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Image | Starting Seed Indoors VS. Direct Seeding VS. Self Seeding Annuals
Starting Seed Indoors VS. Direct Seeding VS. Self Seeding Annuals
by Phil Williams

When I first started gardening, I had a tough time figuring out what plants I should start in my greenhouse, which plants I should direct seed, and which plants I should let seed themselves. As with most gardening and permaculture questions, the answer is……..it depends.

Before we even get into which plants I like to start inside, which plants I like to direct seed, and which plants I like to let self-seed, I think it is important to understand the benefits and drawbacks of both methods of propagation.
Starting Seed Indoors VS. Direct Seeding VS. Self Seeding Annuals
 by Phil Williams

When I first started gardening, I had a tough time figuring out what plants I should start in my greenhouse, which plants I should direct seed, and which plants I should let seed themselves. As with most gardening and permaculture questions, the answer is……..it depends.

Before we even get into which plants I like to start inside, which plants I like to direct seed, and which plants I like to let self-seed, I think it is important to understand the benefits and drawbacks of both methods of propagation.
Image | Garden Vegetable Calories
Garden Vegetable Calories
by JW

An interesting look at what plants have the highest caloric value in your vegetable garden.  As always, plant and grow what works best in your area and what you like to eat but put some thought into exploring new varieties that could yield a greater level of calories for you and your family.  I think it is time to start eating more raw garlic.

http://modernsurvivalblog.com/survival-garden/garden-vegetable-calories/

Garden Vegetable Calories
 by JW

An interesting look at what plants have the highest caloric value in your vegetable garden.  As always, plant and grow what works best in your area and what you like to eat but put some thought into exploring new varieties that could yield a greater level of calories for you and your family.  I think it is time to start eating more raw garlic.

http://modernsurvivalblog.com/survival-garden/garden-vegetable-calories/

Image | Book Recommendation: The Market Gardener
Book Recommendation: The Market Gardener
by JW

If you have been thinking about starting a small farming operation and are looking for a resource to help guide you through the process, pick up a copy of The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower's Handbook for Small-scale Organic Farming. by Jean Martin Fortier.

And if you missed the recent ResilientLife podcast with Jean-Martin Fortier, listen to it here (Jean-Martin Fortier: A Model for Profitable Micro-Farming) to get a great preview of many of the topics covered in the book and get inspired to start growing, investing in local community and building resilience into your life.

Book Recommendation: The Market Gardener
 by JW

If you have been thinking about starting a small farming operation and are looking for a resource to help guide you through the process, pick up a copy of The Market Gardener: A Successful Grower's Handbook for Small-scale Organic Farming. by Jean Martin Fortier.

And if you missed the recent ResilientLife podcast with Jean-Martin Fortier, listen to it here (Jean-Martin Fortier: A Model for Profitable Micro-Farming) to get a great preview of many of the topics covered in the book and get inspired to start growing, investing in local community and building resilience into your life.

Image | Jean-Martin Fortier: A Model for Profitable Micro-Farming
Jean-Martin Fortier: A Model for Profitable Micro-Farming
by Adam Taggart

As we awake to the realities in store for us in a future defined by declining net energy, concerns about food security, adequate nutrition, community resilience, and reliable income commonly arise.

Small-scale farming usually quickly surfaces as a pursuit that could help address all of these. Yet most dismiss the idea of becoming farmers themselves; mainly because of lack of prior experience, coupled with lack of capital. It simply feels too risky.

Enter Jean-Martin Fortier and his wife, Maude-Hélène. They are a thirtysomething couple who have been farming successfully for the past decade. In fact, they've been micro-farming: their entire growing operations happen on just an acre and half of land.
Jean-Martin Fortier: A Model for Profitable Micro-Farming
 by Adam Taggart

As we awake to the realities in store for us in a future defined by declining net energy, concerns about food security, adequate nutrition, community resilience, and reliable income commonly arise.

Small-scale farming usually quickly surfaces as a pursuit that could help address all of these. Yet most dismiss the idea of becoming farmers themselves; mainly because of lack of prior experience, coupled with lack of capital. It simply feels too risky.

Enter Jean-Martin Fortier and his wife, Maude-Hélène. They are a thirtysomething couple who have been farming successfully for the past decade. In fact, they've been micro-farming: their entire growing operations happen on just an acre and half of land.
Image | Introduction to Companion Planting and Crop Rotation
Introduction to Companion Planting and Crop Rotation
by Phil Williams

When planning your next garden planting it is wise to reflect on the previous year's crops and where they were planted.  It is vital that you are rotating your crops in your zone 1 annual gardens. If your garden features the same plants in the same places year after year, pest pressures will build, soils will become depleted, and disease will run rampant. I rotate my annuals in such a way that the soil and plants benefit. For example, I follow my greedy feeders of nitrogen in the plots where I was growing nitrogen fixing peas and beans.
Introduction to Companion Planting and Crop Rotation
 by Phil Williams

When planning your next garden planting it is wise to reflect on the previous year's crops and where they were planted.  It is vital that you are rotating your crops in your zone 1 annual gardens. If your garden features the same plants in the same places year after year, pest pressures will build, soils will become depleted, and disease will run rampant. I rotate my annuals in such a way that the soil and plants benefit. For example, I follow my greedy feeders of nitrogen in the plots where I was growing nitrogen fixing peas and beans.
Image | Mulch in the Garden
Mulch in the Garden
by Phil Williams

When I first started gardening, I wanted to mulch my garden. Coming from a commercial landscape background, it was something I was used to doing, and I understood the benefits. Then I spoke to a relative who had been gardening far longer than I, and he told me how it would burn up my plants. Being new to gardening, I took his advice. Even though I started my garden with two feet of good compost, by summertime, my soil was compacted, and the humus was gone. Without the protection from mulch, my humus layer eroded away, and the soil became infertile and compacted.
Mulch in the Garden
 by Phil Williams

When I first started gardening, I wanted to mulch my garden. Coming from a commercial landscape background, it was something I was used to doing, and I understood the benefits. Then I spoke to a relative who had been gardening far longer than I, and he told me how it would burn up my plants. Being new to gardening, I took his advice. Even though I started my garden with two feet of good compost, by summertime, my soil was compacted, and the humus was gone. Without the protection from mulch, my humus layer eroded away, and the soil became infertile and compacted.
Image | Planting Asparagus
Planting Asparagus
by Phil Williams

Asparagus is one of my favorite garden plants. It is the first vegetable to harvest in the spring, it’s perennial, and it tastes great. What more could you ask for?

Most people establish an asparagus patch with bare-root asparagus plants. It is best to plant in early spring as soon as the soil is warm enough to work. I would not harvest any asparagus spears the first season. Just let it grow, and cut it back in the late fall when the ferns go brown. You should be able to harvest the following spring. The herbs caraway and basil make nice companions. I will be seeding in caraway amongst the patch in mid-April and basil after the fear of frost has past. (Video at the bottom of the article)
Planting Asparagus
 by Phil Williams

Asparagus is one of my favorite garden plants. It is the first vegetable to harvest in the spring, it’s perennial, and it tastes great. What more could you ask for?

Most people establish an asparagus patch with bare-root asparagus plants. It is best to plant in early spring as soon as the soil is warm enough to work. I would not harvest any asparagus spears the first season. Just let it grow, and cut it back in the late fall when the ferns go brown. You should be able to harvest the following spring. The herbs caraway and basil make nice companions. I will be seeding in caraway amongst the patch in mid-April and basil after the fear of frost has past. (Video at the bottom of the article)
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