November 2011 Blog Posts (33)

Ever wondered how long you can save your seeds and have them still be viable? We've created this chart to help you determine the longevity of your seeds.

Proper seed storage conditions are cool and dark. The moisture content within the seed greatly affects germination rates. Seeds should be stored in their original packaging in a cool (below 50 degrees Fahrenheit), dark place where their moisture content will stay relatively stable. Here at High Mowing we keep our seed cooler at…

A photo of my friend Kelsy's pecan (+ bourbon) pie...I'll have to snag a copy of her secret recipe for next Thanksgiving!

I have talked about container gardening a few times in the past few months.  At the moment I have plants growing both in the ground and in containers.  I noticed recently that I have less of a pest problem in containers than in-ground.



Whether you live in an apartment (or tipi), a house or a farm, container gardening is a simple solution for low-cost, organic gardening.…

 I just thought I would throw this out to any who might be interested, but I'm hosting a giveaway on my blog: www.lifeatmennageriefarm.blogspot.com 

Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds very generously donated a copy of their new book, 'The Heirloom Life Gardener', for me to give away to one lucky person, and I know there are a lot of gardeners on here, so I thought I would give the word out! :) More info is available on the…

Hi all,

 I'm new here, and still learning my way around, but I thought I would go ahead and throw my blog address out, here. I run a daily updated blog called, 'To Sing With Goats, which you can find at: www.lifeatmennageriefarm.blogspot.com

Last night there was a potluck for Baltimore-area women farmers. The meet-up was really inspiring, a little bit nerve-wracking, but definitely the thing I needed to snap me out of this winter hibernation mode I've been feeling lately.

There was a range of farming experience among us, from desk jockeys like me (hence me feeling a little…

A beautiful photo of garlic from Farm Aid staffer, Jennifer! 

North Country Sustainability Center, Inc. just agreed to lease a retired elementary school in Ashburnham, MA as our temporary home base. This will allow us to start offering programs, make local food and art pieces available for sale, and build the long term goal of creating a very exciting project.

What does NCSC do for anyone else?  Well, to start with, we're a regional operation, so we are open to working with and helping anyone who has a dream to start a small business that…

Neither Alex Velez (pictured above with Andrew Monbouquette) nor Nikhil Arora had any idea how to grow food before they met. But in the past couple of years the two cofounders of Back to the Roots have become known as “the mushroom guys” for figuring out how to grow oyster mushrooms out of spent coffee grounds and then finding a…

This was our first year with chickens and out of the 5 gals, we are getting between 3-5 free range eggs per day!  What a rewarding treat!  Our vegetable gardens didn't do so well this year.  My heirloom tomatoes (10 different varieties) did quite poorly.  Our eggplants, herbs, zucchini, and squash did well though.  I'm hoping to incorporate more organic practices next season and hope that we fare better.  In some respects I did succeed in selling more of my pottery at the farmer's market…

Hi HOMEGROWNers!

After 8 weeks away, there's a lot to catch up on here. It makes me so happy to see the energy and activity here - and the HOMEGROWN Fair submissions are such a wonderful testament to how powerful skills and skill-sharing can be.

Oh, by the way, this is Brendan Christopher - the newest HOMEGROWNer, Farm Aid staff member, and my beautiful son. :)…

We sell pumpkins along the roadside.

Just a few cornstalks standing, a Fall sunset colors the sky.

We eat a lot of garlic around here.  So naturally, working with Jean & Leo of Blue Moon Farm at the farmers' market all season (garlic is their specialty!), made me want to plant my own this year.  A couple of weeks ago I bought 1.5 lbs of Music garlic - that translates to roughly 90 cloves.  Since then, I've been waiting for the wacky fall weather to coordinate some sun with my days off.  Today was beautiful - cool but sunny - perfect garlic…

It was another wonderful week of HOMEGROWN Fair submissions. They've been fantastic so far - it's hard to pick just one winner each week! We love taking a peek into the backyards, gardens, and kitchens of HOMEGROWNers; thanks for sharing.

Congratulations to Brooke and her lovely backyard chickens, winners of Week 2 of the HOMEGROWN Fair. We loved the photos of…

I'm in love with sunchokes. I just came up with a recipe for a side dish that pairs their whispered nutty flavor with the licorice nip of fennel, and the smack of apple. I'm thinking I'll remake this for a unique Thanksgiving side.

Well friends it is time to think about raising pigs again.  If you are interesed in pastured pork from the barry farm please let us know as soon as possible.  We are buying a boar and a gilt from Nonesuch Farm but they are not for eating.  However we have made contact with another family farm near Shiner who does have some barrows ( neutered males) available but they go very fast.   They are…