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How Do We Plan For Spring?

What a spring it has been for all of us- all around the world. We hope from wherever you are reading this, you and your loved ones are safe and well.

chickens and nest boxes at Bird's Nest Garden Farm
These girls have been practising sheltering in place all winter. About the time we humans got stuck at home, they got access to the big wide world. Go figure.

Here at Bird’s Nest Garden Farm, we are four weeks into our new stay-at-home lifestyle.

When I say “new,” this is for the other members of my family. I rarely venture off the farm at this time of year. It’s been a pleasure to have company at home, despite their need to be often glued to their screens for work and school purposes.

Probably just like you, our family is looking for entertainments other than zoom meeting gaffs and watching yet another webinar.  We’ve undertaken numerous projects aimed at keeping our bodies occupied and out-of-doors while distracting us from disheartening pandemic updates. Continue reading “How Do We Plan For Spring?”

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Reflecting on Summer 2019

cordwood and straw bale house with blooming flower garden birds nest garden farm
The baptisia in full bloom attracts hummingbirds an butterflies.

It’s January now and all the highs and lows of the 2019 summer season are having their sharp edges whittled away by time. We’ve seen snow, a melt, more snow and yet another mild spell in the last six weeks. Our lifestyle orbits around heating with wood, winter chicken chores and keeping the lane snow-free.

It wasn’t that long ago that the meadow was lusciously green and we were harvesting armloads of veggies for the farmers’ market. Looking back through our photos twigs my memory of the past season. Here’s a short and sweet list of three things that stood out.

no-till vegetable garden July onions
Dusk in the onion patch mid-July. The no-till beds are working well.

Best Move: Converting the Market Garden to No-Till

Over the past few years we’ve worked to reduce our tillage in the gardens. Exposure to a series of  books, articles and podcasts convinced us that a no-till/no-dig system would really benefit us and our shallow, heavy clay soil. Continue reading “Reflecting on Summer 2019”

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5 Tips for a Successful Backyard Garden

Fresh red and golden beets
Harvesting red and golden beets fresh from the garden.

Preparing for a local Seedy Saturday today has me thinking about my journey as a gardener. On reflection, I realize that I am entering my 27th year of growing veggies, herbs and flowers. Wow. 27 years!

Growing in downtown Kitchener, then growing in small-town Wiarton paved the way to growing on our rural property and finally growing for market. I guess I might have a little to share with budding enthusiasts, after all.

Continue reading “5 Tips for a Successful Backyard Garden”

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Winter whammy

sunrise winter hike Cape Croker Neyaashiinigmiing
Hiking the Neyaashiinigmiing bluffs on a beautiful winter morning.

 

It’s been a wild winter. A mild December lulled us into believing we would get a break this year. Silly, silly us. By the end of February–when we often have a thaw, but not this year–our daughter had missed a record sixteen days of school because of cancelled busses. We even saw the weather website post ‘Blizzard Warning,’ which was a new meteorologic category for many of us. In the midst of this, our physical access to the outside world was throttled.

I’m stealing from Peter’s letter/essay that he shared with several family members in February about the experience.

My Personal Groundhog Day

By Peter

I sometimes tell students the proverb: “There’s no such thing as bad weather—just poorly prepared people.” That perspective has been intercepted and tasered the past two weeks. Even slightly decent weather has been an exception.

Continue reading “Winter whammy”

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The Holistic Homestead?

snowfall birds nest garden farm
An early snowfall blankets the perennial garden.

Review last year’s ups and downs?

I just feel like tossing last season in the bin and not looking back.

It was a summer of digging deep. We were met by challenges both planned and unplanned. Some were so hard, it was impossible to write about them–not a great way to meet my goal of blogging twice a week. Continue reading “The Holistic Homestead?”