Blog

Two weeks ago I planted started cabbage and broccoli plants in our garden. They are growing nicely. Today I will work the soil around them and add a little more fertilizer. I also sowed lettuce, spinach, dill, beets and potatoes. The lettuce, spinach and beets are coming up nicely. No sign of the potatoes yet. When they start to pop though the soil I will bring more soil around them. Eventually there will be a mound of soil around each potato plant. Still in my kitchen, under grow light,are our... Read more →

This week, the first week of March, I will be starting my pepper and cabbage plants. I have the seedling mix, pots, table and grow lights set up in a corner of the kitchen. All I need to do is sow my seeds and wait until the magic happens. Little seedlings popping up! Very exciting. At the end of this month I will sow my tomato seeds. Read more →

It is that time of the year again. The leaves are turning bright yellow, orange and red. The air feels crisp and chilly. Our Fall harvest is complete.This year we raised about 3 dozen Sugar Pie Pumpkins.They will be used in pies and breads. We also add pureed pumpkin when making corn bread. This provides extra nutrition,texture and moisture. One of my most cherished memories of my grandmother is her pumpkin bread. When she baked pumpkin bread the entire house had a sweet spicy aroma that I will never forget.... Read more →

We had a fantastic harvest of Flint Indian Corn this year. The weather cooperated beautifully.In years past we placed our corn on racks outside to fully dry. Unfortunately many squirrels and chipmucks helped themselves to a good meal. Even my German Shepherd could not stop them. Now we set up racks in the garage which works well. All of our corn is now dry and ready to be sold.You talk about fresh seed. Well it does not get fresher than this! Read more →

The first canning of the season began yesterday when 14 pints of Bread & Butter pickles made it into mason jars. My family loves this recipe and I needed to replenish last years supply. You can find this recipe in one of my videos on Seed for Security site. Read more →

It is a wonderful time of the year. Every night I go to sleep hearing birds sing and I wake to the same sweet chorus. Also my garden is full of delicious vegetables. I am now harvesting lettuce, green beans, beets, beet greens,cabbage, broccoli,summer squash,and peppers. This years Beefsteak Tomatoes are sensational as is our Flint Indian Corn. We have 30 Beefsteak Tomato plants and they are huge! In mid May I planted 12 80 foot rows of Flint Indian Corn. It has grown taller than I am and has... Read more →

A couple of weeks ago I set out my Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage plants. They are doing nicely. We are looking forward to some fine coleslaw. I also sowed spinach, lettuce, dill, and beets.The lettuce appeared in about 5 days with the spinach and beets popping up in about 10 days. The dill was a little slower to germinate. It is now after a couple of weeks growing well.Every day I go out to my garden to see the progress. It is so exciting! I do not think there is... Read more →

Last week I sowed cabbage,broccoli,pepper and parsley seeds.Two days ago the cabbage and broccoli seedlings were peeking through the soiless mix.Now they are about 1 " tall and are under grow lights. The peppers and parsley are much slower to germinate.I will watch closely and remove the plastic covering from them as soon as they germinate.The plastic keeps in moisture enabling the seeds to germinate.In a few days I will sow some my Beefsteak Tomato seeds.It is very exciting to watch new growth.Just think of the quantity of food one... Read more →

Today we had our first snow of the Winter.I have been sitting by my wood stove shelling beans.I fondly remember the times I had with my grandparents sitting on their front porch shucking beans.There was plenty of time for some good conversation. I learned a lot from them. It has been unusually mild here in Southern New England. In fact, I have been harvesting lettuce and spinach from my garden up until yesterday. What a delight to pick vegetables this time of the year. Read more →

Imagine this scenario: You are planning for an emergency situation, so you purchased a collection of open-pollinated vegetable seeds. Saving seeds from year to year was your goal. You need to feed your family so this is serious stuff. You plant and care for your garden and have a good crop. Now it comes time for seed collection. You carefully harvest and fully dry seed for next year's garden. "All set", you think! Next year, you plant and oh no what happened?! You have some of the oddest tasting and... Read more →