff down, but at least if we sever the arteries at the bottom, it will stop growing until we can figure out how to get it off completely.... read more

May 12, 2009 Posted by Ayla the Newfie

Neem oil – a gardener’s best friend

Although our winter was insanely cold, we didn’t have a very hard freeze when it finally started to warm up here. Thus the bugs are out in force because they didn’t get killed off by the cold wave. I’ve often read about using neem oil on plants to combat aphids, scales, spider mites, white flies, locusts and other common pests. It’s also used as a fungicide and helps against powdery... read more

Mar 4, 2009 Posted by Tiffany

Those raised beds are fit to grow in

I’ve been a bit lethargic about posting the last few days. The words just weren’t forming any sort of decent sentences is my brain. Everything seemed boring. It didn’t help that I’ve been running around here like a maniac the past few days, trying to cram as much into each available second as I could. Thankfully I did get a lot of things done – unfortunately you had nothing to... read more