As I sit in my Starr Hill farm office writing this article, I just completed taking a full inventory of my hay and feed supplies on our farm. In doing a mid-winter inventory, we look at how many bales of first cutting and second cutting hay we have, along with bedding hay and round bales. In additio...

Whether your pasture is half an acre or a dozen acres, you know as a farmsteader is does much more than just grow grass for your animals to browse upon. In short, a pasture provides pollinator habitat, a safe space for native species to flourish, area for soil to heal and generate (thanks in part to...

The Perennial Plant Association has chosen Phlox paniculata ‘Jeana’ as the Perennial Plant of the Year for 2024. ‘Jeana’ is an exceptional garden phlox renowned for its impressive flower show, tall sturdy habit and pollinator-friendliness. Dense, domed trusses crown stiff stems from midsummer to ear...

Cold frames allow for the early planting of spring vegetables such as lettuce, radishes, carrots and cabbage by protecting them from frost and cold temperatures at the beginning of the season. You can construct a season-extending cold frame for your garden with an old window, some salvaged wood and ...

Years ago, my sisters and I took Dad to see the New England fall foliage, something he had always wanted to do. Dad did great on the trip, even though he was 90 years old at the time. During the 10-day adventure, we stayed at several delightful bed & breakfast venues, but our hands-down favorite was...

Sugarmakers – those folks who tend to groves of maple trees year-round and tap them to take advantage of the tasty superfood that comes from them when the weather conditions are just right – are mostly known for making one product: maple syrup. And while it’s true the vast majority of maple sap is e...

Selecting a sheep breed represents an important part of the process of launching a sheep operation. For sheep breeders Steve Gabriel and Alex Caskey, the Katahdin breed checks all the boxes. The two presented “Katahdin Sheep: A Versatile Breed for Pasture and Silvopasture” as a webinar hosted by Foo...

Each year, over 121 million Americans visit public gardens. From public green spaces to community gardens to private yards, gardening is a critical part of our country’s culture. “Gardening in America,” the American Horticultural Society’s first Self-Paced Online Course through its Lifelong Learning...

Those in New Orleans like to boast that when it comes to Mardi Gras, “everywhere else, it’s just Tuesday.” And that is true for a vast majority of the United States. Chickens still need to be fed; children still need to go to school. But that doesn’t mean you can’t laissez les bon temps roulez in yo...