 Madder Growing in Early June USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6a Madder, Rubia tinctorium, also known as common madder, dyer's madder, and rose madder is a historical natural dye plant. It's importance as a dye plant throughout history cannot be over stated. The attractive pointed leaves and long stems of Madder plants tend to lightly cling when you brush over them. They have very strong growing roots that spread. The tops of the plants will also sprawl in sticky low lying vines. Around mid summer lots of tiny yellowish star shaped flowers bloom. These form green berries, which develop into dark purple-black seeds. In order to encourage lots of roots, these long vine-like stems should be gently pulled down to the ground as needed and covered with soil. You can also increase your crop by propagating from stem clippings rooted in water. After three years of growth, your madder roots should be thick enough to use for dyeing. They can be used fresh or dried for later use. Dig up part of your madder patch in the fall, cut off the spent top growth, (this can be used for pale pink shades), and wash the roots. To use as a dye, crush or break up the roosts as much as possible. To make a dye bath, soak in water and heat. Madder can also be used as a light fast dye without the need for an aluminum mordant. You can use a tannin with your madder root instead. Madder can be used to dye silk, cotton, rayon, hemp, wool and any other natural fiber. If you wish to continue growing madder, be sure to re-seed the area you harvested for roots in the spring. Starting three dedicated patches, harvesting one patch after three years, then re-seeding, insures you three year growth to harvest each year. Growing Guide Although growing madder does require patience, it really is worth the wait. The colors (pink, orange, red, purple, all from the same root depending on mordant used) from a madder root dye bath are very rich and beautiful. Soak seeds in tepid water for 1-24 hours prior to planting to improve the germination rate.
Seed Savers: Allow plants to bloom and set seed. Harvest when hard and black. Old stagnant growth should be clipped back annually following setting of seed Madder is a hardy herbaceous perennial plant in the coffee family. It can be considered an invasive plant depending on your growing goals and conditions. Caution: Madder is extremely dangerous if consumed. If you, a family member, or a pet has ingested any amount of plant material contact Poison Control, or your veterinarian immediately. Yes, I grow madder and have farm animals and cats. But please be advised, madder is not recommended for homes with children, cats, or dogs.  Madder Flowering Mid July USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6a  Retaining ones independence to move through the world. Stronger The Untold Story of Muscle in Our Lives by Michael Joseph Gross
The best thing about this book for me was that it was very motivating to keep up with strength training, aka weight lifting. The author makes a strong case as to why we all need to perform strength training in our daily lives. Age is irrelevant. Young or in a nursing home, we all need to lift weights. This isn't about being a body builder. Instead it's about building health through muscle. The author starts with Greek times and then goes into more current events with the focus on a particular individuals weight training journey. This back and forth repeats for the entirety of the book. Initially, I was okay with this, but it became frustrating rather quickly. I would have much rather the author started in the past, then moved the reader through to the present. Save the silly jumping around for the fiction writers. Each individual in the book has certain challenges to overcome. For example, determining that particular movements caused pain, the individual figured out the strength exercise to correct this issue by strengthening another area of the body. This is very interesting to me. Learning how to fix the cycle of exercise, pain, rest, repeat by understanding which areas of the body need to be strengthened in order to keep the body in balance is something I think we'd all like to know. Frankly, just about anything mentioned in more current times was fascinating trip through the more recent past. From woman in weight lifting, to runners, to the elderly, Stronger shows how incredibly important it is to utilize resistance training in order to improve cardiovascular and bone health. How aerobics, walking, and balance exercises simply are not enough. Instead, to get the most "bang for your buck", weight train. My father was a body builder. He instilled this into me. Plus I grew up watching Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone. Personal experience has taught me exactly what the various people in this book discovered, weight lifting improves health. It improves self confidence because you can do the thing. You feel good in your own body. It's not about dieting or weight loss or gain. It's about strength and mobility. Retaining ones independence to move through the world. Sadly, while highly motivating, the book is also lacking. The back and forth between Grecian times to more recent was frustrating. Adding to this frustration was that there wasn't a chapter showing or at least describing in great detail the various movements that were so beneficial in the various studies that were done. Finally, I read this on my Kindle. Due to how dense of a read it is, I think this is one of those books I'd like to have on audio. Normally, I like to have physical copies of non fiction books so that I can bookmark, take notes, flip through the pages at will, etc. But with this book not providing any actual guidelines, a printed copy doesn't really seem necessary. It's just a story. Not so much a guide or how-to. Granted, it is not promoted as such, but I cannot help but think the book would have been greatly improved had this been added. I received an advanced readers e-copy (ARC) of this book from Netgalley, Michael Joseph Gross, and Penguin Group Dutton.  Wild Bee Visiting Marigold Blooms Transform your garden with the striking, pest-repelling beauty of marigolds! Marigolds add vibrant color to the garden without the fuss. They require minimal maintenance and offer a wealth of benefits. They do double duty by helping to repel garden pests and attracting pollinators. Their colorful blooms make a striking visual impact while improving the overall health of your garden. Whether you're growing them in containers, planting them in boarders, or as companion plants for vegetables in your garden, marigolds tend to thrive while also bringing beauty all season long. Growing Guide Botanical Name: Tagetes patula Planting Season: Spring Plant Type: Fern-like stems with large, bright orange-red & yellow flowers Start indoors: 6 to 8 weeks before last frost date & transplant after the last spring frost Sow outside: after danger of frost has passed in your region Soil Temperature: 70º-75º F USDA Zones: 3-10 Size: up to 20" Hardiness: Annual Sun: Full Water: Moderate Seed Spacing: 1" Seed Planting Depth: 1/8" Row Spacing: 10" - 18" Days to Germination: 5-10 Days to Maturity: 70-100 Blooms: Summer - Fall, until first killing frost Features Open Pollinated, Attracts Beneficial Pollinators (like bees & butterflies), Attracts Hummingbirds, Fragrant, Deer Resistant, Drought Tolerant, Cut Flower Garden, Easy to Grow & Maintain, Container Garden, Window Boxes, Borders, Edging Natural Pest Repellent: Marigolds are known for their ability to repel harmful garden pests such as aphids, nematodes, & whiteflies. Plant them near vegetables or companion plants to naturally help protect your crops. Soil: Marigolds are adaptable to a variety of soil conditions but prefer well-draining, moderately fertile soil. They can tolerate poor soil conditions, making them easy to grow in a wide range of environments. Watering: Water regularly, especially during hot and dry periods. While they are somewhat drought-tolerant, marigolds will produce more abundant blooms with consistent moisture. Temperature: Marigolds are warm-season plants that thrive in temperatures ranging from 65°F to 85°F. They are sensitive to frost, so be sure to plant after the last frost date in your region. Fertilization: These plants don’t require heavy feeding. If you have it, or can get it, organic compost added each year is your best option. Otherwise, a light application of balanced OMRI fertilizer at the time of planting is sufficient for healthy growth. Care and Maintenance Deadheading: If you wish to save the flowers for natural dye, remove the blooms while fresh & vibrant. Otherwise, regularly remove spent blooms to encourage continued flowering and to maintain a tidy appearance. Regular removal of blossoms (fresh or spent) will prolong the blooming season and ensure a vibrant display. Pest & Disease Resistance: Marigolds are known for their strong resistance to pests & diseases. Their natural insect-repelling properties make them a great choice for organic gardening & companion planting. Self Seeding: Marigolds can reseed themselves for future growing seasons. If you don't want them to self-sow, simply remove any spent flowers before they go to seed. Seed Saving: Allow flowers to wither & die on the plant. Remove from the plants when spent blooms are dry & brown. If you wish to enjoy an abundance of blooms during the growing season, you may want to wait until around the last month before your average first frost to allow seed heads to form. Companion Planting and Uses Vegetable Gardens: The pest-repelling properties of marigolds make them excellent companions for vegetable gardens. Plant them near tomatoes, cucumbers, &/or peppers to help keep unwanted pests at bay while enhancing your garden’s visual appeal. Pollinator Gardens: Marigolds are a favorite among bees & butterflies. Add them to your pollinator garden to attract beneficial insects that will help pollinate your plants. Containers & Borders: Marigolds can be grown in containers & window boxes, or as low border plants along garden edges or walkways. Edging Plants: Use them as edging plants to create colorful borders around flower beds, patios, or walkways, adding a neat, tidy, & eye-catching look to your landscape.  Heirloom Cotton, Marigolds, Tomatoes, Cabbage (under cover), Mini Cucumbers, and Strawberries Growing in September  The Lavender Companion: Enjoy the Aroma, Flavor, and Health Benefits of This Classic Herb by Terry Barlin Vesci & Jessica Dunham
My first attempt at growing lavender was over a decade ago. I purchased a bunch of plants, put them in the ground, watered, and weeded them. They struggled to get off to a good start. To this day, I don't know why. They got a lot of sun and excellent drainage. After that failure, I moved on. Instead I focused on what I could grow. Frankly, those first attempts are pretty hazy in my memory. Growing things where I'm at now, was still a huge learning curve at that time. I went from the rich, black, sandy soil of the NJ shore to the dense, red, clay soil of the WV mountains. I assumed lavender wasn't a good choice for my growing area. I was wrong. As I gained experience in my growing climate and soil type. I decided I wanted to grow lavender again. This was a little more successful and I learned from observation. Plants did die. Some did not. Dampness matters. A lot. Not once did I read about how to grow lavender. I most certainly should have. This is my first book on the topic. Funny, because from about five years or so of experience at this point as a causal grower, I've learned the most important information that this book provides. Had I took the time out to read about growing lavender, I could have saved myself time and money by avoiding a lot of mistakes. Even so, I did learn from them. Personally, I feel that mistakes are fine. We all make them. If we learn from them, then it's a good thing. If on the other hand, we continue the same behavior that led to the mistake, well, I just have no words for that. The lavender I grow in my area, USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6b, is Munstead Lavender. It is a English lavender, Lavandula angustifolia. They are smaller plants more suited to cold weather. They are also good for culinary and fragrance. Some of my plants still do not survive the winter. I am still learning. The second location I chose for my plants wasn't the best choice. It doesn't drain as good as other areas. It's not swampy, not even close. But when it rains a lot or we get several days of rain, it simply doesn't drain as good as other areas. Because I have several plants established there, I've left them there. When I aquire new plants, I plant them in dryer, better draining areas with soil that isn't as rich. What I like best about The Lavender Companion is the stunning photography and the inspirational story behind Pine Creek Lavender Farm. I was under the impression that the beautiful photos were all taken at Pine Creek Lavender Farm. And that the photos were of their own lavender and farm. At the end of the book I was disappointed to read that another lavender farm provided photos. I'm not sure how many or which. Now knowing this, I would like to see small text with each photo crediting where it came from. The authors created such a wonderful vibe with the story behind their successful farm based business. Properly identifying the photos helps paint a more accurate picture of Pine Creek Lavender Farm. The Lavender Companion starts off with some very interesting history on lavender and it's uses. It also lists several varieties of lavender with photos. The book mainly focuses on the three types of lavender grown on Pine Creek Lavender Farm. I knew there were different varieties of lavender. However, I never knew there were so many varieties or that lavender can come in other colors. This is yet another example of, no matter how much one knows, there's always more to learn. The introduction implies that this is mainly a cookbook. Heck, they indicate that they offer a lavender cooking and baking school! While this does have recipes (I list all of them later in my review), it's not a cookbook in the way one would expect. If I'm buying a lavender cookbook, I expect a lot of recipes with lavender. While this does contain a nice little handful of various recipes, the quantity simply does not meet expectations the introduction created. If you are looking for a lavender cookbook and that's it, you may not be happy. Please take a peek at the recipes I have listed to see what you think. My hopes in acquiring this book was to both learn more about the lavender that I grow and to find additional creative ways to put it to use. Cooking with lavender was the lowest of priorities. Considering that I haven't found lavender teas to my liking, I figure I wont like it in cooking either. For me, it seems like drinking perfume. However, I know folks who simply love lavender in their drinks and foods. Because it's been over a decade since trying lavender in anything I consume, I am going to give it another go after reading this book. For the cooking section, the type of lavender that works best for the recipe is provided. If you don't have or grow several varieties of lavender, as long as it's a culinary lavender, it should work. Obviously if you do have the lavender called for in the recipe, all the better. In The Kitchen:
As you can see, essential oils are not used. The cooking recipes all utilize actual lavender just like you would use herbs. Fresh out of the garden if you are lucky to be growing your own herbs. In order to make many of the other recipes in this book, the first nine recipes should be made in advance. They are the pantry staples. I plan on working them into my cooking schedule over time. I'm most likely to make the Lavender Roasted Potatoes first (minus the pepper & with sweet potatoes as I avoid nightshades & seeds for my AIP lifestyle). Other recipes aside from the pantry basics, I may avoid or alter to fit my dietary requirements. For most folks though, this will not be an issue. Baking With Lavender:
I'm not a big ice cream eater. I don't consume dairy because I cannot tolerate it. I do like to make ice cream with coconut milk. It might not sound good, but it is amazing! I sometimes will make a batch of rum raisin coconut milk ice cream or regular vanilla coconut milk ice cream. I am thinking about making a batch of vanilla & adding a little lavender to a serving to see if I like it before committing an entire batch. Lavender Mixology:
Even though I mentioned that drinking lavender teas seems like drinking perfume to me, I am going to try the Lavender Cocoa and the Lavender Mint Sun Tea. I really hope I enjoy both. Hot Cocoa is my sweet tooth downfall. I'm not sure what I'll think of this. I'll be finding out soon. I do know that I love rose in my hot cocoa. I grow peppermint, spearmint, and chocolate mint on my Eco farm. If I like mint and lavender this is sure to be a refreshing summer beverage (minus the sweetener). The Body Care recipes are pretty basic. They mostly use lavender essential oil which isn't what I was looking for because I don't make my own lavender essential oil.
In The Home: This features a really fun lavender braid. There are so many uses and possibilities for this. It's such a simple and useful project. Great for selling at the farmers market, gift giving, and for storing herbs in the kitchen for personal use. This recipe utilized lavender stalks.
I'm highly likely to make the Lavender Braid. Being a Eco farm woman, I grow everything required to make this braid and to even make some of my own variations. I have already made my own versions of sachets which I love. There is a chapter on growing lavender. It is surprisingly basic. Lavender isn't fussy. It doesn't have a lot of requirements. Mainly, don't over water it. If anything, once established, let it be a little dry. Too much moisture kills more than it helps. Pine Creek Lavender Farm is in Arizona. They seem to have a great climate for growing abundant amounts of different types of lavender. Even though the care is rather simple, I still learned a little. Had I not already made so many mistakes as mentioned earlier, I would have learned a lot more. I love the harvesting and drying suggestions in this chapter. Naturally, I have my own methods that have worked wonderfully, but I also like how they recommend doing things as well. When I begin to harvest this year, I will be incorporating some of their recommendations into my routine. I look forward to adding this informative book to my shelves, when it is published. I received an advanced readers e-copy (ARC) of this book from Netgalley, Terry Barlin Vesci & Jessica Dunham and Storey Publishing for an honest review.  If you can move past the woo woo feel of the author (unless that's your thing of course, then by all means, enjoy!), this book contains a nice amount of easy to read general information about nettles. Nettle Power: Forage, Feast & Nourish Yourself with this Remarkable, Healing Plant by Brigitte Mars
Nettles. They grow on my little Eco farm. Mostly along stream banks in somewhat more shaded areas of my land. I've ignored them. Jewelweed grows too. That, I learned to appreciate as I tend to get poison plant - ivy, oak, etc. rashes rather often. Infusing oil with jewelweed is a bit of a pain. At some point, I'll have to write up an article for ya'll about it so you too can reap the benefits of this amazing plant without having to depend on outside sources to treat your skin. Back to nettles. Why I've been ignoring them and not the other wild bounty on my land is something I really can't explain. Nettles never really caught my attention. In research on health and wellness, I rarely come across recommendations for consuming nettle or using it topically. Initially, before reading 'Nettle Power', I thought it was because nettles weren't the sort of plant for health, pet, &/or farming issues that I have found I needed help with. Now that I've read this book, I see that I'm wrong. This left me perplexed. It also left me concerned about the book. Is this book valid? It is a bit more woo woo than I care for. While I was familiar with some uses for nettles, mainly nettle tea. Something I've drank, but don't care for the taste - at all. That was about it. Yet, it seems that if the author is to be believed and trusted, nettles are good for arthritis, allergies, the kidneys, men's prostate and women's reproductive health, and much more. Seems too good to be true. So I started to research nettles. In a general internet search using DuckDuckGo (because I don't like my search results suppressed), I did find some health claims to be backed, but not with any gusto. More with caution. For example, I found numerous sources that claim that nettle root helped with men's prostate issues (this is important to me because my middle aged husband needs help in this area). Studies indicate that nettles do help. But they don't know why. In fact, they don't even help to shrink the prostate! But generally, the root seems to help with frequency of urination and volume. Is it a placebo effect? I'm not a scientist. I can't say. What do know, is that nettle root is one of the ingredients in the prostate supplement my husband has been taking for at least two years for prostate health. What about female reproductive health? I have Endometriosis. I read about women's health in this area rather often. I'm constantly researching it and looking for the latest information. I don't recall ever reading about nettles for Endo or anything female related at all. Silly me. It seems that one can find nettles added to a wide variety of health products formulated for women's reproductive health. Especially fertility. While it's technically possible, I highly doubt I'll ever be fortunate enough to have children this far into my life. Even so, I came across some interesting products that seem like a great way to add some nettles to my diet organically and with other ingredients, seeing how I don't like the taste of pure nettle tea. Wholesome Story offers a organic fertility tea that any woman can appreciate with the following certified organic ingredients: cinnamon bark, spearmint leaf, nettle leaf, red raspberry leaf, chamomile blossom, and red clover blossom. Pink Stork offers two teas that I plan on ordering. Full disclosure, I ordered the fertility tea by Wholesome Story, but haven't tasted it yet. When I do, I'll provide an update. If I like Wholesome Story's tea, I plan on trying these teas as well. I'm a dirt poor Eco farmer. I can't order whatever I want whenever I want. I have to budget myself. Just the facts of my world. Hint: growing my own foods organically is incredibly labor intensive and takes the majority of my time, but boy does it pay off! It's so fresh and bursting with nutrition. It's not from another country. I don't have to question it's quality or wonder about how the workers were treated. Okay, Pink Stork. USDA Certified Organic Woman's Fertility Tea contains organic peppermint, chaste tree berries, red raspberry, stinging nettle, passionflower, and lady’s mantle. and USDA Certified Organic Labor Prep Tea contains organic rosehip, stinging nettle, chamomile, oatstraw, and red raspberry leaf. There are many other teas, supplements, etc. that contain nettles. I listed these three in particular because they are of interest to me. Don't let the names of the teas fool you. Just because a tea is called "Labor Prep" doesn't mean anyone can't benefit from it. Other blends I have come across contain ingredients that I don't like (licorice), or are in the nightshade family (ashwagandha) and can cause inflammation in certain individuals. I follow an anti inflammatory diet for my Endometriosis. Arthritis is mentioned often in this book. What is interesting, is that the author claims that deliberately stinging yourself with nettles in the affected areas will help treat ones arthritis symptoms. She even goes as far as to claim it cures arthritis. I'm not too sure how I feel about deliberately causing myself a painful itchy rash. But, if after doing this three or more times, arthritis is truly gone, then it seems like it would be worth it. However, the author also briefly mentions that her and her partner both enjoy swatting one another's privates with nettles prior to intercourse for intense coupling. This is one of those woo woo moments I'm just not feeling. If anyone decides or already does engage in this sort of behavior, feel free to comment. But please, keep it clean. Making salves with nettles to treat arthritis, similar to making jewelweed salve for poison ivy, is another possible method without the pain. However, the author stresses that, "...the nettle plants hollow sharp hairs act as needles when they penetrate the skin. Formic acid, acetylcholine, serotonin, and histamine held in the chamber at the base of the hairs squirts into the wound. These compounds irritate the skin and create an antihistamine reaction which ultimately clears out and reduces inflammation." If this is the case, then it seems unlikely that a salve will actually work in treating arthritis. As previously mentioned, if you have tried either or both of these methods and have or have not had success, please let me know in the comments. My point in mentioning some products and methods is that while I didn't find much in my basic internet search to back up the claims in this book, I instead found by accident, products that contain nettle that support the claims in this book. I wasn't searching for these products in particular. All I searched for was, "organic nettle". Also, how can a pharmaceutical company make big billions by suggesting we deliberately sting ourselves with nettles? You need live plants for this. As far as I know, it can't be bottled and patented - yet. Unfortunately we are in a world where anything outside of mainstream medical treatment is shunned or even hidden. As is often said, there aren't billions in profits from natural remedies. Does this mean natural methods are the cure all? No. Not at all. Conventional methods have their purpose and save lives. The fine line is in understanding when you need a holistic or conventional method for what ails you. My motto is to first try natural methods. If after exhausting all possibilities, the ailment doesn't improve, it's time to try conventional methods. This doesn't mean the conventional method will work either. But you wont know until you try. I like this book. It does need some editing though. The resources provided to back up the authors claims are mostly from the 1990's. I'd like to see newer sources and more sources that are not other authors books. I'd like to see some clinical studies and double blind tests. This would add more validity to the claims. As it stands now, the book comes across as a bit shady with questionable claims. Including quotes from long dead philosophers, poets, herbalists, artists and like is not convincing to me. I'm not saying they are wrong, but I'm not saying they are right either. On the topic of those who have come long before us, the author also provides some historical information regarding nettles. The history she provides about nettles is enjoyable, but not necessarily factual. I also would like to see more recipes for topical treatments. The food recipes are mostly unusable to me as they tend to include ingredients I no longer consume in order to manage my Endometriosis. However, I understand that I'm the minority in this area and I believe that most folks will find a great many of these recipes highly enjoyable. The author even provides basic guidance on using nettle as a dye plant. Being a natural grower and one who dyes natural fibers with plant based dyes, I'm more than pleased that this is included in her book. If you've never made your own tincture, Brigitte Mars shows you just how easy it is. You have the option of using either an alcohol base or glycerine. Personally, I prefer to use organic glycerine as I find organic alcohol tinctures rather nasty, but I can choke them down. Glycerine is naturally sweet and is wonderful if making tinctures for kids or if you need to avoid alcohol. Final note: I'm not a huge fan of the childish artwork. Some of it I like. It's mostly the artwork of the people I find off putting. That aside, at least one full color photo of an actual nettle plant would be great for those looking to forage. How fun would it be to have a full color photo of a nettle plant as a centerfold? In summary, I plan to add this informative book to my shelves, hopefully when it comes out. I received an advanced readers e-copy (ARC) of this book from Netgalley, Brigitte Mars and Storey Publishing for an honest review.  Lantern-Like Seeds From My Woad Plants For the love of woad. I am a indigo addict. Unfortunately true indigo doesn't grow in my area. That's not to say it can't be grown, or that I haven't grown it, rather that it will die come winter. Sometimes I just want my plants to last and thrive. I have enough that must be replanted each year. Woad, a biennial, is my Eco Farm Gal plant of choice as a result. My love for woad doesn't end there. It's flowers also attract butterflies and birds. Historically, it was used during the Viking era as a blue dye. With so little known about the Vikings, I love knowing I'm utilizing such an ancient and prized plant. Besides, who doesn't want to ditch the synthetic dyes, many of which are cancer causing and embrace what Mother Nature has provided? A Note Of Caution:
The leaves of the woad plant are what produce the traditional blue dye that woad is and was cultivated for. This process involves collecting the leaves, drying them, and then infusing them with an alkali to produce the deep blue dye woad is known for. In the early summer, dyers woad produces large clusters of cheerful golden yellow flowers. These blooms then transition into flattened, dark, seed heads with a lantern-like appearance. Dyer’s woad can grow to 4 feet tall and 18 inches wide within its first year. In the second year, it flowers, seeds, and then dies back. In my growing area (zone 6), it often regrows from the long tap root. You can zero in on your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone here. It also self sows. Because it self sows readily, I thin when the plants are still small, but not too small, with nice leaves that I can dry. The smaller plants are much easier to pull from the ground, ensuring I also remove the long tap root. I brush off any dirt and hang the small plants by their tap roots to dry. You can also use the dye leaves fresh. Add the fresh leaves to water along with some salt and massage. Notes:
To ensure a steady supply of leaves throughout the summer and fall, plant at least two beds about two weeks apart per bed. Despite it's deep taproot, woad will wilt in extreme summer heat if the soil is not kept moist. It is drought-tolerant once established. Crop rotation is generally recommend for each year. Being an invasive plant, I have had success leaving it to grow in it's original location as long as I maintain the correct soils. I also grow my woad with lavender and madder. When/If any problems pop up for me, I will update this article to assist my fellow growers. If you don't want your plants to reseed, cut off the yellow flower heads before they can form seed heads. If you are behind schedule, (and who isn't during the dog days of summer) don't despair. As the little lantern shaped pods start to dangle, they will be green. You can still cut them off if you do it early enough. You want to catch them before the seed heads start to darken for the greatest chance of success.  Dyer's Woad Seeds During Transition From Green To Purple-Brown With Lavender Growing In The Background Growing Guide Dyer's Woad is a biennial plant in the Brassicaceae also known as the Cruciferae, mustard family. Its life cycle takes two years. Its leaf phase of growth is during the first year. The leaves are the part of the plant that produces blue. During woad's first summer and fall, you can harvest from the same plants several times. Soak seeds in tepid water for 24 hours prior to planting. Botanical Name: Isatis tinctoria Start indoors: 4-6 weeks before the last frost. Transplant starts 12” apart in moist, well drained soil. Sow outside (direct sow): In the spring as early as 2-4 weeks before the last frost or anytime during the growing season. Soil Temperature For Germination: 65-70°F Size: 12" - 48" Zone: 4-8 Sun: Full Water: Moist, Well Drained Soil: Neutral to Slightly Alkaline Seed Planting Depth: 1/8" Seed Spacing: 2" - 3" Days to Germination: 7-10 Thinning: 18" Seed Savers: Over-winter the plants. Allow them to bloom and set seed in their second year. Insect Control: Floating row cover, barrier netting, or remove by hand as needed. I find that floating row cover is much more durable and lasts longer. The downside is that it's not easy to see through and harder to water through although it is permeable. Barrier netting is easy peasy to see through and water through. The downside is that it is easy to damage and not as long lasting.  Second Year Woad Just Beginning To Bud, But Not In Bloom  Before and After. Day One. I have done what I can to protect the identities of the original owners even though they could probably be brought up on charges of animal abuse. Why this poor fella wasn't taken to the vet or returned sooner is something I'm not likely to ever learn the answer to. My main concern in writing this article is that future buyers of my English Angora rabbits will not return a bunny to me. I want to make it very clear, that I take my bunnies back, no questions asked. Should you choose to provide me with information, great! It will be very helpful to me. If you have questions, I will always answer them to the best of my ability with the information I am provided. The bottom line is, please, no matter the situation, don't concern yourself with how I may feel personally. If you need or want to return an English Angora rabbit, contact me. I will not report you. I will not lecture you. I will simply arrange a meet time and day. I will then repossess the bunny. That's it. Promise. I have a No questions asked return policy on all of my English angora rabbits. All I care about is that these gorgeous animals are cared for. It is the whole reason I wrote my Angora Rabbit Care article. Angora rabbits are: A Lot. Of. Work. Angora rabbits are: A Lot. Of. Work. Most (but not all) of the time when an angora is returned to me, it is in bad shape. I steel myself to accept that I will likely not be happy with the animal that is returned to me. That I will have an incredible amount of work on my hands to restore the bunny to good health. However, I also remind myself to be thankful that the person/s returning the angora was honest enough with themselves to admit that they took on more than they can handle. In my nearly two decades of exclusive English Angora raising, I thought I'd seen it all. The return of this rabbit has shown me that I was very wrong. To quote my husband, "They tortured it." This Ruby Eyed White (REW) buck was purchased from me on December 4, 2021. I was contacted on December 8th after the Junior buck was taken as a teenagers pet. I didn't hear from them again until a little over a year later on January 25, 2022. December 8, 2021: "Hello. I understand completely that purchasing this rabbit from you does not automatically obligate you to answer our questions about him for life. So if you need to make a clean separation at any point, please do say so. Nonetheless we do have a few questions if you’re willing. We weren’t sure if the fresh foods guidance on your website was just for adults or kits too. He has unrestrained access to pellets (we did end up having local supplier for the New Country Organics pellets) hay and water. We’ve tried offering him some apples and made the cardboard tubes filled with hay and he hasn’t shown much interest. In fact, he hasn’t shown much interest in any of the chew toys we got him (pumice stone, applewood sticks, rabbit chew toys from the pet store), preferring to eat a genuinely shocking amount of hay instead. He digs a bit, but no chewing behavior to be seen so far. We are having some struggles keeping his fur totally clean. The brushing in general is going well and kind of fun at this point, so we don’t see any problems with mats or tangles. But any time he’s not on the wire bottom cage (say on the platforms in his cage to give him a break from the wires or the enclosed space on laminate flooring we’ve set up to give him space to run around) he nearly always ends up with at least a little urine and poop on his feet and belly. Cleaning out the solid pellets isn’t a problem, but sometimes they get smooshed into his fur a bit and while we can dry the urine on his fur with a tool that doesn’t feel “clean” exactly. Most advice seem reluctant to recommend any kind of water-based bathing, but haven’t found a great way to handle this situation otherwise. He also has a very small amount of crust under his nose (something I would consider totally normal for most animals, but noticed he didn’t have when I picked him up from you). Someone suggested kitten wipes as a solution for this kind of cleaning—any thoughts on that? Alternate suggestions? He has been an absolute delight so far and seems to be acclimating to our household nicely overall. All advice appreciated very much. Take care and thanks again." I responded on December 9, 2021: "Hi [redacted], Your bunny is still very young & is likely interested in other things right now than the chew toys. When he wants/needs to chew on something he will. Having easily accessible chew treats will hopefully reduce the likelihood of him chewing something you'd rather he didn't. High sugar treats like apples should only be provided sparingly. Too much sugar can cause diarrhea. When not on wire, a angora that is not litter box trained will hop through their own urine & feces. The only ways to avoid this are to constantly watch him & clean up his messes right after he makes them so he cannot walk through, get him litter box trained, or avoid allowing him on anything that doesn't have some sort bottom that drains. Rather than a solid platform, you can try woven grass mats. They will allow urine to pass through. Pellets however will remain. Once soiled or eaten (bunnies will often chew the mats as well), the mat can be composted or thrown out. You do not want to bathe him. Soaking up the wet wool with a paper towel or cloth & further drying the wool with a hair dryer on low heat or grooming blower is your safest option. Crust around the nose could be from many different things. Rabbits are very sensitive to fragrances, cleaning products, lotions, etc. If you need to clean his nose, use a soft wet cloth or paper towel. Less is more. Wipes for cats have the potential to contain ingredients that while safe for cats, may not be safe for rabbits. If the crust around the nostrils seems bad or he starts to sneeze excessively or produce a lot of snot, you may want to take him to the vet. Based on what you told me, I'm inclined to think it's environmental though rather than viral/bacterial. I'm glad you are all enjoying him. Did your [redacted] pick out a name for him yet? Jen :o)" On January 25, 2023 I received the following email: "Hello. About a year ago we purchased an angora bunny from you. Most of the year has gone fairly well but over the last few months the bunny has developed some strange habits that have made it, from our perspective, impossible to keep him clean and healthy. We love him very much but want to do what’s best for him, and so we are definitely considering your kind offer to take him back if that’s what’s best for him. But I thought I should start by just telling you what we’re seeing first and get your thoughts on the situation. He seems to often behave in ways that all sources agree Angora rabbits should not behave.
We’ve also attempted to find professional grooming services for him without luck. From your experience, do you have any suggestions about what we could do to improve his situation from here? Does your offer to take him back still stand? He’s quite large (much larger than any pictured on your site) and produces a tremendous amount of fur. Thanks very much for your time." The behavior described was unlike anything I had ever heard of in all of my years of breeding, grooming, housing, and rescuing English Angora rabbits. I answered as best I could with the information provided. "Hi [redacted], For brushing his hind feet, use a comb. You can start with a slicker, but you'll need to carefully use a comb to catch deeper mats. Be careful not to catch his toes. You can then finish with the slicker to catch any loose hairs that are too fine for the comb. If the mats are too deep &/or big, try breaking up the mats into smaller bits. You can use small blunt nose scissors. Aim the scissors away from his flesh so you don't accidentally nick him. For maintaining his genital area, I recommend scissors. If he is not fixed, you will need to locate his testicles first & move them out of the way. Also be weary of his penis. They will sometime poke them out during grooming. Don't cut too close to the skin & use blunt nosed short scissors. Never wash an angora rabbit. From your description, it sounds like he is not on wire & therefore is getting very dirty. I recommend a wire bottom. You can use resting pads that attach to the bottom so that he is comfortable. Any hay should be in a rack on the outside of his cage. The only time it's realistic to have him on bedding & have hay in his home is when his coat has been pulled. The long tooth can become a problem if he doesn't go to the vet to have it clipped. Usually, with enough to chew, their teeth stay trimmed. Sometimes though their teeth will over grow. In this situation a visit to the vet is necessary. The vet will trim the tooth to a more proper length. Have you tried apple sticks & branches for him to chew? Most rabbits love them. If the chew toys you provided are of no interest to him, you'll need to continue to search for something that he does like to chew. The situation with his eyes sounds more like weepy eye then him getting his eyes wet from his water. This is especially so if you are using a water bottle. For weeping eyes, a trip to the vet is needed to see if he has any eye drainage issues or possible infection. Sometimes it's as simple as debris in the eyes. Your exotic vet may be able to recommend appropriate groomers in your area &/or may even do a sanitary cut for you like they often do for aging cats to prevent urinary tract infections. If you feel that you can no longer care for him, then yes I will take him back free of charge. Jen" About three weeks later on February 16, 2023 I was contacted again: "Thanks so much for your response. I’ve been delaying getting back to you to give my [redacted] a bit of time to think and sort out the situation. [redacted] decided that if you’re willing to take him back, [redacted] would like to bring him back to you. We just don’t have any resources around here—we talked many local vets and none of them are willing to work with an angora nor have any recommendations. The one we’d heard about has left that office and they have no plans to replace him. The nearest vet or groomer we can find is over two hours away near [redacted] and we clearly aren’t able to give him the care that he needs on our own. We do genuinely believe he’s a bit of a special case, for whatever that’s worth. We’ve tried basically every kind of chew toy we can find that’s labeled as being for rabbits including apple sticks, pumice stones, pine cones, ropes balls, and wood toys. His cage has a large area of solid flooring (about 2’x2’) and a larger grated area (about 2’x3’) with a puppy pad underneath on the same side as his food, hay and water. He seems to intentionally wait to poop and pee on the solid side and then hide the pellets underneath himself (the puppy pad goes basically unused). The hay is indeed outside the cage, and he will grab some in his mouth and carry it over to the solid side repeatedly. I was also skeptical of the water bottle situation, but we’ve both watched him go over to the bottle and bump he head on it over and over again. Is there a time in the upcoming week or two where it would be good for us to meet up? I can make almost anything work as needed. Thanks again for your kindness." On February 18, 2023 I was back in possession of the buck. At this point he is about 14 months old. The rest of this article shows my progress over the course of a month as I worked tirelessly to rehabilitate this bunny. For those who rescue angoras, I hope this will be helpful to you. For those of you who have never owned an angora rabbit, I hope this will be helpful to you as well. Let this be a reminder of what happens when these animals are not properly cared for. The condition of this rabbit occurred in only one year! Possession of the rabbit in the slide show above was shocking and horrifying. From the emails, I was informed that he was being groomed regularly. At a glance it was obvious that this animal had not been groomed in a very long time. A year if not longer. Angora rabbits coats will mat, but not the moment you stop grooming them. To end up in this condition, the coat was never properly groomed nor was it ever removed the multiple times the coat was shed. Instead all of this fiber built up into a stiff shell around an emaciated body. The teen cuddled him in their arms and sobbed when they gave him up. I informed the teen that I had been doing this a very long time, that English Angora rabbits are all I know. I informed the teen that I would provide photos at which point the teen brightened but then started to cry again as I finished with, "if he lives." I see no reason to pussyfoot around the hard reality of life and responsibility. However, the parent clearly didn't do their part either. So far, the previous owners have not contacted me to see how their beloved pet is doing or if he even survived. The buck smelled so bad I was convinced that under his disgusting coat was a huge festering and rotting mass of decay. I held little hope that he would survive whatever the heck happened to him. Immediately upon returning home, I got out my grooming supplies and set to work. You can see my progress in the slideshow above. For some areas of his coat, I had to use hoof trimming shears to cut through the many layers of hard encrusted feces to uncover his sore ridden flesh beneath. The fur around his face was stiff, filthy, heavily matted and yellow thanks to his eyes continuously weeping. I trimmed away all of his facial hair. I almost cut off his tail. Working around his groin area was incredibly difficult. This was by far the worst area on his body and that's saying a lot. It wasn't until later that evening or maybe the next morning that I realized that I didn't find his penis. There were many long and thick sections of feces that I had to cut off. Mere seconds before taking the hoof trimming shears to yet another encrusted part of his body, I paused. I thought to myself, wait a sec. where the heck is his tail? I started to feel all over him. I even thought that maybe his tail was gone. Then it finally dawned, the thing I was about to cut off was his tail! That was a very difficult task. Removing hard layers of feces from his skinny tail without actually snipping the tail. I had to ask my husband to hold him so I could use both hands to work this area (and his groin) free. Once uncovered, the skin on his tail was one ulcerated sore that was bleeding a little. As I painstakingly removed his coat over a period of several hours, he started to lick at himself. His overgrown teeth kept clacking. I stopped my coat removal process and clipped his teeth to a more normal length. I then resumed removing his coat. His coat was so stiff and dense that not even a quarter into the process my brand new grooming sheers were dull. When I got the first section off I held it up to my husband when I saw him walk by. He looked over at me and said, "It died?" He thought that quarter section of the bunnies coat was the actual bunny. His coat on his entire body was densely matted to the skin. There was not any section anywhere that was not matted. I have never in my life seen a angora matted this badly. His groin area was massively swollen with what I believed at the time to be a raging infection of his urinary tract, genitals or both. He had festering sores all over his body. Around one back leg, the teen said they applied some gauze for his wound. The gauze was soaked in foul smelling feces. During removal it was clear that at that time the bunny had diarrhea. The bunny couldn't stand properly or move his back legs to kick. I figured it was due to the extensive matting. His legs and even his head were matted to his body, reducing his mobility. Once his coat was removed, he fell over. At this point I've concluded that his leg muscles have atrophied and he will start to regain use of his limbs within a day or two. I was wrong. I brought him into our home and set him up near our wood stove. By this point his condition seemed very poor. We expected him to die. He didn't. This fella had a very strong will to live. Day Two. I'm shocked in the morning when I get up to see that he is still alive. He's not standing on his own. He doesn't appear to have moved from his side all night. A bed sore has resulted on his hip. I clean him up with a nice warm bath. Note: I do not recommend bathing angora rabbits. This is an extreme case where the life of the rabbit is on the line. His coat has been removed. An angora that has been bathed can easily catch a chill and die. This is why it is critical to provide proper coat maintenance. If a particular area of your angora tends to be dirty, I find it best to trim away the wool from that area. If it is simply hay, grooming will catch the hay bits as will your fingers. For soiled wool, cut it out with blunt nose scissors as needed. I towel dried him, then used a blower on him to dry the little amount of wool he still has. At this point his groin has been washed thoroughly with soap and water and rinsed just as thoroughly. I made up a paste using lavender essential oil, raw honey, and sulfa powder. This was applied generously to his genitals. Pictured is before applying the paste so that I can record his progress or regression each day. Sovereign Silver has been added to his drinking water as a holistic antibiotic. At this point I don't want to risk him ingesting a stronger antibiotic because it can upset his gut micro flora. This can cause diarrhea and death. With how stressed his body is, I'm trying for a more gentle approach. His groin area is incredibly swollen. Presumably with infection. It took a lot of effort to push through the swollen flesh and locate his red puffy penis. From what I can tell, he has both a urinary and possible reproductive infection that is very bad and very well might kill him. His groin is by far the worst area of his body regarding skin sores. This is due to the massive amounts of urine and feces that was on his flesh for months. He is still not able to stand and is dragging his body around. I have to tend to him very often throughout the entire day. I ordered a baby changing mattress pad to put on the bottom of his cage in hope of reducing the odds of him developing additional bed sores or making the one he has worse. He is already amusing me in his enthusiasm at being touched by me. He licks constantly. I can only imagine just how good it must feel to him having his actual skin being touched, cleaned, massaged, and caressed. He eats out of my hand and is a bit of a cuddler already. I haven't been contacted by the previous owners on this day either. Perhaps they are giving things time before checking in on the pet they said they loved so much. Day Three. After his soak and during my administrations around his groin and crotch area, I realized that the huge puffed area wasn't a mass of infection. Instead, it was a massive mix of fur, fecal matter and urine that was purifying. His bath soaks helped to loosen this mass, enabling me to remove it. The loose skin by his crotch stretched out to create a kangaroo style pouch where all of this collected. Once all of this was removed, I did my usual Vetericyn wash. This was followed by a paste I made using Neomed Sulfur powder and WholeNest honey lavender ointment to help fight infection. Day Four. It was a beautiful and warm February day. I decided to get him outside for a few hours where he could lay on a thick bed of hay and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air. The photos in the slide show were taken in the early evening right before I brought him inside for the usual cleansing and healing ablutions. Because these photos are prior to bathing and treatment, you can clearly see the infection in his penile area. He is also ready to pop out a few healthy looking pellets. You can see this as well in the photos. Day Five. As expected, healing has greatly improved now that the impacted mass has been removed. He spent a good deal of time under the infrared lamp. He really seems to love it. He also loves to rest his head in my hand and doze. The baby mattress works wonders at helping to keep him comfortable while he heals. I put puppy pads in layers over the mattress. I then secure the pads so that they don't slide around. His appetite is excellent. He eats plenty of pellets, hay, and treats. He has such a strong will to live. I also discovered his behavior of hitting his head on the water bottle. This was pretty simple to understand after observation. Because he cannot move two of his legs properly, he tends to move in unbalanced lunges. He is not intentionally hitting the water bottle with his head. He is working to position himself to drink. Once he is comfortable, he drinks. He does not hit his head into the water bottle needlessly. Day six. His many scabs continue to shrink with healthy pink skin in their place. Inflammation also continues to go down. I am having a hard time with this, seeing how much suffering he has been through and how far he still has to go. Day seven. Even with the baby mattress and continuing with gently manipulations and handling, he prefers to lay on one side. This has created a huge bed sore at his hip bone. On top of that his penile area seems to have worsened. More warm Epsom bath soaks are needed. I cannot stress enough that an angora rabbit shouldn't be bathed - ever! This is a very extreme situation. A very abnormal situation. Plus, he has very little hair. Even so, he must be gently towel dried and then dried completely with a hair dryer on it's lowest setting. He then rests with a heat generating infrared lamp to ensure he isn't chilled. By the way, infrared devices are great for humans, cats, dogs, horses, etc. I have several different types for different issues and situations. The main thing I don't like about the lights is that they are very bad for the eyes. Please keep this in mind should you choose to use one. Day eight. While not out of the woods yet, the improvements in his swelling continue, albeit very slowly. The redness of his penile area have greatly reduced. This is such a relief. He doesn't enjoy the baths, but they make a huge difference. They also help to get him clean. The water color is thanks to a combination of the sulfur, his own urine, and the Epsom salt. He gets dirty easily because he cannot sit or stand properly. He spends most of his time lying on his side. He usually drags himself around. I go through a lot of small puppy pee pads to keep him clean. I choose the smaller sized pads so that I'm not wasting larger pads. When using larger pads, when he soils only one area, I end up having to toss out a mostly clean pad. Most of the mess that gets him dirty occurs overnight while I am sleeping because I'm not constantly checking to see if his pads need to be changed. Note: I tried cat sized diapers, but no matter what I did, he would drag them off overnight. Plus, the way the tail hole is situated, a lot of his pellet poop would still make it out of the diaper and he'd still get soiled from a combination of dragging himself through and laying on his poop pellets. Day nine. His testicles are practically back to normal. Almost no scabs are left. The final battle seems to be the swelling in his penile shaft and his bed sores. If the bed sores can't be healed at home, he may need surgery because it can travel to the bone. Day ten. This bed sore has been the most difficult to treat. It is shrinking though. I use Silverquine Hydrogel, a colloidal silver based ointment after he is done with his Epsom salt soak. Remember, do NOT bathe your angora rabbit! This is a very unique situation. A healthy angora with their coat should never, ever be bathed. Day eleven. His testicles look great! His penile shaft is still swollen. The bedsore is challenging. I am continuing with a very gentle oral antibiotic after his bath. Once dry he gets Vetericyn wound spray and Silverquine colloidal silver ointment when I'm finished. Day twelve. I'm feeling a lot more optimistic today regarding his recovery. He managed to stand (with my assistance) for about twenty to thirty minutes without falling over! He was happily eating for most of this time. Normally he will only stand for about a minute before tipping over. Once he's off his feet, he cannot get back on them, no matter how hard he tries. He does sometimes manage a okay upper body lift, but mostly he lays flat. Frankly, it's pretty horrible. He has the bed sore to show which side he tends to lay on most. Day thirteen. He has spinal and nerve damage plus muscle atrophy in his hind and front legs on his right side. This is why he cannot stand. Without knowing exactly what happened, there are two likely possibilities for his spinal and nerve damage. One is he was dropped or mishandled. Two is he became frightened and caused his own injury (it can happen). The muscle atrophy is due to the mats that connected his legs and head to his body, further restricting his movements. All of this is why he ended up in the worst condition I've ever seen a rabbit in. Two weeks. He got to snooze on a thick bed of hay in the sun for a few hours today. I was hoping it might perk him up. Instead he perked up after his bathing and medicating routine. He really loves his infrared light! Sweet Mr. Snuggles that he is. Two and a half weeks. The bedsore continues to shrink very slowly. His genital area continues to heal very slowly. I am still giving him the daily routine of Epsom salt bath soaks, oral antibiotic, wound spray, and colloidal silver ointment. Three weeks. The constant Epson salt bathes and need to dry him, are making him bald and pink. His appetite remains strong. I have been continuing to help him to stand. He loves being held, tickled, and cuddled. In so many ways he acts more like one of my cats that one of my bunnies. He tends to get his PJ's off, so I make sure he always has a heat source. He zens out under the infrared lamp. Total house rabbit. Christened, Mr. Snuggles (not his original name). One month. Mr. Snuggles is fully healed from everything other than his bedsores and his inability to stand or sit normally. I give him a two times daily does of over the counter rabbit antibiotic that he loves like a treat. It's a very gentle product that I have found very safe and useful over the many years I've been caring for angora bunnies. Unlike the majority of my rescues, he will not be going to a new home. The previous owners have yet to inquire about his outcome.  January 25, 2025:
I am no longer selling my English Angora rabbits to anyone. I always try to give people the benefit of the doubt. I never policed any purchase. Personally, if you were going to spend what I was charging and make the drive to pick the bunny up, I trusted you would also be responsible. An angora didn't have to be a pet. They are fiber animals. As long as the bunny was properly cared for, I was a okay. Taking back bunnies in poor condition became expected. I was never happy about the condition of the bunnies I took back, but none were ever like this. Mr. Snuggles was the first tortured rabbit I had to rehabilitate. I'm done. I suppose I may change my mind at some point. But it seems unlikely. Please don't ask me for a bunny. I am not responding to those types of inquires. If you are curious, the previous owners have never contacted me since returning him to me on that fateful day.  More Balanced Than Some Books On Green Living But It Still Has Some Flaws Green Living A Comprehensive Guide to a Happy and Sustainable Life by Green Matters
This book offers many ideas & solutions to try to live a greener life but it doesn't always show the complete picture. To be fair, it does show a more balanced view than some other books I have read, but the older I get, the more I have learned & the "solutions" are never as simple as they may first seem. For example, the argument against gasoline powered anything was that we import our oil which is not sustainable. Okay, but as of our previous administration (Trump) we were the largest exporters of oil thanks to fracking the bejesus out of America. Now, with our current & supposedly green administration (Biden), we are back to importing our oil practically overnight. So which is it? Oil is bad because we import, yet oil is bad because we export. Battery power anything is promoted as fabtabulous. I myself happened to adore my battery powered weed wackers & lawn mowers around my Eco farm. But what about the damage to the environment & slave labor to get the resources needed to make the batteries? What about disposing of the batteries? There is no discussion of this downside. Wind power is also mentioned. As is the potential bird loss. According to the book the oil & gas industry made up the story about birds dying. I have no idea if this is true, but I could have swore that the blades were slowed down to reduce bird deaths. So if it was lie perpetuated by big oil & gas, why were the blades slowed? Hydro (water) power. This is presented pretty clearly. Obviously creating a monster dam is going to have some environmental repercussions & should the dam ever fail... Coal power is mentioned, but no mention of the tremendous amount of environmental upgrades that coal plants have gone through, including scrubbers which makes coal a lot cleaner than it once was. Yes, it's still "dirty" but it has been improved greatly. Most of these changes were under the Obama administration. Nuclear is one of those interesting power supplies. It does provide clean energy kind of how batteries provide clean energy. As in, the energy doesn't pollute during use, but the harvesting/byproducts are awful for the environment. Geothermal is awesome, but expensive & only works in certain areas. So what are we to do? I have pondered this many times over. Sadly, my conclusion is that there is no answer. Everything we do to create energy causes pollution in one form or another. Even if we went back to when we first settled America, we had wood to burn. Can you imagine if we all went back to burning wood? Even if we never cut down a healthy tree, utilizing only sickly & fallen trees, the smog & pollution would be unbearable in the cities. Us country folks would be just fine (I exclusively heat my late 1700's log cabin with a wood stove). I realize this may not be a popular opinion, but bear with me. As a full time Eco farmer, I am exposed & in tune with nature as my job. What nature never does is have a mono-crop. Nature likes variety. This way should something fail, the land isn't barren. So why not trust in Mother Natures wisdom & utilize all of our energy resources? This way we can reduce the amount of damaged caused by monopolizing one or two types of energy producers. We already know that every one of them pollutes. But if we diversify, we create more balance. Also, every single one of us has different needs. It is not right to say energy A is the way, do energy A or else. Energy B (or C or D or E or a combination) might be better suited for someone else. These United States are far from perfect & change is needed, but to continuously tear at our own country saying we are ginormous polluters really isn't fair. China & India are by far the worst polluters & they have no plans on cutting back. They have no interest in the environment or decent worker conditions. How many items have you purchased this week from either of these countries? We buy what's cheap & in turn, we support environmental & human abuse. We need choices in all aspects. Not more government regulation as this book suggests. When the government steps in, they have a nasty habit of making a bad situation worse. Look at the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). They are worthless. They do nothing to protect our environment. It's a branch of government that we could disband & nothing would change except our taxes wouldn't be funding them. What about vehicles? This burns my bottom a bit because I heard a couple of snarky self righteous comments from some folks who already drive electric vehicles. The comments were over the painfully high gas prices. Comments like, "Maybe it will teach you to stop driving a big truck". Or, "I have an electric car, so it doesn't bother me." This attitude is naive & foolish. First, electric vehicles are expensive. If you can afford one, that's really great! You are also better off living less rural with more charging station options. But what about folks like me who must have a 4WD big truck to run their Eco farm? I deserve to be punished at the pump? What about my insanely green lifestyle? Does this count for nothing? Folks, we have to stop being so quick to judge others. We all have different lives & different needs. I believe that most of use care about the environment. Some more than others to be sure. I am one of the people who cares a lot. It drives me crazy because I cannot come up with the utopia answer to have a truly green life. I do my best to tread lightly, but horrible person that I am, I drive a big 20 year old truck 'cause I'm a poor, dirt worshiping tree huger who happens to also be a full time Eco farmer. The book also beats up eating meat. That diatribe is beyond tired. Yes, factory farmed meat is horrible. No one should eat it. Mother Nature didn't create cattle for no reason. They are a very important part of our ecosystem when they are allowed to graze naturally. The farm that neighbors mine raises beef cattle. It is one of the most beautiful things your eyes can behold. They rotate from lush pasture to lush pasture. Hay is cut twice a year to feed them all winter long. They are never confined or crowded. That is the type of meat you should enjoy if you don't wish to go Vegan. Finally, the book discusses detoxing. I used to fall for this, that I needed to detox my body. Our liver & kidneys detox us 24/7. If they didn't we'd be dead. Get plenty of rest, drink plenty of water, & eat clean so your body can repair. This book, by the way, is printed in CHINA. How's that for a taste of hypocrisy?  Should Be Titled "How To Learn To Live With Weeds In The Organic Garden" Weed-Free Gardening: A Comprehensive and Organic Approach to Weed Management by Tasha Greer
We all know there really is no such thing as weed free gardening. Still, as a full time Eco farmer who's been doing this job for nearly two decades, I was curious as to what the author would have to say. After reading through this entire book, the summary really is learning to accept weeds in the garden. The photos she provides clearly show an abundance of weeds growing all over. Plants gone to seed. Frankly, it's a mess. But the author is happy & it works for her. It's not for me. The author provides very good information regarding the importance of soil health. She provides many details on various methods one can employ to build soil health to help keep weeds down. Her main objective is to return carbon to the soil. For some reason, this is something I never gave much thought to. In my mind, I am/was already doing plenty to keep my soils healthy & figured that was good enough. As for weeds, I battle it out with them non stop & after reading this book, I can clearly see that this will continue to be the norm for me. I overwinter my soils by adding compost from my Eco farm & then covering the soils until I am ready to plant in the spring. Apparently my method doesn't allow carbon to build in the soil. It does keep my soils weed free until planting time however. One of the main takeaways I retained from this book is that the author strongly encourages putting weeds without seed heads right back into the soil. There are various methods for this. I tend to avoid this, because when I've tried it in the past (simply because I was overly hot, boiling in the full sun & wanted to save both time & labor) it usually backfired. I left pulled/weed hoed weeds on the planted soils. The problem for me at least, is that they will often re-root or regrow making my weeding efforts pointless. You may have more success. I have decided to reconsider this method by doing a very early morning weeding mainly with my weed hoe & my fingers, then leaving the weeds sit, knowing rain is not in the forecast & the weather is going to be hot enough to kill the disturbed weeds. If it is going to rain, this will never work. Nor if the weather is mild. The author also discusses composting. Both hot & cold as well as some other methods that I've heard of. One being the use of a metal trashcan that is buried. There are other methods as well. I use a "lazy" cold compost method. I am too exhausted to put energy into messing with my huge compost piles when it's in the 90's or in the winter when it's in the 20's. When the weather is good, I'm extremely busy working my land. The author even mentions one of my favorite books, A Woman's Garden. If you are interested in doing more than growing edibles, but would also like to explore dye plants, medicinal plants & more, you may find 'A Woman's Garden' enjoyable as well. There is a lot of very good information in this book. Normally I get frustrated with many of the books that come out on Eco gardening because they paint such a rainbow rosy picture of it all giving me the impression that the authors have very little growing experience. This book is not at all like that. This book is a keeper. Just remember, it's not at all about achieving a weed free garden. Not even close.  Only Suitable For Those On The West Coast Grow Now: How We Can Save Our Health, Communities, And Plant - One Garden At A Time by Emily Murphy I've been an Eco-Farmer for nearly 2 decades. I'm land locked in Appalachia but I can reach the NJ shore in about 8 hours. While most books of this type aren't really suited to someone such as myself with an incredible amount of chemical free growing experience, I do still tend to enjoy them. I also like to see fresh ideas & opinions. The problem with this book is the author only has experience as a California grower. Where does that leave the rest of us in the USA? For example, the author has a list of what to harvest when. "Blueberries are harvested in spring." In 2 weeks it will be spring here. My blueberry bushes don't even have leaves yet. Harvest blueberries in spring???? Yeah, right. I harvest my blueberries in the summer. What about kale? It is one of my first harvests. I start in the spring. I guess in CA you can't get kale in the spring as it is not listed as a spring crop. Mangos are listed too. Mangos? Oh my. Maybe in FL; not where I am & not in NJ. I am NJ born. I moved about 500 miles away or 8 hours travel time by car. NJ & the state I currently reside in (WV) are surprisingly similar in climate lows, highs & precipitation. But they are still not the same. This small difference makes a huge difference in how & what I grow. It took me about 3 growing seasons (3 years) before I became adjusted to not only the climate differences but also the soil differences. Now, imagine the difference between NJ & CA of 3000 miles or a 3-4 day drive. Or where I am to CA is about 2500 miles. Not only is the climate entirely different, but we are in different time zones. And finally, don't even get me started on micro climates. They are very real. My neighbors farm can get hit with a killing frost & I don't. My neighbor had is barn torn down in high winds. I can view his barn from my property. Every single structure on my property was fine. Heck I've watched it pour on my neighbors property while I stand in the full sun, totally dry & stay dry. The author mentions learning your growing region, but doesn't provide the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone color coded map. Instead she provides a woefully inaccurate list of each region. I'm not on her list. My average last frost is May 15. My average first frost is October 15. You wont find this listed in her book. The book is well intentioned, but very flawed & full of propaganda. I am a huge promoter of sustainable agriculture but we need to be upfront & honest about our environment & government if we want to be taken seriously. Yes, we absolutely need to give a darn about our planet, but lets not use lies ahem, misinformation to try to convince others. Granted, she does stress that, yes you can make a difference as one person & this is absolutely true. When I first started I was treated like I was crazy. It was frustrating always having to defend myself. Now, I see so many younger folks on board. I'm no longer the fringe crazy lady freaking out about chemicals, the environment & animal welfare. I love seeing how generations younger than me discover a more sustainable lifestyle. However, Eco living, like life in general, is not black or white. It is mostly grey. So called green energy isn't as green as we are led to believe. This doesn't make me pro oil/gas. Not one bit. I'm just for the cold hard facts. No propaganda. The book has plenty of optimistic advise for re-greening our planet. Sometimes overly optimistic (growing stuff is hard work). It's more of a very basic idea book rather than something in-depth. For example, if you see something (plant or Eco method) that you think might work in your growing area, you will want to do further research because the author doesn't provide enough for you to utilize. Of course, in the end, nothing beats hands on experience. You can read yourself silly & gain plenty of "book smarts" but until your working in your own micro climate, you don't really know much at all. I could go on, but I see no reason to as I feel I've said more than enough. Bottom line, if you live in CA & are new to growing stuff & want to go green, then this book is probably perfect for you. For the rest of us, I'd look elsewhere unless you are the type who just enjoys reading about vs doing (nothing wrong with that, it's like window shopping). The book was printed in CHINA... One of the top global polluters (the other is India). You gotta love the hypocrisy.   Update 2/12/25 I have been posting on Facebook more than I had over the past five years or so. I am still eventually deleting these posts. I am finally on X should you choose to follow me there. If you'd like to see what's going on around my homestead, please join me in my journey. I would love to have you and value your input. When I first created a Facebook page for my micro business it was because my customers requested a way to stay connected. They wanted a Facebook page. For about six or seven years, this worked out rather well. I was able to learn more about my customers and followers, share photos, stories, new items, and blog posts. I also shared other pages posts that I thought were relevant or simply amusing. Interaction was high and growth (likes) was good. Then it seemed to come to a standstill. Pay to play. I paid. And paid. Annddd paid. For almost no return. That lasted around two or three years. Boy was I wasting my valuable time! Then 2020 happened. With virtually no interaction from my followers, even with paid advertising and seeing that my rather innocent seeming shares were being marked as misinformation (they weren't), it became rather clear to me that it was time to part ways with Facebook. I believe in freedom of speech, even if I don't like what you have to say. Because staying connected is important, I do think about setting up on a different platform. Instagram is often suggested. Being Meta owned, I doubt I'll go that route. I may consider X. I may end up never joining another social media site again. Who knows? Time will tell. It always does. At the time of this post (4/16/24), my Facebook page is not closed. You can still like it and visit it. However, nearly all of the content I posted and shared, I removed. I've no interest in continuing to feed the Facebook machine. It's not like Zuckerbucks needs my business. What I did do, is save the most popular content and comments, creating this little Running Bug Farm Facebook Archives if you will. In this article, I start from my humble 2011 beginings on Facebook to the present. I wanted to preserve what was created. But I didn't want to preserve it for Facebook. They don't deserve me or my little Eco farm, you do. Wherever you are in the world, whatever your beliefs, whatever your passions, I humbly thank you for everything! My little Eco farmstead couldn't have grown without each and every one of you! March 7, 2011 We always wanted to get chickens. We thought they would be cool to have. We thought they were stupid & ugly but they would be fun, give us eggs and we could chase them with glee. This is a part of how it all started! The desire for something we knew nothing about! We wanted more from life than just working to live. March 18, 2011 ...When we were younger we bred & hand raised Cockatiels. We had parrots. We still have cats - we will always have cats! We had more fish & fish tanks than we knew what to do with! Numerous toads, frogs, & mud-skippers... You name it, we had it at some point! We used to go on hunts for tadpoles & other aquatic life that we could put in our fish tanks & our teeny little hole we dug ahem...our "pond"... March 19, 2011 ...I had a childhood surrounded by mountains & fields with pasture, lizards, snakes, horses, lamas, alpacas, rivers, lakes, ponds....you name it! As an adult the desire to live that life never ever left. It became an obsession - a goal. Totally driven it became our dream & we worked hard to learn everything we could about Organic, Natural, Sustainable & Self Sufficient living... March 20, 2011 ...We saved every penny possible for the future purchase of our Dream. Because we were living on 2 acres in NJ we started to small scale practice what we were learning. Slowly we went to 100% Organic. Eliminated all chemicals. Learned how to can our own food. Learned about root cellars & put it to practice. We started to grow much more food. We learned how to grind our own grains & make our own breads... March 21, 2011 ...Basically we learned how to do everything from scratch. We got 2 Hens. Now we knew it really had begun! We got the hens before we even had a place to house them! We kept them downstairs while learning how to build a movable chicken coop! From here our passion exploded for the farm life... March 22, 2021 ...2 old hens turned into 3 old hens (we had no idea how to tell good birds from bad, old from young (unless they were chicks), or for that matter roosters from hens). 3 hens turned into 3 hens & tons of roosters! Whoops! We bought at auction what said was "Araucana Pullets". Imagine our surprise when we bought a whole box of Araucana Cockerels instead!...
March 23, 2011 ...Needless to say we found ourselves going to the livestock auction quite often! We were buying roosters or old hens feeding them organic feed, discovering we had roosters & having to sell them back at the auction. We couldn't yet bring ourselves to cull (kill) any birds so we took our losses & learned!... March 24, 2011 ...Finding organic feed at the time was impossible in NJ. We had to special order it. The shipping for 50lb bags of feed was over half the cost per bag bag of feed! So if Certified Organic feed was say $22 for 50lbs we paid an additional $15 or so for shipping per bag! What were we to do? Use nasty medicated feed? Feed loaded with GMO's? Disgusting Non organic feed was around $10 - $12 per 50lb bag!...
March 25, 2011 ...We ordered our feed from Countryside Natural Products. A few months before we moved out of NJ, New Egypt Agway started to carry Organic Poultry feed. Tractor Supply Co in WV sells Organic feed. We still order our Organic Rabbit feed from Countryside. Countryside sells a whole bunch of other types of Organic feeds for those of you interested in getting out of the unhealthy world of GMO's & medicated feed... March 26, 2011 ....We started to sell our eggs. Some people were highly insulted at the cost of our eggs. We were disgusted. These people had no idea what the true cost of Real Food is! It cost us much more than we were charging. We should have been charging double! We stuck to our beliefs & eventually found steady & loyal customers who loved us for our Organic All Natural practices & loved when the Girls ran to greet them...
March 27, 2011 ....As the years went on in NJ with our Dream Egg growing, we eventually had over 50 Chickens! We decided that ordering day old chicks was the best way to go & for our current situation, we were right! We ordered about 30 chicks at a time. All Heritage Breeds. No factory type birds. Raising the birds from chicks was a real joy for us. We did so well we had no deaths!... March 28, 2021 ...Getting the call from the Post Master that they have your chicks is one of the most exciting calls to get at 5:30 AM! Off we go with big grins on our faces to get our tiny peeping box of cuteness! Everything is set up prior to their arrival. Giant tubs, homemade wire lids with Plexiglas doors, feeders, waters, heat lamps, hay & organic starter feed...
March 29, 2011 ...Once your home is filled w/ peeping cuteness it's difficult to focus on other tasks. U find U have wandered over to Chick Central so U can peek at & touch them. Chick life is funny: they cheep, poop, run around, sleep. Just like that. They will lay there like they are dead - you will think they are dead! Laying flat, Eyes closed, Neck stretched. Then Boing! They are up & running! Peeping, pooping, eating... March 30, 2011 ...Sadly the cuteness doesn't last long enough! Before you know it these little peeps turn into gangling goofy looking creatures. All poky & beaky. Clumsy as ever & endlessly entertaining. Not only that but the work load grows. More large tubs are needed or a new location entirely. They grow FAST... March 31, 2011 ...Feather dust can really get out of control esp. if you keep them in the home as we do. You will find it forms a thick layer on every surface of the room they are in! Sure you clean it up weekly at minimum, but it doesn't show! Eventually they become much to big for their indoor homes but still too teeny & fragile for outside. This is the time that is a bit trying on us. Bin cleanings are every other day...
April 1, 2011 ...Cute little feet must be checked that no poop builds up on the bottom; this is very bad! If there is poop the little squirmy peeper must make a visit while in your hand over to the faucet for some gentle foot cleaning. Poop compacts on the bottoms of chick feet & it can cause them to loose their toes. It can also cause infection. Cleanliness is always of utmost importance... April 2, 2011 ...When the chicks are finally old enough to go outside it is part relief & part worrisome. They must be fenced in to extreme measures. Tiny holed fencing is required so they don't get stuck in the fencing. They must be separate from the grown birds & they need protection from both ground & air predators. Virtually anything & everything wants to eat those little pipsqueaks...
April 3, 2011 ...You know you've have done the right thing when you see them running around charging at each other & mini flying fluttering around their new giant open spaced playpen of "oh boy what's that? What's that & that & that & that!" Peck peck peck, run, flap, poop, charge, peck, cheap, sleep, dust bathe, sun bathe. Oh boy! you got it - it's the good life indeed... April 4, 2011 ...While the chicks grow outside they can safely enjoy many "conversations" with the adult birds thanks to the fencing between them. These many "discussions" help ease the chicks into acceptance with the adults as they mature into pullets/cockerels... April 5, 2011 ...When the young birds are old enough to free range, these "conversations" are no longer through the fence. A pecking order must be re-established & there is a lot of squawking, pecking, & general fighting. Thankfully prior 'through the fence talk' makes this a short affair & no one gets badly hurt... April 6, 2011 ...If there are cockerels in the group, when they join the adults, the hens will actually battle the cockerels for dominance in the pecking order! The pullets usually know to quickly show that they know there place & do their best to avoid fighting with the adult hens. Usually within 2 to 3 days the new pecking order is established.... April 7, 2011 ...Once our pullets & cockerels reach full age we have many decisions to make. What older birds do we cull? Which do we sell? How strong are our egg sales? Which birds are good & which are troublemakers? How heavy were our losses due to predators? Sometimes no birds are culled & all the older birds we decide not to keep go to the auction... April 8, 2011 ...We noticed that our birds typically sell higher at the auction then the exact same types of birds. We believe this is due to their excellent living conditions & humane care. When our birds are tested for disease, we have been told that it is obvious that our birds are raised on pasture due to the smell of their poop of all things! Note: we have never had any birds test positive for any diseases... April 9, 2011 ...For those of you who are against us culling our birds, know that this isn't something we do constantly. Also we do not raise birds to sell on the market for meat. We only sell eggs on the market. Our birds are never confined. They have over 16 acres of pasture to enjoy. They get to behave naturally. They enjoy bugs, sunshine, sex, dust baths, & normal flock behavior...
April 10, 2011 ...Birds that we do cull are for our personal use. We do not believe in waste. The entire bird gets used from the meat to the feathers. If it is a old tough bird, it is used to make stock & the meat is given to the cats. We wash & dry the feathers. Then we sort them (this takes a very long time) to sell. We are very dependent on the money we get from the feathers & the eggs of our birds... April 11, 2011 ...We do not raise our birds for their feathers. Most of our feathers are Vegan friendly as they are from birds that died of natural causes or predators as mentioned in previous posts. Next up, Guineas... April 12, 2011 ...Guineas! After a while we decided we had to get guineas. We read so much good stuff about them. The downside was we also heard they made a heck of a lot of noise. While in NJ we did our best to not keep Roosters because of the noise, even though the neighbors said they didn't mind. We never had any complaints. Most people loved to discover our little farmette nestled away right at the Jersey Shore... April 13, 2011 ....back to the guineas. We got a bunch of keets (baby Guineas we've seen this spelled keets & keets). They are so cute at this age it is hard to believe they turn into such weird looking creatures! No matter how much we handled them, when they grew up they were terrified of us! Yelling their heads off & charging away. A very amusing sight to see... April 14, 2011 ...We had to clip their wings (harmless if done properly) to keep them from roosting in trees & flying over the fencing! Even w/ both wings clipped they manage to catch some air! On top of that guineas really like to wander far from home! They come back every night like the hens but they can disappear for many hours. Needless to say 2 acres of land is not enough for guineas... April 15, 2011 ...With the noise Guineas make & all the traveling they like to do, we knew we really needed to move! Problem was we were looking for over 4 years. We put in offers on property in WV & PA. On some we were outbid. On others they counter offered too high for our comfort... April 16, 2011 ... In the meantime, the guineas started to drive us mad with their constant noise. If you are considering guineas, you need to know that they are very loud & the sounds they make are not pleasant. Your ears will ring! We ended up loosing all but one guinea because a predator got to them. We had one male left. He chased after the hens, would grab hold of their feathers & wouldn't let go... April 17, 2011 ...The girls would run around the yard screaming their heads off while the rooster watched them & made upset sounds (we have yet to have a worthy rooster to this day). Our poor hens were loosing giant patches of feathers due to one randy guinea. There was no point in keeping one randy male guinea who screamed all day long. We culled him. We must say, guinea is delicious!... April 18, 2011 ...We were not done with guineas. We still wanted them for a large number of reasons. One was to eat. They cost less to raise up then chickens & they are great watch dogs & bug eaters. We wanted to have some to feed us, some to control bugs, & some to breed. Once again we got a whole bunch of tiny little keets! We purchased 3 beautiful breeds: Pearl, Lavender, & Royal Purple.... April 19, 2011 ...Keets are cute little darlings at this age! They are teeny tiny & are much nicer to each other than chicks & ducklings are. They never chase each other or peck each other. They are the cleanest out of all the babies. It is fascinating to watch the behavior of different types of babies. Keets are the sweetest babies so far! Runner up - ducklings. Last - chicks. Chicks like to peck & that can be troublesome... April 20, 2011 ...Eventually just like mentioned with the chicks, the keets move outside & have to have extreme fencing for their safety from predators & the adult birds. For this flock of guineas we had a creepy situation unfold that we didn't understand in the beginning... April 21, 2011 ...Our hens houses are built up off the ground with fine wire mesh on the bottom to keep up the air flow & it makes for easier cleaning. We always put hay in the bottom & they have bars to perch on. In the morning before heading off to work, everyone would be let out for the day into their fenced in area - a space about 10 times larger than the USDA requirement for free range organic birds... April 22, 2011 ... We noticed our young guineas had weird wormy looking ends to their toes. We thought it was some sort of creepy infection. Maybe a parasite eating at their feet. We already experienced Bumble Foot with our hens & thought it was something similar yet way more disturbing... April 23, 2011 ...Bumble Foot is when a infection gets into the foot/toe of a bird. The toe will swell up terribly. If you don't do anything about it, it will eventually kill the bird. You can use antibiotics. We never have. We are organic! We don't even take antibiotics let alone give them to our animals! What we do, is cut out the infection. It is pretty disgusting... April 24, 2011 ...There will be a round hard spot then around that the foot/toe will be swollen & inflamed. If you can get out the round spot, you can do things pretty clean. The round thing in Bumble Foot is a lot like the biggest black head you have ever seen. Like the size of your pinkie finger! With a little razor blade finesse, it can be loosened from the flesh of the birds foot/toe... April 25, 2011 ... After that you kind of grab it with your fingernails with all your might & pull this long thick squishy white wormy thing out of the flesh of the bird. Once it's out, the bird has a giant hole in their foot/toe. If you did good, there will be no blood or nearly none. Amazing enough, you clean the area & let the bird go. The foot doesn't need to be bandaged.... April 26, 2011 ...If you made a bloody mess of things because you had trouble getting that nasty bumble foot out of the bird, it is a good idea to bandage up the birds foot after clean up. Then put the bird in a clean cage for about a week while the wound heals & so the bird doesn't get an infection. A secure comfortable wrap is necessary or you will find the bandage has been pulled off & all your efforts were for naught... April 27, 2011 ...It takes 2 people to remove the bumble foot. One holds the bird & the other works on the foot. Once you get the hang of it, it is a rather quick process. Less than 20 min. Much faster than over used antibiotics with all the side effects that come with them. So what was this weird creepy thing going on with our Guineas? It wasn't Bumble Foot it was Racoons!... April 28, 2011 ...Coons are horrible creatures. They kill for sport just like humans! They may be cute but they are evil at heart. What these nasty Coons were doing was biting off the tips of the young Guineas toes! For some reason the Guineas were not roosting on the bars but hunkering down on the hay & their fine, long toes would poke through the bottom. Along come the Coons, & chomp off the Guineas toes!...
April 29, 2011 ...Once we figured this out, we loaded up the bottom of the houses with excessive amounts of hay. This solved the problem & our poor guineas healed. Some had no toes only stumps. They amazed us with their adaptability. Soon they were running around acting normal. If you didn't know what horrors the Coons did to them, you would never know that they had half their feet! Guineas are really amazing animals... April 30, 2011 ...Thankfully we found a house at last (where we are now) in WV & started the entire buying process. We were so excited to have so much land & couldn't wait to let our guinea flock loose on all that pasture! Esp. when we found out how many "bad" snakes are in the pasture. Our property had such an abundance of bugs we couldn't wait to let everyone loose on it!... May 1, 2011 ...We got the guineas here & we had several losses. We lost chickens as well. The move was very stressful on all of us. The night we arrived it was pouring rain & windy. We arrived at 1 am exhausted. We couldn't find the cat box for all the unhappy cats, we had no heat set up, no dry firewood, & we couldn't get the giant moving truck across the river it was so swollen... May 2, 2011 ...The moving truck was too enormous to go over our neighbors private bridge. The only way to our house was to drive through the impassable river (low river crossing). So we had to make many long trips at 1 am back & forth retrieving our animals from the moving truck parked on the other side of the river & through 2 other properties before ours!... May 3, 2011 ...Thankfully we have great neighbors who hooked up a trailer to their tractor to help us unload the moving truck & get our belongings to our house early the next morning. This took 2 full days! On top of that, our first day in our new home it started to snow... May 4, 2011 ...We were trying to get the truck unloaded in time to return it, finish the set up for the animal homes, & care for the crated animals. We still didn't know where the cat box was. When we got to our poor animals to put them in their designated houses in the frigged wind & snow, we already suffered many deaths... May 5, 2011 ...It was heartbreaking to loose them after all this. It took about 2 wks to get things somewhat in order. It snowed every day. We had more deaths. Our house was 37 in the morning. Everyone suffered. If that wasn't enough, we had fox & hawk attacks & lost even more animals. Then finally a few months of peace. We got a routine in place & worked in the cold & snow. The animals were recovering & so were we... May 6, 2011 ...Then just the other week, we lost 2 more of our guineas to fox. This is the price one pays when you let your animals run free. We don't believe in locking them up. They love to run around the pasture. We will be getting more guineas & maybe our 3rd try will be successful...
I was so excited because omy Copper Agouti English Angora Rabbit was ready to give birth. Babies! Her first time as a Mama. She must not have fancied the idea. She gave birth to 5 yesterday morning. She ate their ears & feet. She even chewed ones face off. It was like something out of a zombie horror movie. Words cannot describe how it feels to see such a terrible thing done to newly born creatures.
May 7, 2011 ...We will be getting the extremely rare brown guineas along w/ more lavender & the common pearls. We hope to breed them in the future. Having guineas when you have plenty of land is pure joy! We don't recommend guineas if you don't have much property. Even with the amount of land we have they still trespass! Thankfully their trespassing hasn't been enough to create a disturbance with our good neighbors... May 8, 2011 ...No longer do we have to clip their (Guinea) wings. Something you have to do every six months because they get new feathers at molt. They charge around the pasture like feathered beetles. They yell their heads off & fly a little. They can even fly across our large pond & they do it as a group which is fun to see... Early Afternoon attempted rescue in ones PJ's. Hens, Guineas & Roosters yelling & running out of the woods. We know that's not good. So through the pasture & onto the neighboring property & into the woods at a full run to find that damn fox trying to take one of our hens. One stupid hen stood at the top of the hill cackling & watching instead of following the others to safety.
May 9, 2011 ...They (Guineas) charge & yell their horrible ear ringing chatter at deer, opossums, the cows & even the guy that comes to read the gas meters at the neighbors fence line. It is really funny to see the meter guy looking at this gang of guineas screaming at him. One can only imagine what he is thinking while his ears are ready to bleed from the pain! Ha ha ha... May 10, 2011 ..They chase the roosters around & pull out their feathers. Guineas don't like a bully & they make sure the roosters know it! Seeing the roosters running & hiding from the guineas is very funny! They will team up & kill snakes, eat tons of bugs & ticks. They are our "Guinea Gang" & we adore them. No farmstead is complete with out a gang of Guineas charging about the place! Next up, Ducks... May 11, 2011 ...For the first 5 days or so ducklings are so cute it will drive you crazy! They even have little cheeks! They stop being cute very fast. They are crazy with water. They will empty out their waterers in no time flat. Not because they are thirsty but because... May 12, 2011 ... they love to stick their bills into the water & clean their nostrils & squirt the water out the sides of their bills & it goes all over. If you are raising them with out a Mama this means you have a ton of work on your hands. If ducklings are hatched from an incubator or hatchery, they lack the coating they get from Mom that helps keep them dry... May 13, 2011 ...Therefore incubator & hatchery ducklings must be kept dry so they don't get a chill. This is all well & good but ducklings are very determined to be wet! We use the same tubs we use for rearing chicks as we do with the ducklings with a small modification. Unlike chicks who are not water demons & don't require tons of bin changings, ducklings need frequent bin cleanings... May 14, 2011 ...After they are 2 weeks old they must have daily bin changes! This is a lot of work! If you have a lot of ducklings in a bin, you will need to clean their bins more than once a day & if it's this dirty, you need either a bigger space or another bin to separate the ducklings... May 15, 2011 ...We put bedding on about 75% of the bottom of the bin & leave one side free from bedding. This is the side we put their water feeder. We then tilt the bin the tiniest bit so that the water they toss about stays at the end of the bin without the bedding. This helps keep the bedding dry & reduces the speed of it rotting & stinking. Plus it helps keep the ducklings dry... May 16, 2011 ...Ducklings poop a lot. They poop noisy wet poops that you can hear squirt out of them. These big messy poops then get trampled on by their flat webbed feet. Unlike chicks who's poop is rather dry & small most of the time & chicks will scratch at the bedding. Duckling bins get nasty very very fast! We cannot stress the amount of work such little buggers are!... May 17, 2011 ...Ducklings grow so fast it's hard to keep up! If the weather is warm enough you will be eager to let them outside. Not only will you be much happier, but they will be too! You fence them in for their safety. Lots of predators would love such little meaty snacks! Not only that, but they are after all ducklings. Not adults & it is best to keep them confined so they don't stupidly wander off...
May 18, 2011 ...We have concluded that ducks are the most stupid fowl we have raised. Guineas are by far the smartest & noisiest. Chickens fall in the middle. Ducks are so dumb it leaves you shaking your head. They are dumb as ducklings & stay dumb as adults. Sounds mean; we do like our ducks we wouldn't have them if we didn't! But they are dumb! Here is an example:... May 19, 2011 ...They are always afraid of us. No matter what we do, how we act or how much time goes by. They see us walking about doing farm chores. They see us & start quacking the "danger it's the farmers" quack & stare at us while quaking & walking quickly away from us (as if we are after them) only to plow into other birds or objects because they don't look in the direction they are going, they are looking only at us!...
May 20, 2011 ...Put a duckling on top of a table & they will run like a wind up toy right over the edge never stopping. Why? We don't know. Chicks & Guineas tend to be a tad more cautious. They have gone off the edge but usually due to being clumsy. We feel like we push the button & off the ducklings go! They just plow right into stuff, bounce off, bounce over, quacking in terror at the big bad humans. It's frustrating... May 21, 2011 ...We are hoping that once we get a incubator (we are saving up for one) we will no longer suffer from stupid scared ducks. We have been told that when a duckling first hatches it imprints on the first creature it sees as Mom. We want to be the first creature they see! We want our ducks to be as comfortable around us as all our other animals... June 13, 2011 We adopted 2 tortie shell kittens yesterday from friends of ours. Their Mom is a stray. These adorable little sisters will be "barn cats" just like Molly & Jackson. We will get them fixed when they are of age. No pictures yet. Because they are little tots & have a lot of adjusting to do, they will live in the house with us until they are ready to make friends with Molly & Jackson. August 20, 2011 Our neighbor brought us a kitten he thought was one of ours. Funny thing is, we thought it was one of our kittens too! Once we got a good look, we quickly realized we didn't know who this kitten was! So for those of you in our area, are you missing a kitten? If so, let us know & please describe it. This is clearly an animal who was owned by someone. It is sweet as can be. The neighbor was going to drop it off at the pound if we didn't take it... August 23, 2011 That earthquake was felt here too. Our farm & home seem to be fine. Phew! October 8, 2011 Today marks the 1 year anniversary on our farm purchase! Today also marks our wedding anniversary. What are the odds? Sometimes you just know it is meant to be... November 17, 2011 Naturalla Beauty featured our Pawtastic Lotion Bar! I then found Running Bug Farm here! Thanks for the mention Shanti Perez! Yes yes, I am doing a Google search. I think it's a good idea to check every once & a while to see what's out in cyber space about my eco farm! I am finding these lovely posts & am so pleased, I am sharing. Sharing for not only you, but for myself (so I can look back & smile) & to give a plug back to those who mentioned Running Bug Farm without asking for freebies - I hate that! My Cat Grass was mentioned here! December 22, 2011 Approx. a year ago today we were literally freezing & barely getting by. We lost nearly our entire flock of guineas, many hens & our favorite little rooster. Our oldest cat was sick & dying. We were buried in snow. We struggled to keep our home above 50 degrees. We still were not finished unpacking (both inside & outside). We were a stressed out mess. Ironically help was received in the most unlikely of places, not from family or friends but from people who hardly knew us - our neighbors! They knew we were in a bad situation & provided us with many deliveries of firewood to keep us warm plus delicious homemade baked goods & home canned goods. Other neighbors called constantly to assist us however they could. We never asked them for help. They saw our need & were simply there for us. Here it is a year later & how much our life has changed for the better! We are so GRATEFUL for our beautiful life. Hard though it may be, it is our dream come true! So when we are told to be thankful we can easily say we are thankful for EVERYTHING! Our land, our tiny cabin, our wonderful & supportive customers, our neighbors, our animals, our love, our life! What are YOU grateful for?
January 2, 2012 Watching the very high lake effect winds blow the chickens around the pasture. Watching the geese spread their wings, lower the heads & stretch their necks as they run directly into the wind! Watching the adorable little banty chickens peek out of their little houses because the cold is not easy on them. Watching the barn cats snuggle & purr in the piles of hay in the barn with the Angora bunnies. Watching the bunnies enjoy the day - all that wool keeps them snug no matter how cold or windy it gets! Last, when inside watching the snow fly past the window completely parallel as the wind whips it by. Seems it snows sideways today! These are the kinds of days one is very thankful for a fire burning in the hearth & piles of fire wood to assure one that more warmth is on the way.
January 10, 2012 We experienced our first chimney fire late yesterday afternoon. It sounded like a freight train. Black smoke poured into our cabin & poured out in many places through the sandstone. Seems we have many more leaks than we knew about! Considering the age of our home, we guess it's to be expected. Thankfully the fire burned itself out quickly leaving a smoking chimney behind - smoking from the stones on the inside & outside! We learned for a chimney to catch on fire it has to be over 2000 degrees. That's a lot of heat for our little piece of history to withstand! We are once again thankful for the kindness of our neighbors & the compassion of others. Our neighbors are friends with a couple who used to run a fireplace company. They came over within hours to make sure we were safe. When we thanked them for coming by so quickly they said they would have felt terrible if something bad happened because they didn't check things out right away. Now they are going to help guide us in getting a fireplace insert & installing a stainless pipe. This way we can still have our historic chimney while being able to safely & efficiently heat our cabin. We are hoping to find a used or free fire place insert. If anyone knows where we might obtain such a treasure, please let us know. Thanks!
January 24, 2011 Today was an interesting morning. In all our years of raising chickens we have never witnessed this. It was for the most part a normal morning, more pleasant than most as the temperature was pleasant. Everyone gets let out of their respective homes, water is checked & filled if needed, they are fed, talked to & get an overall inspection to make sure all is well. This chore takes about an hour. Imagine our surprise when we witness our adorable Silver Duckwing banty rooster relieving his sexual frustrations by mounting a clump of grass & treating it like a willing hen! Needless to say, we had to stop what we were doing to observe. Sure enough our tiny feathered friend is very sexually frustrated! He took out his needs on the grass several times. All of this occurred AFTER he tried doing his courting dance to the pullets he is housed with. They are too young so they treat him like he is crazy. Thankfully he is a sweet little guy & is never aggressive towards the youngsters - either that or we have a dud rooster!
May 24, 2012 Construction update: We are starting today! However the real demolition begins tomorrow morning. Hopefully we will have a roof over our heads, a flushing toilet & sink by Sunday at the latest. As posted a few weeks ago, I will not close my shops & I will do my very best to respond to everyone & ship out orders as promptly as possible. This is a pretty big event for us. We are both nervous & excited. I have been working hard trying to get my inventory & supplies as fully updated & stocked as possible. As well as taking care of all the animals as much in advance as I can though for the most part they require care throughout the entire day; every day. Even with the best laid plans... life happens.
May 28, 2012 Construction update: We are still under construction. No plumbing or water day 4. Things are a mess so we just want to remind everyone that we will do our best to ship orders out as promptly as possible. We cannot always have the pc on due to the power being turned off, the construction debris & that we ourselves are working along side those kind enough to volunteer to do this back breaking labor. We are amazed by the speed & hard work everyone is doing for us out of the kindness of their hearts. We are working right along side them but they are the ones who are skilled. When you think the world is full of nothing but nasty selfish people. Death & crime as always posted on the news, remember that there are still a lot of amazing people in the world who will nearly kill themselves in order to help someone else in need. Words cannot express how grateful we are.
June 26, 2012 Etsy treasury featuring my catnip seeds by FantasiesSewReal Just Breathe Relax, breathe, feel good. Inspired by my favorite fairytale, as well as a wish to live a natural, sustainable, chemical free, stress free lifestyle. Look good, eat well, and feel amazing. July 3, 2012 John was on the local news. He along with others helped the Red Cross giving out ice & water to people without power thanks to the 2 storms that knocked out our state.
July 4, 2012 Wishing everyone a happy Independence Day! Our hearts go out to those who still are without power & water. We know of one town who is setting up a projector to watch movies on the side of a building to celebrate the holiday. Those that have running water must boil it first, but they are sharing it with those who still do not have running water. Many communities have come together giving each other support & encouragement despite nearly a week since the storm hit us. John has been assisting the Red Cross at Lowes in Clarksburg where they are handing out bags of ice & bottled water for those in need. These communities & volunteers consist of regular every day people. The back bone of America. We The People are what make America great. July 6, 2012  There is only one thing cooler than a viking bunny.... no wait, i take that back... NOTHING is cooler and a viking bunny!!!! - Jasön Häger July 18, 2012 We are pretty sure that during yesterday's storm, lightning struck our well pump. So once again we find ourselves without water & fiddling with things we never fiddled with before...
July 21, 2012 Today's early dawn brought much sadness to the farm. The Guinea Gang was not locked up properly last night. EVERY adult guinea except for ONE was eaten by predators. All that remained was a coop full of feathers & one pair of feet. No bones, no heads just tons & tons of feathers. We have only ourselves to blame. Sure we still don't have our well fixed & we have to leave to go to the neighbors to shower besides living in a home still under construction, but no matter how hard our lives sometimes are, we still have 100% responsibility for our animals. They depend on us to care for them & protect them. This is a day of heart break & tears.
July 22, 2012 We think we "fixed" our well pump. The crazy thing is we have it hooked back up exactly the way it was with exactly the same equipment. Prior to pulling out the old pump, it was not working. No water to the house. The bladder tank was good & the switch was good. We even dug up some of the line to check for leaks & found none. So we installed a brand new well pump & had no water! So we then installed a new switch & had no water! We pulled the pump back out (our well is 110 feet so this is not an easy task). We checked the brand new pump & it was working. We put the new pump back into the well & we had no water! We pulled the new pump back out & put the old pump back in. We had water! We removed the new switch & put the old switch back on. We still had water! So here we are with water & wondering what the heck went wrong in the first place!?! We were without water for 3 days trying to get this fixed. We just don't understand how we had no water, still had no water with brand new stuff installed, then reinstall the original old stuff & have water again?!? We cannot help but worry that we will be without water again because we don't know what went wrong in the first place! ???!!!???
July 24, 2012 Our favorite neighbors are back from vacation. We told them about our well troubles & they immediately came up with a very good possibility as to what might have went wrong: When the pump kicks on it twists in the well. This twisting can cause the wires to fray & break over time. This would explain why the pump wasn't working but was working when we hooked it back up. To hook it back up we had to re-splice the wires. Regarding why the new pump didn't work the only thing we can conclude is it required more power than the circuit breaker could supply. It was 3/4 horse power & the old pump is 1/2 horse power. August 6, 2012 Today is a very sad day for my family. I am dealing with the loss of my grandmother known to me as "Little Nanny", "Nanny" or her favorite, "Ma Petite Grandmere". My Nanny died this morning. I ask that you have patience with me if I do not respond quickly to your messages or requests. My heart is heavy & my mind is slow with grief. Thank you for your understanding & patience while I work with my loss.
January 11, 2013 Dreaming about what to plant in this years garden? Let this beautiful etsy treasury featuring our cat grass by Veronika make those dreams a reality! March 29, 2013 This beautiful magic hat was made using fiber from Snuzzle my English Angora Doe. - "The white spiral on the cone of my magic hat was spun from Running Bug Farm Ermine English Angora Rabbit Fur. Thanks for the wonderful fibers!!" 
April 26, 2013 Etsy treasury featuring my birds feathers by staroftheeast. August 8, 2012 Put A Bird On It etsy treasury by sophiemangalafeaturing my roosters feathers. August 26, 2013 Check out this stunning etsy treasury by Up The Attic Stairs featuring my very own organic elderberry syrup! August 27, 2013 Sweet Dreams etsy treasury by NatashasArtHaven featuring my white chickens feathers. August 28, 2013 Featuring our organic Blue Cochin rooster hackle feathers. My internet connection is so poor that I cannot get our photo to post. Etsy treasury Farmstead by Megan. August 29, 2013 It's Not Over Yet etsy treasury by ljmj featuring my Narragansett turkey feathers. Empty etsy treasury by jljordan2 featuring my Phoenix rooster feathers. September 1, 2013 Spooky foxglove treasury by Lauren Gray of TheHauntedHollowTree featuring my Phoenix Rooster feathers! September 10, 2013 One of the English Angora Kits (baby bunny) we sold this spring to [customer name withheld for privacy] won Grand Champion at the Fair this summer! October 16, 2013 Lovely Shades of Fall etsy treasury by meganlindsayadams featuring my cruelty free organic guinea feathers. October 17, 2013 Winter Textures etsy treasury by lilianadesign featuring my Blue Cochin Rooster Feathers. October 22, 2013 Gorgeous its only natural etsy treasury by Kim of ThePrivateCollection featuring my miniature feathers! A spinners dream of fibers featuring wool from our English Angora rabbit Blue Bell! Luxury rovings and fibers for spinners etsy treasury by Monica of SilkenTreasures. This is a treasury for spinners to drool over. Luxury roving such as cashmere, silk, suri alpaca and angora. Be sure to show these to any spinner on your list! October 23, 2013 It's a dreary gray rainy cold kind of day, kind of like this etsy treasury Elements of Style by Bike Barn featuring my black & white rain drop feathers. October 24, 2013 When Raquel saw Vladimir peeking from behind my hand made laundry soap as featured in this Laundry Day etsy treasury, she was inspired to create her own treasury: A Black Cat Story. November 4, 2013 Etsy treasury Feathers, Feathers, Feathers! by Katherine Barrington of huckleberry0070 featuring my organic Barred Cochin Feathers! Etsy treasury la cage aux folles by Kisha Ragland of kishpai featuring my organic White Laced Red Cornish feathers. Etsy treasury Birds of a Feather by Anne of annefinkle featuring my Brown Leghorn Feathers! November 8, 2013 Whispers in a dream treasury by CinnamonCherry71 on etsy featuring my cruelty free organic guinea feathers! Another lovely treasury, Spotted bird feathers this time by Kerrie Giles on Etsy. This one also features some of my cruelty free organic guinea feathers. December 14, 2013 Gorgeous woodland greens etsy treasury featuring our hand knit hat. Simple Pleasures by Andrew Hick's.
 January 2, 2014 Lovely January Snow treasury (think of a treasury a lot like a board on Pinterest!) by klhcornelius featuring my adorable buck Snowbird! January 4, 2014 Lovely Natural January treasury that isn't white! We've already had our fill of snow! LOL! This etsy treasury features some of my rooster feathers. January 6, 2014 Birds & fathers etsy treasury by Karni Kadan featuring my Narragansett turkey feathers. January 7, 2014 WOW! With wings to fly... by Janine featuring my Brown Leghorn hen feathers. January 11, 2014 Treasury Time! Winter Natural Lip Gloss by Denise featuring my Pegasus Poop lip balm. January 12, 2014 Treasury Time! Cream by Maya Ben Cohen featuring my birds feathers. January 13, 2014 Treasury Time! Enjoy. The Future's So Bright by Vasula featuring my birds black wing feathers. January 15, 2014 Treasury Time. A Gray & Amber Day by Pamela featuring my birds feathers. January 16, 2014 Treasury Time. The best geek by Maya ben cohen featuring my birds organic feathers. Treasury Time. Love on Earth by Mister Awesome featuring my organic laundry soap. January 22, 2014 Treasury Time. Feathers in the wind by Kyriaki Stratakou featuring my guineas feathers. January 23, 2014 Treasury Time! Organic Galaxy Lip Balm by Sue featuring my organic lip balm. February 7, 2014 Get your fiber fix with these Fiber Friday - February 7 treasury finds featuring my English Angora rabbit fiber. July 3, 2014 We had a great time at the Doddridge County Farmers Market grand opening yesterday! For those of you who didn't show up, you missed out on fresh herbs, butter, cheese, meats, candles, wood crafts, eggs, veggies, baked goods, handmade chairs & more! The FM will be held every Wednesday from 3pm - 7pm. Please come out & support your local farmers! P.S. If you look closely you will see your friends at RBF pictured. P.P.S. If you show up, you can finally meet us!  September 1, 2014 Local Harvest featured us on their page! I never thought I'd see the day! LOL! Too cool!
Local Harvest West Virginia! Get yourselves over to Running Bug Farm! (Parkersburg and Marietta, OH, you're pretty close too!) http://www.localharvest.org/running-bug-farm-M27265?ul
September 8, 2014 My white English Angora rabbit wool won 1st Place with a score of 100 (the highest score you can get) in the West Virginia Fiber Festival's Fiber Competition! The judges said it is the best wool they have ever seen! The wool is from my sweet Ermine Buck Snuzzle
October 24, 2014 Etsy treasury Day Tripper by Jenna Tagliaferri featuring our Organic Brown Leghorn Hen's feathers. December 12, 2014 It's soooo nice to receive a kind word from a customer. It made my morning! Jody Nichols Mohr December 11, 2014 This is a shout out to locally owned and operated Running Bug Farm! Ordered a few items a few days ago and the nicest package arrived today! Great customer service and truly sustainable products. Check them out, you won't be disappointed. February 15, 2015 Sunny River Creations in Rockford, Minnesota uses my birds tiny bits mini feathers to create these unique watches! I love seeing all the amazing things you (my awesome customers) create utilizing my birds beautiful feathers.  May 14, 2015 Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Our farm was mentioned in a article by connect-bridgeport.com! How cool is that? We are both Nervous Nellies & Excited Emma's to be selling for the first time every at the Bridgeport Farmers Market.
Featuring a Record 40 Vendors, BFM Opens Sunday for the Summer Season By Julie Perine on May 12, 2015 Featuring a record 40 vendors, Bridgeport Farmers Market opens Sunday for the summer season. The outdoor marketplace at Charles Pointe will be dotted with an array of tents where shoppers will find locally-grown seasonal produce, farm-raised meats and eggs and a variety of specialty vendors. Brand new to the line-up are Quantum Bean Coffee, Health Nut smoothies, Gail Phares, Laurel Mountain Basketry, In a Jam Preserves, Mike Diaz, Hasenpfeffer Farms and Running Bug Farm. Quantum Bean Coffee features artisan roaster Sam Bonasso, who will be preparing a variety of coffee-based drinks on site. “He’ll be making pour overs, ice coffees and selling bags of beans,” said Bridgeport Farmers Market President Deb Workman. “We are very excited about that.” Also preparing drinks for purchase will be Health Nut, which specializes in fruit and vegetable smoothies. Gail Phares is a specialty baker who makes allergen-free and gluten-free baked goods and In a Jam Preserves is a Parkersburg-based maker of jams, jellies and preserves from fruits grown on the vendor's Parkersburg farm. Also for sale will be pickles and pickled vegetables, Workman said. Laurel Mountain Basketry of Bruceton Mills is the market's first basket vendor. “They make gorgeous baskets out of West Virginia wood,” Workman said. Likewise, Mike Diaz crafts furniture from hardwoods obtained from his own property. Hasenpfeffer Farms out of Monongalia County also brings a special niche to the market. “They’re actually a rabbitry and will have rabbit meat later in the year, but during the first couple of markets, they will be selling all natural fertilizer made from rabbit droppings,” Workman said. This being the growing season, the product is expected to be popular, she said. Running Bug Farm is the market’s newest grower of fresh seasonal produce. Their products are gown with organic practices. Other new vendors will be joining the market as the season progresses, Workman said. “We could reach 50 vendors by peak season,” she said. As the market grows, there will be some shifting of vendor locations. “We would appreciate the patience of our customers as we have to re-diagram the market,” Workman said. “As we expand, people may have to seek out the vendors they are looking for.” Because of the expansion, the parking area is slightly affected and customers are asked to use caution upon entering and parking. The market’s opening day will bring shoppers asparagus, strawberries, root vegetables, herbs, lettuces and a wide variety of greens. There will also be starter plants, flowers and maybe even a few surprises. “We’ve talked to all of our farmers who are coming this Sunday and they said depending upon how much rain we get this week, they may be bringing some other products,” Workman said. “We want people to appreciate that. Part of the attraction to buying at the market is getting to talk to farmers who grow the produce or raise the beef, chicken or pork. You can ask them about their practices and buy their local products, knowing that your money will help all of that to continue.” While at the market, Workman encourages shoppers to stop by the children’s tent and the dining hub. At the children's tent, customers can learn more about the newly-unveiled children’s activity – the POP (Power of Produce) Club." Children between the ages of 5 and 12 are eligible to sign up for the activity, which begins June 7. Throughout June, July and August, those who enroll in the POP Club will be given at each weekly market $2 tokens, which can be redeemed at the market for fruits and vegetables. “We encourage our kids to try fruits and vegetables they haven’t tried before,” Workman said. Tokens can be spent right away or saved for a bigger purchase later in the season, she said. This year’s dining hub will again feature Bridgeport Conference Center – which will prepare made-to-order omelets among other brunch options – and Cody Thrasher’s food truck, Hash Browns & New Grounds. New to the dining hub is West Virginia OO Bagel Company of Monongalia County, featuring homemade bagel sandwiches and Gourmet Hog-Dog of Upshur County, offering seven different hot-dog varieties with all proceeds benefiting the non-profit organization, Inspiring West Virginia. All prepared food purchased at the dining hub utilizes market products, Workman said. Sunday will also feature the music of Rus Reppert, a chef demonstration by Tim Goots of Mia Margherita and yoga sessions by Meg Shaver. Those yoga sessions will be held at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. and will cost $5 each. The market will be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. This year, there’s definitely something for everyone, Workman said. May 17, 2015 So cool to see our image the newest blog post by the Bridgeport Market! If you couldn't make it to opening day, we are sorry we missed you & sincerely hope to see you next Sunday!  June 3, 2015 You made our day Brenda! We are thrilled that to hear that you love our products! Brenda Heise > Running Bug Farm Today I received these fantastic ointments that are going to be used on a regular in my house! Excellent product, fast shipping and every order has a personal touch! I highly recommend this organic business. They've become my favorite! The neem ointment instantly smoothed my sons eczema!  July 14, 2015 Jasmine Southern > Running Bug Farm Just wanted to stop in let you kow our cats LOVED the cat toys we bought Sunday! We bought a wool ball and a feather stuffed square. The wool ball lasted only a few hours before it was completely torn apart. They loved it. We will have to stop back and get a few more. : ) Thank you so much for a much better option then plastic for our kitties to enjoy. July 27, 2015 Check it out! Running Bug Farm was interviewed yesterday at the Bridgeport Market along with some of the other vendors! Many farmers at the Bridgeport Farmers Marker farm organically. Organic farming practices are designed to encourage soil and water conservation and reduce pollution. and studies have shown that these organic foods are more often than not healthier for our body than those that are grown with other farming methods. "We do everything organic well it's actually better than organic because in certified organic they allow over 365 non organic ingredients in USDA certified organic, so that got us really angry. So what we did is we decided to start growing and making our own, including raising our own animals because we didn't want all these chemicals that are still being allowed in organic," Jennifer Layton of Running Bug Farm. People enjoy buying foods from the farmers market because they know exactly where they come from. "For most everything here at the farmers market was grown right here in West Virginia. It was grown within a mile, or two miles or four miles and it's just a wonderful way you get to interact with the people who grew it. They'll be able to tell you when it was picked and how it was picked," said Emily Lewis of Little Red Hen Farm and Bakery. Shopping local helps the economy prosper. When you shop at places like the Bridgeport farmers market or any local store the money circulates back into the local economy. But When you shop at large superstores less than 20% of that money is really ever seen again in your town. Most of the farmers at the market today told me that they keep farming because they love what they do. "At the grocery store you're just under fluorescent lighting and all the cashiers are miserable and why wouldn't they be? You know you come here and you got happy vendors who are selling what they love and you're supporting them and trust me.. We need the support," said Layton. Food items weren't the only things being sold at the market today as there were handmade wooden items, vintage clothes, and even beautiful handmade baskets. "Even though my baskets are more than Walmart they're much much better made and they're one of a kind and I put a lot of personality in them. I dye my own colors and I even cut my own wood," said Juliette Collins of Laurel Mountain Basketry. All in all, the farmers have the same ideas about their industry. "We wanted it cruelty free, and humane, and we wanted animals to live happy, we want the people to be happy and that's it. That's our motivation," said Layton.
December 14, 2015 Yesterday at the Winter Bridgeport Market in our Ugly Christmas sweaters! 
April 26, 2016 Bridgeport Farmers Market is with John Layton. Running Bug Farm is a small eco family farm located in West Union. Meet Jen and John on May 15th and hear about their commitment to providing real, humane, chemical free foods and fiber. #BFMWV  December 12, 2016 Showing off our Ugly Christmas Sweaters  Bridgeport Farmers Market December 12, 2016 Running Bug Farm got into the holiday spirit at market yesterday! #livephoto #bfmwv Jen Layton John Layton
May 21, 2017  Why We Stopped Selling At The Farmers Market Lindsay Cather-Barnes I really missed you guys today. Hope you're well and getting much done this season on your farm! Running Bug Farm We miss seeing y'all too! We are well & are getting a lot done this year now that we aren't dedicating all of our time to the market. We are still farming, just on a smaller scale. If you need anything, please let us know & we can arrange either a pick up or meet. Becky Webster Pearce First... I'm exhausted just listening to everything you guys do I totally agree with you... all those hoops and rules & regulations to deal with. Sounds like all management at these markets cared about was collecting their money. I love going to the local farmers markets and meeting the farmers and seeing everything they have and hearing their stories. Support should always be given to the local farmers.. better food, without toxins and generally are hard working people who are genuinely nice people. Running Bug Farm LOL! It's a lot of work but we love it Not all the markets require payment, although most do. The reasons given are to fund the market to pay for advertising & that sort of thing. Each market is different. Some ask for a percentage of sales, some ask for a fee at each set-up. Some for the payment for that season, & some ask for nothing. We loved selling at the markets. We loved meeting people & chatting with them. We loved chatting with the vendors too & we love shopping at our farmers markets. We are so glad that you support your local farmers Our hope in all of this mess is that things will change for the better. If they don't, it will probably be the demise of our farmers markets. Running Bug Farm You think everything is about you Bob. The fees we are referring to are not the market you mentioned. Nor have we ever said anything about that market. We think you need to go back and reread our blog. We sold at more than one market & our blog is our story about our experiences with these different markets. We have not trashed any market & we certainly have not lied about our experiences. Becky Webster Pearce Gosh, I've known Jen & John since probably 7th or 8th grade... I would have to politely agree to disagree with your statement and would agree with the post above. I can't want to get out of Jersey and move to western PA and have some type of farm, even if it's just self sustaining for Evan and me. The hard work has to be worth the reward in the long run. I know I have a lot of research to do on what goes into a farm. But I'm looking forward to the challenge. Running Bug Farm Thanks! The best way to get your feet wet is to try to do whatever hobby farming you can get away with where you are now. Having a garden, a few hens, can as much as possible, etc. It helped us so much when we moved. We were still in over our heads, but at least we didn't move here totally green! There are a lot of great magazines & books for folks yearning to get back to the land but the majority of them make things awfully pretty rather than realistic. However they are still an enjoyable read & educational in their own right. Whatever you do don't bother with Mary Janes farm. LOL! It is so unrealistic. The rest are pretty good though (Countryside, Grit, Hobby Farms, etc.) as are the books we mentioned in this blog post (and many others). Oh & if you want serious agriculture without the fluff, get Acres magazine. It's all about Eco-agriculture. We don't have a lot of time to blog, but we do post about our experiences when we get the time. There is so much we want to blog about, things that work, things that don't & that sort of thing. We've made a lot of mistakes & are sure to make plenty more, but we seem to learn more when we mess up. We really hope you & Evan accomplish your goal. We think it's worth it. It's really hard work. Probably harder work than you've ever done, but it is so satisfying. June 17, 2016 There are farmers markets in the USA selling coffee which is of course not local (coffee doesn't come from the United States)... fresh chemicals from America grown in another country for your mornings pleasure. ~sigh~ Please, go organic & better yet, go organic fair trade.  Only Organic June 17, 2017 Morning coffee anyone? Make sure you choose organic coffee. Most people are not aware that regular coffee consumption can be a significant source of pesticides. Find organic coffee sources here: http://www.onlyorganic.org/organic-companies/ #coffee #cleaneats #goorganic #onlyorganic March 12, 2018 Learn how to make a wrap around ear cuff decorated with feathers. What you need: 20g wire, 26g wire, 3 cruelty free feathers - www.runningbugfarm.com - 9 - 4mm x 8mm resin rondelles, 3 - 4mm x 6mm rondelle crystals, Chain Round, nose pliers, Wire cutters Chain nose pliers Cruelty free feathers: runningbugfarm.com Ear model: etsy.com/shop/bodydoublearts  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoZWh7Piua0 June 3, 2018 This dream catcher measure 20.5" around and uses a Dollar Tree hula hoop, jute, ribbon and lace ribbon. My lovely model in the thumbnail is 7 years old which gives you a size scale. I'm sorry, at one time I said "bundle of wire " instead of bundle of twine. Just ignore me. What you need: 20.5" hula hoop, Jute twine, Ribbons, Lace ribbon, Large hole beads, Feathers, Glue gun, Scissors. Cruelty free feathers: runningbugfarm.com  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebJbEv_W_sI June 8, 2018 Good Toast Handmade Sustainable Dry Goods "i have also had the pleasure of recently connecting with a lovely farming family in west virginia, who grow cotton the way it was meant to be grown. running bug farm produces organic heirloom cotton, sustainably gathered feathers, and other good things from their homestead in west virginia, and i am delighted to have begun ordering my organic cotton from them in an uncombed state, allowing me to be a greater part of cotton-crafting than i was previously able. it was always imperative for me to spin organic cotton (if you do even just a little looking-into the cotton industry, you'll find that conventional cotton is really a huge bummer), but being able to order from a family farm instead of a larger company is so exciting to me. we use cotton for a few of our offerings already, like the handspun dishcloths, but now that we have an even better source for our raw material, we will be making plans to expand our use of organic cotton to make more useful things for your home & closet!"  August 24, 2018 Here is a video by BareMoose showing you how to make your own turkey feather ball point pen using my very own Narragansett Turkeys feathers.  BareMoose 3.1K subscribers This is a cute, quick, silly project. I hope you like it. What you need: Feather Ribbon Lace Pen Button Glue gun Scissors Purchase cruelty free feathers: runningbugfarm.com August 14, 2019 Where your feathers go We had a few exchanges about how feathers soothe my parrot who came to me severely plucked - you said that you'd had parrots at one time and suggested stiff feathers for mine which is what I've been ordering. I finally posted a short video so you could see her - she's grooming a parrot feather that her veterinarian saved for us. Enjoy! - Audry B.  Dewey is a 23 -year-old Umbrella Cockatoo who plucked her feathers long ago -- a behavior that is common in parrots and reflects the frustration of being caged. The follicles are dead so her feathers will never grow back. Now she takes great comfort in gently grooming molted feathers from other parrots. December 13, 2019 "I just wanted to say thank you again for your wonderful feathers. Many of them made their way into special holiday stockings for the shelter cats, and we even had a Facebook Live video where we gave them out - you might recognize some of your feathers in the video, so I wanted to share. " - Tiffany  BARCS Animal Shelter was live. December 24, 2019 A Special Christmas Eve Gift All of our cats received a special toy filled stocking on Christmas Eve. ❤ December 18, 2020 The coronavirus vaccine is just like the flu shot – What a lot of people don’t realize about the flu shot is it does not stop you from getting infected with the flu virus and having the flu virus grow in your system, and then making you contagious to others and giving you mild symptoms. The flu shot doesn’t even stop that. All the flu shot does is make you feel less sick, but you’re still just as contagious, just as infectious to other people, and that’s why we see the flu everywhere. Maybe people aren’t dying from the flu as much as they otherwise would have, maybe not feeling as sick, but the flu still breaks out every year despite mass vaccination, and so far, scientifically, that’s all we also know about the coronavirus vaccine. The Covid-19 Vaccine: What You Need to Know with Dr. Bob Sears  The Covid-19 Vaccine: What You Need to Know with Dr. Bob Sears  Composting For Everyone No-Waste Composting: Small-Space Waste Recycling Indoors and Out by Michelle Balz
I've been cold composting for nearly two decades. I've read many books in which they mention composting & nearly all of them seem pretty adamant about hot composting. It always made me feel like I was doing something wrong even though I had loads of compost each year to apply to my rows each autumn. It was only until more recently I finally felt free. There is nothing wrong with how I compost. It simply takes longer. Mother Nature will do the work. She always does. Humans seem to have this need to over complicate everything. If you like to make it complicated, then you want this book. If you want to hide your compost due to neighbors complaints, then you want this book. If you want to DIY your own pet waste "septic system", you want this book. When you come right down to it, you don't really need this book. With that said, it's not a bad book or a worthless book. In fact, it's a very good book. But truly, if you put your food scraps & leaf litter in a pile on the ground & continue to add organics to it, you will eventually get compost. That's pretty much how I do it. However, I live on a small farm. I don't have any tractors though. It's human power all the way. Everything gets dumped on one compost pile for the year. I don't even turn it. The pile is too big, it's too flipping hot outside & I already have more work than I can handle. Come autumn, I remove the outside bits that are not composted & start a new compost pile. What is composted goes onto my rows which I then cover for the winter. Compost is pure gold. My method means I always have two compost piles chilling. Not cooking. Well, sometimes they get hot depending on what has been dumped on them. Compost slows come winter, but as I said, Mother Nature does her thing. She's got this down pat. Just don't put your compost against your house or fence or in a wet low lying area & you should be good to go. Food scraps, lawn clippings (you don't use lawn chemicals do you??? I really hope you don't), leaves, straw, hay, etc. This awesome little book provides several projects for different composting methods. You can even set up to compost inside your home. There really are some great projects including worm bins. I'm thinking of incorporating the pet waste septic for my cats waste. I currently have a dedicated cat waste pile. I use Okocat kitty litter so it breaks down as well. The thing is, the cat waste pile just gets bigger & bigger. I'm not too sure what to do with it. The pile is 11+ years old now! A note to my fellow crazy cat households, this book only discusses dog waste. For feline waste, composting is not recommended. My thoughts on the pet septic project however, seems viable (to me). No mention that I recall for feline waste in the pet septic. After you read it, you can decide for yourself. If you are afraid of what is safe to compost, this book will help you out. If you are just afraid in general, this book will ease most of your concerns. The author recommends against composting meat scraps & similar but if you have a hot pile & a tractor, for example, you can compost anything. There is a farm who even composts their animals after they pass. Crazy, but it works for them. Note that it can & often does attract rodents, so there are legitimate concerns about adding these types of tidbits to your pile. There are also some really attractive projects that I never heard of like the African Keyhole Garden. This is basically a raised bed with a small compost area inside it. Another nifty idea comes from the Viking era called a Hugelkulture Bed. This method uses trees as it's base (not live trees). Some composting methods are a lot more work than others, but they all have their usefulness depending on ones situation & goals. Simply put this book is great for the beginner composter. Even if you are experienced, there is probably something in here you didn't know. I love beginner books as they often provide fresh ideas &/or refresh me on things I forgot. When you come right down to it, every single one of us should be composting, no matter where we live.  A Bit Disappointing Herbal Houseplants: Grow beautiful herbs - indoors! by Susan Betz
I recently read My Houseplant Changed My Life. While I'm not new to houseplants, I had nearly given up on them. The book gave me new inspiration & led me to add more houseplants to my home. I anticipated something along the same vein with this book on growing herbal houseplants. Growing herbs indoors is not even remotely new to me. In my years of experience, I have found that it's just not worth the effort. They require too much light to truly thrive. They also seem to suffer more bug issues than their outdoor counterparts. I had hoped that this book would have fresh tips & advice on how to keep herbs happy indoors. To be fair, the author provides recommendations to what type of growing condition an herb will like & even some of the health problems the indoor herb plant may encounter. The problem is that none of this was the least bit inspiring. Plus, many need constant fertilizing to stay healthy. When grown outdoors in quality soil, this is not needed. A fresh layer of compost once a year more than does the trick. I finished reading this book with the conclusion that I will not be attempting to grow herbs indoors come winter. I am a full time Eco farmer who lives in a tiny historic late 1700's log cabin. Light, along with space, are at a premium. I bring my houseplants inside when the weather cools & keep them going with a lot of plant lights & cram them in the best windows for light that I have. They survive, but boy do they take off & thrive when they get put back outdoors. Also, they don't have to deal with my stupid cats once they are outside. One of the plants I tried growing indoors once is the patchouli plant. It is a rather dull looking plant, but it smells amazing. Never having had a patchouli plant before, I over watered it & it died. I have been searching for a replacement ever since. I was pretty excited when I saw this book mentioned the patchouli. The thing is, the section was wholly uninspiring & I didn't find it particularly useful. There is also a section on catnip. I've been growing catnip for nearly two decades. I cannot imagine ever wanting to grow it in the house. But that's me. The thing is, the section on catnip was a topic I am very interested in. Like the patchouli, I found the information lacking. What about photos? They are kind of artsy fartsy rather than realistic for home setups. Many photos are too small to get a good look at the herb & a lot are taken at a distance. A lot are also done as topiaries. Generally I simply found it uninspiring. Too much open space, too much white, not enough green, not enough color. My favorite part of the book is part two of chapter six. This has a really handy list of herbs that go good with various types of foods. For example, Egg Dishes: Basil, chervil, chives, marjoram, savory, tarragon, thyme. I cook all my families meals from scratch utilizing a great amount of the ingredients from my farm. This means eating is also seasonal. Being able to see at a glance what herbs I currently have in abundance that go good for soups, salads, and eggs is very helpful. There are recipes throughout the book, but I have herbal books that provide a lot more useful recipes than this. The book also provides little quotes & history on the herbs. Some of this was mildly interesting, but knowing how wrong they were about health in the 1600's, it's hard to really care about the opinion of some numbnut back then who was more likely to kill a patient than save them. To be fair, there are quotes more recent than the 1600's that are more relevant to today's knowledge. Thankfully the author even admits how short lived most of these herbs are. Many grow, then go to seed & die. Some of the more woody types like sage live much longer. I have sage bushes growing outdoors that are on their fourth year. Rosemary can keep going too, but must have a lot of light. If your winter temps are warm enough, it will survive the winter, in my region, the dead of winter is the death of my rosemary. If you don't mind putting a lot of effort into caring for short lived herbs indoors, then good for you. For me, I work much too hard at a very physical job (Eco farmer remember?). I would much rather pop outside & walk up to where the herbs are growing to harvest them for my meal. If I had a large lovely home filled with windows, maybe I would feel otherwise. If you are lucky enough to have a big sun room or something similar, then by all means, grow herbal houseplants. I think you'll have a lot of success. If you don't have a lot of natural light, you'll find you have to keep your herbal houseplants where you have plant lights. Really think about that a moment. It wont look like the photos in this book. You wont accomplish the look. Not even close. However, if you pick one or two herbs that work for you, you might be able to get away with it. Does this mean I don't recommend this book? Not necessarily. It does have it's merits & it will appeal to a certain personality type. If you can, see if your local library carries this. See what you think. If you like it, then you know it's worthy of space on your shelf, if not, well then you just saved shelf space & money.  Nice Primer If You Aren't Sure Of Where To Start The Beginners Guide To Preserving: Safely Can, Ferment, Dehydrate, Salt, Smoke, and Freeze Food by Delilah Snell
If you really are a beginner at preserving I strongly recommend picking up a copy of The Ball Blue Book. It is updated often. When I first became interested in putting up food I read many books. Out of all of them, I use my Ball Blue Book nearly 100% of the time. What this book has that the Ball Blue Book does not, is guidance on salting & smoking food. It even mentions kombucha which is awesome. I think kombucha is one of the best tasting & easiest to make fermented beverages you can drink. I've been making my own for close to two decades. There is a recipe for salted egg yolks that I made using smoked sea salt. After trying this, I decided the best way I like to preserve my eggs is by pickling them. Now that I'm older, I tend to consume more salt, but even this was much too salty for me. Even though I have nearly two decades of experience putting up my own food, I rarely pass up books like this, even geared towards beginners. The reason why is that no matter how much I learn, I almost always learn something new. Also, because I have actual experience, I am also more likely to catch when authors make mistakes in their books. I hate for a beginner to be mislead. The only "mistake" I can report in this book is that the author is a tad too anal for me in her insistence that you must use Diamond Crystal Kosher salt. I understand her reasoning, but really, any non iodized salt will do. Really. It's fine. If it wasn't I would have died a long time ago. The author is very clear about the importance of following the directions & not tweaking a recipe to how you think it should be. It is very important for food safety that you follow a recipe exactly. The only possible issue is if a recipe is incorrect, so let's hope that is not the case with this book as it is with the USDA's canning book! Yea, don't get that book! By the way, the author is a Master Food Preserver so odds are this book will steer all of us true. I feel it is very important to point out that there are not many recipes in this book. There are also very few pictures. If you prefer a lot of photos in your books, you may not be happy with this. This book is more instructional on each preservation method with a handful of recipes tossed in. In each section the author provides guidelines for foods. If you plan to dehydrate say peas, find peas in the chart & see what is recommend to properly dry them. I plan to keep the book for now as there are a few other recipes I plan to try, but for the most part, there really isn't anything new here for me. However, the charts are rather handy for quick reference. If you for example, are really itching to ferment more than any other method, then please, get a book on fermentation. Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz is a great start. The same applies to dehydration. Whatever it is that floats your boat, get a book specifically about that method. That doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't get this book. If you are curious about preservation in general & want to get your toes wet, this book is a great start. It thoroughly covers all the safety issues & equipment you'll need for each method. The only thing I found lacking was in the smoking section which only listed equipment & made no mention of a smoke house. If smoking is your thing, getting a book on that topic is what you want. See where I'm going with this? This book has a sparkling wine jelly, a cranberry & wine jam recipe, the egg yolks I already mentioned, & a few other things (I can't think of them all off the top of my head) I'd like to see how they turn out. Note in the strawberry jam recipe & variations in this book, there is no mention of adding pure organic vanilla bean (not the pod, but what you scrape out from the pod). Oh my goodness, adding a little 100% vanilla bean to strawberry jam is out of this world. In summary, if you are interested in preserving food but don't know where to start, or what may work for you, this book is a great primer. If you already know what method/s you want to use to preserve your food, pick up books on that specific method & maybe check this book out at the library to see if it's worth getting. I wish you a bountiful pantry!  Excellent Book For The Beginner Homestead Gardener The Modern Homestead Garden: Growing Self-Sufficiency In Any Size Backyard by Gary Pilarchik
This is a very approachable book that is geared more towards beginners than those who are already experienced in food gardening. The author stresses the importance of just getting started. There is no reason to over complicate the process. You can learn as you go. I find this very refreshing. Nothing is ridged & the reader is encouraged to work with what they have & of course, grow what is of interest to them. It is clear that the author has a very small homestead garden. This enforces the fact that one doesn't have to have acres of land in order to feed oneself. The importance of reducing ones dependence on outside sources cannot be stressed enough. To be fair no homestead is an island & you will likely always need to bring in outside sources. However, the idea is to reduce this dependency as much as possible. Being a full time Eco farmer with acreage, I can tell you right now, that I only grow foodstuffs on a very small portion of my land. The rest is in hay or what I call pasture which is mainly for my cattle, although my birds & bunnies get a lot of enjoyment out of it as well. Growing your own food can be an incredible amount of work. This takes me back to the beginning. Start small & learn. It doesn't matter if you are growing one tomato plant on your apartment balcony, starting 5 raised beds, square foot gardening, or dreaming of something bigger. Just start small & grow from there. This book solely focuses on the authors experience in his own homestead garden. This is important to note because everyone has different climates, therefore different growing needs. This doesn't mean the information presented is not of value, it is. Vegetables discussed are the following: Peppers Squash & Zucchini Cucumbers Beans Peas Cauliflower & Broccoli Kale & Collard Greens Cabbages Radishes Asparagus Onions Lettuces After exploring these vegetables in some detail the author discusses buying seeds (I have a minor disagreement here), seed starting, & transplants. My minor disagreement is that the author feels it doesn't matter if you buy conventional or organic seeds as you cannot buy GMO seeds. While it is true that you have to be under contract to grow GMO seed plants & that it is highly unlikely any seed you order or buy at the store for home use will be genetically modified, that is still no reason not to buy organic seed. My reason is that you are supporting a growing method that is kinder to the environment & the workers. As with everything else you buy, when you buy organic seed, you send a clear message to businesses that this is what you want. Nothing speaks louder than how we chose to spend our money. I also think it's important to support heritage seed suppliers as we are loosing more of our plant diversity. To me, conventional seed should only be purchased when all other resources have been exhausted. One of the things I really like about this book is how the author stresses the importance of compost. Basically, if you always add compost, you'll likely never need to feed your garden anything else. Thankfully the author leans towards organic options should you find you need to buy soil amendments aka fertilizer. However, the author does give the green light on using conventional fertilizers on occasion if needed. I have been organically growing my own crops for nearly two decades & I have never, not once resorted to conventional methods to feed my crops. In fact, the only fertilizer I use consistently is OMRI approved to make the soil more acidic for my acid loving plants like blueberries, evergreen trees & strawberries. The author truly is dead to rights that if you consistently add plenty of compost to your beds at a minimum of once a year, you should never need to add anything to your soil to keep your garden healthy. Chapter Five 'Building Earth And Raised Beds'. This is a short chapter but still useful. Here the author shows several ways you can create raised beds & sunken containers. He also discuses how to use soil amendments such as peat moss, coco coir, organic fertilizers, compost & manures. Chapter Six 'Homestead Container Gardening'. This is great for those of you wanting to start small. In the beginning I did a lot of container gardening. It absolutely has it's pro's & con's as the author explains. Personally, I am not a big fan of container gardening, but that doesn't mean it can't be incredibly useful depending on ones growing situation. You even get to learn how to make your own container soil rather than buying a premix bags which can get expensive very fast. Chapter Seven 'Tending Your Gardens'. This is all about maintaining healthy soils (hint: compost), watering, crop support, pruning, etc. Chapter Eight is the dreaded chapter about pests, diseases, & the power of pollinators. The author keeps this pretty simple. He explains what he has found works best for him in dealing with various pests. The recipes provided are for natural methods like diluted soap, essential oils, baking soda, sulfur, & neem. The author also explains the importance of growing crops such as flowers that will attract beneficial insects to your garden. This is a method I have always employed. My crops share space with a wide variety of flowering plants which means I see an abundance of bees, butterflies, ground wasps & more. The author also mentions attracting birds. This is an iffy one as the birds can also become the pests, eating your crops. Chapter Nine discusses growing fruit crops. What the author calls an edible landscape. The following are discussed: Strawberries Mulberries Goji Berries Blueberries (my favorite) Raspberries Blackberries Grapes (something I want to grow) Fruit & Nut Trees In chapter ten you finally get to store & eat your harvest. Very basic pickling, canning, drying & freezing is discussed with a small handful of recipes. I highly recommend The Ball Blue Book mainly for canning guidance although it does cover other food preservation methods & Wild Fermentation if you are interesting in fermenting your foodstuffs. Throughout the book there are plenty of charts & photos to both inspire you & help you along. While I am well beyond being a beginner, I enjoyed this book very much & consider it a keeper. I plan on trying a few of the pest treatment methods as I do have my own. However, I'm curious to see if some of the authors methods are more successful for me.  My Favorite Farm Book So Far This Year A Woman's Garden: Grow Beautiful Plants and Make Useful Things by Tanya Anderson This turned out to be a delightful book. Eight different woman owned farms are featured. Each farm has it's own specialty. Each farm is then followed with a project inline with the theme of the farm. The projects are beautiful & very useful. I also find the book to be incredibly inspirational. It is rare that I come across a book of this nature that I find so relatable & useful! Chapter one is the kitchen garden. It features a farm in California. The book shows the basics of how to get your own Eco friendly garden started. The project is a pallet strawberry planter. Aside from growing plenty of crops, I too grow strawberries. I find them a royal pain in the butt thanks to their constant runners & the endless battle with weeds. This planter idea helps one deal with the weeds & makes harvesting easier. Note that it's not big enough for producing massive amounts of strawberries, but it is still worth trying. It appears to be a huge time & back saver. Next is a garden in the UK (Devon). This farm is mainly focused on edible flowers which is always a lot of fun & beautiful to boot! A list of popular edible flowers is provided along with when they bloom & what temperature they are hardy to. As with the previous section, plenty of inspirational photos & ideas are provided to enjoy your own edible flower garden. The projects are an edible flower planter (the planter isn't edible, the contents are), floral ice cubes, edible flower frittata, & lavender shortbread. A garden in the UK (London) that focuses on herbs is featured next. As with the other farmers, this section provides a little background information on the farmer herself. A photo gallery of culinary herbs is provided followed by explaining how to grow culinary herbs. A chart is provided for classic Mediterranean culinary herbs, varieties to try, plant spacing & hardiness. Projects include a DIY Herb Spiral which lets you create a mini microclimate where you will plant various herbs in the spiral based on the herbs needs. How to create your own herb infused oils, growing & enjoying your own three mint Mojito, & herb embedded pasta, with you guessed it, your own, made from scratch, pasta. Plants for skin care. This farm is based in the UK (Isle of Man). This farmer mainly grows plants for their known skin benefits. How to grow plants for skin care is provided, plus a photo gallery & a chart on skin care plants & their uses. Projects include how to create botanical extracts, rose petal facial mist, herbal bath fizzies, & how to make your own lavender & alkanet soap. Hint: Once you make your own soap, you'll never want to buy the mass produced stuff in the store again. Learn herbal medicine basics from a farm in Germany (Hamburg). This section provides relevant information regarding herbal medicine in the same vein as it does for the other cops/plants grown in the previous sections. Projects include growing chamomile for tea (& how to brew & enjoy it), chamomile tincture, calendula skin salve & lemon balm cold sore balm. I also make my own teas, tinctures, salves & balms. These are incredibly useful & I feel it is more important than ever to learn how to do these things ourselves & not be so dependent on outside sources as the most recent pandemic has shown us how quickly our supply chain can be disrupted. Finally, back in the USA is a farm in North Carolina who focuses on herbs for the home. For example, preserves, home cleaners & skin care. As with the other farms the photos are gorgeous & inspirational. Guidance on how to grow your own home garden is provided with a basic chart & a cute example of drying your linens on blooming lavender & how you can bring sweet pea flowers into the home for a intense perfumed bouquet. Another chart lists plants with home uses, the plants growing preferences, etc. Projects include how to make your own raised garden bed, DIY rosemary & citrus kitchen spray (hint: this is so easy to make!), natural wood furniture polish, & soapwort multipurpose cleaner. While I love every single farm (really, I do), Teresinha's garden in the UK (Birmingham) is one of my favorites because it's all about using natural dye plants. *Note: there is a small amount of misinformation in this section. Here you will learn the basics of how to grow your own dye garden. The main focus is on using these homegrown dyes on fibers. However, there is a fun example of how certain plants can be used to dye foodstuffs. This is not only great for adults but also a great project to try with kids. How to use dye plants, a chart of the common dye plants & the colors you can expect to get from them is provided. Projects include preparing the fibers for dyeing, dying yarn with onion skins (the colors will amaze you) & naturally coloring handmade soap (as a soap maker, I can tell you this is a lot of fun). *The minor errors in the section are in listing the colors of animal fibers, stating they come in only white, grey, brown, & black. For some reason shades of red was left out. Not brick red or fire engine red, but more of a soft orangy fawn or buff color. Angora rabbits & angora goats can & do produce coats known as red along with the colors already mentioned. The other minor error is in listing that cotton only comes in creams & white. As a grower of organic heirloom cotton plants I want you to know that cotton comes in green as well. There are several shades of green depending on the type of cotton plant. There is also a rich brown that one would hardly refer to as cream. The last garden is in Canada (Ontario). It features fun ways to upcycle & recycle goods giving them a new purpose in the garden, including making your own fall leaf garland. A photo gallery of creative garden ideas is provided. Some are more eco friendly than others. Some repurpose while others use nature; a woven unpainted basket. Guidance on how to create your own creative & low cost garden. Lists of plants you can propagate from cuttings & from divisions are included (rather than having to buy which gets expensive fast), how to create compost & how to craft with plants. Learn how to make your own fossil stepping stones, pressed flower candles & paper mache leaf lanterns. From the farms above, you can clearly see that the majority of them are based in the UK. As a US farmer I would have loved to see at least one farm featured that was at least in the Midwest. The United States is huge & we have so many different growing climates. Often a growing climate in the UK, will not be suitable for those of us in the US. Be sure to pay attention to the growing requirements provided to see what works for you. To be fair to the author, in the back of the book the author explains how she first wrote this book during the first months of the China virus outbreak. This limited her ability to travel. I sincerely hope she creates another book featuring another handful of women farmers in the future as I will be sure to get it.  There Are Much Better Books On The Subject Sustainable Gardening: Grow a "Greener" Low-Maintenance Landscape with Fewer Resources by Vincent A. Simeone
I'm a full time Eco farmer with well over a decade of farming experience. I still love to read books on growing things, even beginner books as I almost always learn something or am refreshed on something I may have forgotten. Plus, these books are often inspirational & especially fun to read in the winter when the back breaking labors of spring through fall are but a memory. The thing with this book is it's too basic. The author discusses sustainability, but I don't feel like he really digs in deep enough or provides enough ideas, examples, or projects to help someone along a greener path. I was also disappointed in the short blurb about organic gardening. The author almost seems to have a bias against organic gardening. Mainly he insists that it's more expensive & that's it's biggest downfall. I'm really at a loss over this view point. I can't speak for others, but to me sustainability & organic go hand in hand. Yes, certified organic seeds are more expensive & using OMRI approved products when needed is also more expensive. But when you are being sustainable, you are supposed to be utilizing more of what you have right where you are. Plus, you don't use a bunch of toxic chemicals in organic. Matter of fact, all I use each year is my own compost to enrich my soils. Acid loving blueberry bushes get OMRI approved fertilizer. Young heirloom cotton plants may get some neem &/or peppermint oil to deter aphids & the ants who milk them. But that's it. How on earth is this expensive? The meat of the book is various plants the author feels are worth growing in a sustainable environment. Many species are not native & some are considered invasive. I found it odd to not include things like blueberry bushes. They produce nice hedgerows, berries, & stunning fall foliage. Yet somehow they don't make the grade. I feel it is also important to point out that the section with the various plants doesn't include what zone these plants are suitable for. Basically, if you think one of the plants mentioned in this book might work for you, you'll have to look into it further to make sure it works in your area. That seems to defeat the point of the book. The last of the book mentions things like pests, water management, lawn free choices, composting & soil management. The only thing that I found useful to me was the permeable pavers. I'd love to have these to drive on, but they are way beyond affordable for me unfortunately. There were also a few photos that gave me some ideas for projects on my own farm. But for the most part, this book wasn't worth my time. There are an endless amount of books available for living more sustainably that provide much better in depth & useful information than this book. With all of these options, I really don't think there is any need to bother with this particular book.  The authors wrote this book with one main goal in mind; to get you to go to their website. The First-Time Gardener: Growing Plants and Flowers: All the know-how you need to plant and tend outdoor areas using eco-friendly methods (The First-Time Gardener's Guides, 2) by Sean McManus & Allison McManus
The authors wrote this book with one main goal in mind; to get you to go to their website. Initially I liked this book. I'm a full time eco farmer. I mainly grow food & fiber crops along with herbs & flowers. I recently read an excellent book on houseplants titled 'My house plant changed my life' by David Domoney. After reading that book, I was much more interested in reading about growing plants. Obviously I'm not a first time gardener, but for the most part I have found that no matter how much you learn, you know nothing. Okay, not really, but the point is, even a book for beginners can teach an old dog new tricks or simply refresh us on things we may have forgotten. So the beginning of this book starts off pretty good providing the newbie with the most basic of basics. I was rather surprised by just how basic it went truly keeping in line with what a beginner needs to know. However as I continued to read I became more & more disenchanted with this book. It is incredibly rare for me to not like a book on growing things. Sure, some may have some issues I will point out but generally, I find them all worth reading until now. If someone orders a book that is supposed to teach them, they shouldn't have to go to other sources for additional information especially if this is basic information that is needed to do things properly. I get the distinct vibe that the authors wrote this book with one main goal in mind; to get you to go to their website. I don't know about you, but when I sit down to read a book, I don't want to be told to visit a website for more information. I want to read that information in the pages of the book I have before me. If I wanted to look this stuff up online, I'd be online! I guess I also should point out to those "privileged" folks who enjoy cheap high speed internet & cell service that there are those of us who still don't have access to the internet unless we opt. for very expensive & very slow satellite. What about cellular? "Can you here me now?" Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Fingers & toes crossed that Elon Musk's Starlink will save us rural folks. This is the Great Rural Divide. It is more expensive for 10xs slower internet in rural areas than it is in NYC. We rural folks buy books & make good use of them. For the love of equality, stop sending us to the internet to learn more! We bought your book, so give us the info. we need. Stepping off the soap box... Back to the beginning. As stated, this is the most basic of basics & no more. No more I tell you! Have a bug problem? The book tells you to find ways to treat for them & not to use toxic chemicals. I'm all for avoiding toxic chemicals, but um how do we deal with the bugs? Hello? Fungal problem? Same deal. Soil problem? You got it, same deal. You get told certain plants have certain requirements. Some need full sun, some part shade, some full shade. Some require more water than others. Some can tolerate different climates better than others. Okay, which plants are good for these different climates & light levels? Hello? H-e-l-l-o??? I'm going to take a leap of faith here & guess that you can find out more at the authors website. Ho hum. Do you have problems with the wildlife? The book tells you we all have to deal with wildlife. Put up some fencing or something. Try hot pepper spray. That's about as helpful as it gets. Sure, fencing can keep out deer, but not just any fencing. Sigh. Deer jump. Hot pepper spray washes off... There is simply too much important information missing from this book. There is plenty of white space in the book. Too bad the authors didn't decide to fill it with something useful to the reader. Sadly, this book is not a keeper. I regret ever ordering it.  Complex Recipes To Clean, Paint & More, Some Are Not As Green (glitter?) As Expected The Home And Happiness Botanical Handbook: Plant-Based Recipes For A Clean & Healthy Home by Pip Waller
This book provides an abundance of recipes for not only cleaning your home, but also your vehicles & pets. But it doesn't end there. You will also discover how to make your own ink, paints & dyes as well as food wraps, rose petal beads, gluten free playdough. EMF remedies & more. Note: While most recipes are clean & green, some were a little surprising. For example, the author uses glitter; an environmental disaster. In chapter one the author makes the bold albeit incorrect claim that ...everything we need can be obtained from plants. I'd like to add almost to the very beginning of this statement to make it more factual. While I am all about utilizing flora & fauna, I do recognize that plants cannot provide every single thing humans need. The author rightly points out how the vast majority of folks in modern industrialized countries are far removed from nature. Folks tend to rely on polluting, toxic, man-made chemicals rather than that which can be obtained naturally. In fact, I find that the majority of folks prefer these toxic options over greener ones. As the author points out, even folks who reside in rural areas tend to fall into the same toxic trap. Thankfully, the percentage of rural folks tends to be a little lower in toxic product dependency. But you'd be surprised at just how many utilize the same health destroying products as the folks in big cities. This is not to say that everyone who resides in the city isn't doing the green thing. Many are & I applaud you for your efforts. You green city folks help educate others that you don't have to live on a farm or have a big backyard to grow your own naturally. This toxic man made dependency can partly be blamed on a lack of education as I see a greater number of folks interested in an organic lifestyle where education is highest. Should you have the option to petition your government to increase internet options in rural areas, please do. In today's age, access to high speed internet is a must for everyone. For the most part, this is a great book. However, I would be doing you a great disservice if I didn't point out the negatives. First off, this is rather complicated. In order to create many of the recipes, you are likely to need to have created other parts aka ingredients to complete a recipe. One way to look at it is cookbooks designed for living back to the land or diets that restrict certain food groups to help folks heal (aka manage) conditions like autoimmune diseases. If you are the type of person to give up on a cookbook because you must first make your own seasonings, sauces, milks, etc. rather than grab something off of a store shelf, declaring you don't have time, I've got news for you. You are probably not the person for this book. This book is work, no different really from the involved cookbook you may have tossed out. On the other hand, if you don't mind or even enjoy cooking from scratch. From scratch I mean exactly that. No canned this or boxed that. No packet of seasoning mix or jar of mayonnaise because you, my fine friend make your own seasons & mayonnaise thank you very much. No box of brownie mix for you, oh no. You get out the sugar, fat, flour, chocolate, vanilla, etc. & make real brownies. Perhaps you even grow the the plants that produce the flours &/or sugars. You are a very busy person with valuable skills. This book will add more labor to your days but you don't mind because you've got this sustainable homesteading lifestyle mastered. Okay, maybe not mastered my kombucha brewing sister, but pretty darn close. I salute you not only for your commitment, but also for your willingness to take on even more work in an effort to keep it green. As for me, I'm a full time Eco farmer. I'm exhausted most days. Not only do I grow my own, I also harvest it, put it up (can, dry, freeze, etc.) & cook my meals from scratch. I currently have very little interest in adding these recipes to my workload. Your eyes read that correctly. I'll even repeat it, I currently have very little interest in adding these recipes to my workload. Don't get me wrong, many of them seem great. But I find less is more. I prefer a mix of white vinegar, a drop of soap, a few drops of an essential oil & water makes a fabulous all purpose cleaner. Plain baking soda is great for scrubbing. A few drops of essential oil is fine if desired. That's all I use. No, really. I do make my own goat milk soap. Sorry, I know this is a Vegan book, but I'm not Vegan & frankly if you don't use milk soap you are denying your skin one of the greatest luxuries. By the way, making soap is dangerous. But it's not nearly as scary as it seems. Once you make it a few times, you'll be good to go. Cold process soap making is actually simple & incredibly easy. Really. Now that I've said the above, I am absolutely keeping this book. I do plan to make some of the recipes in my own good time. Who knows? I may even end up incorporating them into my regular Eco homesteader lifestyle. There are too many valuable recipes in this to not hold on to it. After the China Virus hit us, we all saw what happened to our supply chain. Knowing how to make our own from scratch, for example, make your own witch hazel; is critical. In some situations it will not be possible to make your own as you cannot get the supplies. But in others, it can be done. There is some equipment the author utilizes that I don't own that I am hoping to slowly acquire so that I may learn at my leisure. Leisure, LOL! Bottom line, do you want to DIY. By DIY I mean well & truly Do It Yourself. Not from a box, but from Mother Nature? Yes? Awesome-sauce! This book is totally for you my tree hugging dirt worshiper. Seem like too much work to you? Too many hours at work, too many demands from the kids & spouse? No time to even cook Hamburger Helper? DI- what you say? You might want to give this recipe book a pass or perhaps see if your local library carries it if your overworked self is still interested & would like take a look-see without the risk. You never know, you may find yourself immersed in the plant world or yawning. Only one way to find out...  The Longer I Have This Book, The More I Love It My House Plant Changed My Life: Green Well-Being For The Great Indoors by David Domoney
I was immediately attracted to this weird looking plant at Walmart. My husband told me they sell those same plants at Lowe's, but better. We went to Lowe's & I came home with an adorable wee little tyke in a teeny black pot (pictured). I couldn't stop smiling & carrying it to whatever window was sunny. I had no clue what kind of plant I had. All I knew was I loved it. Thanks to this book I now know it's a Tiger Aloe & the book even says that the plant will make you happy. Dead accurate. It was a photo of this very plant that was the deciding factor for me to order this book. The next plant this book convinced me to try was the Venus Fly trap. Again, a trip to Lowe's. They only had little terrarium kits that included a Pitcher Plant. I got three kits & so far they are doing very well, sprouting out of their moist mossy pots. I then came across another plant in this book that I never had a name for. I have owned it for 26 years! To keep it going where I live now (a late 1700's historic log cabin), I use several grow lights & have it near a window. This plant is a Spineless Yucca. My cats love to chew it & vomit. I have to cover it in winter with row cover, bamboo stakes & clothes pins to keep the cats off it. In summer I put it outside. You may or may not find it amusing to know that I am a full time Eco farmer who knows very little about houseplants. I spend most of my time growing food crops & cotton; all chemical free. I have very little time, plus too many cats & too little light for houseplants. Or so I thought. The beauty of this book is that it clearly lists what each plant needs. It has given me ideas on how to incorporate more plants that should work in different areas of my home. For example the Maidenhair Fern. I believe I can hang this in front of a bedroom window. The cats wont get it, it will get sun & I will enjoy it's unique fluttering foliage. The book lists which plants are toxic to pets & kids, their light needs, temperature needs, soil needs, which are best at clearing the air & what toxins they help to clear, "let's make babies", the growth rate, & even how they can make you feel with sections like "plants to calm & relax" & "plants to spark creativity." The goal of this book is to encourage folks to reconnect with the natural world even if all one does is care for a houseplant or two. It's a great idea. Look at me, I work outdoors & I'm in love with the book. The beginning of the book works hard to convince the reader as to why they should have indoor plants. I agree with these points wholeheartedly. We are in a world where all I see & read about is how folks, even children are become more & more disconnected with the natural world. This isn't healthy for any of us, at any age. With 50 plants to choose from, you are sure to find at least one to fall in love with. If you are anything like me, you'll easily find even more.  Muffin the "Kittencat" and bare root Loblolly Pine tree saplings. The Loblolly Pine Pinus Taeda is a very rewarding tree to grow, even for beginners. It is easy to care for and fast growing. It will not only add a privacy screen and wind break along with year round greenery but it will also provide you with a sense of accomplishment. All that from just one tree. The Loblolly Pine is a well recognized and extremely aromatic American timber tree. It is one of the fastest growing pine trees, making it popular for relatively quick all natural landscaping screens. It has beautiful broad reddish brown bark that grows in plates or shingles and long pale green needles. When mature it also produces well formed pine cones. The needles can be used in plant based recipes and the pine cones make a fun and tasty treat for bunnies and other small pets who love to chew. You can also use the pine cones and green needles in the home. They make great additions to natural goods like potpourri, ornaments, and centerpieces to name a few. If you are fan of wildlife and enjoy feeding the birds, Loblolly pines provide shelter and food for a variety of birds such as chickadees, wild turkeys, nuthatches, bobwhites, and towhees. Lobololly pines also provide food for small woodland critters such as chipmunks and squirrels. If you like to make your own medicinal and cleaning products as well as enjoy the great outdoors, you'll be happy to know that pine is antibacterial and antifungal. It's antiseptic properties make it a great addition to DIY home cleaners. Pine resin can even be used for hand crafted Vegan wax food wraps in place of beeswax. Sticky pine sap is also naturally antibacterial, making it an excellent alternative to over the counter antibacterial treatments with questionable ingredients. Apply the sap directly to the wound and cover.  Just planted bare root Loblolly Pine tree sapling. Growing Guide: A bare root seedling is dormant and must be kept moist but not sitting in water. When you are ready to plant, remove the plastic bag or wrap if applicable. Dig a hole twice the width of the roots and deep enough that the roots just touch the bottom of the hole. Do not trim or cut the roots. Fill the hole with soil. Don't pack the soil too firmly or water won't be able to drain through it to reach the roots. Be sure to inspect the new tree frequently. While it is establishing, the soil needs to be kept consistently moist (but not soggy or muddy) and weed free. When weeds emerge, remove them. The younger or smaller the weeds are the easier they will be to remove. Zone: 6-9 Sun: Full Hardiness: -10 °F to 30 °F Water: Moderate to extremely moist soil Soil: Neutral to Acidic (loamy, clay, well drained, drought tolerant, moist, sandy) Spacing: 25 ft to 30 ft Height: 50 ft to 100 ft Scientific Name: Pinus Taeda Also Known As: Rosemary Pine, Bull Pine, Longstraw Pine, Old Field Pine, Indian pine Once your sapling is established, it will require very little maintenance unless your soil is alkaline. Test your soil and amend if needed. For my property, the soil is not acidic enough. I add an organic soil acidifier such as OMRI approved Holy Tone twice a year, following the directions on the bag. Note: Holy Tone is usually cheaper at at home improvement store like Lowe's. Keep in mind that when you apply your tree amendment, it is distributed at the trees drip line not around the base of the trunk.  Four years later growth: Planted in the Spring of 2021. Photo taken in the Summer of 2025.  Adult tree (we haven't got this far yet with ours, hence the outside photo). Photo Credit: Gerry Dincher taken from arborday.org  No Color Photos, But The Artwork Is Beautiful The Beginner's Guide To Chicken Breeds: An Introductory Guide To Choosing The Right Flock by Amber Bradshaw I've been raising chickens for well over a decade. Even with plenty of experience gained, I always enjoy reading new books when they come out. Same thing for gardening and many other farming and animal subjects. When this arrived and I started to flip through it the first huge mistake became instantly, glaringly obvious, no photos of the various chicken breeds. I showed it to my husband and he just shook his head and said something along the lines that the book was pretty pointless to a beginner with no photos. For the most part I agree. I enjoyed a leisurely read of this book while sipping a nice cuppa on my downtime aka mini breaks from working. One surprise while reading was that the bantam (aka banty) breed known as the Sebright was listed as threatened by the Livestock Breeds Conservancy. "Wait what!? It is! No way! I need to raise me some of these cuties." I thought (edit 4/17/24: In 2023 I started raising both the silver & gold Sebrights, their status was listed at critical when I ordered them). I took a peek in my Cackle Hatchery and my Murray McMurray Hatchery catalogs only to find that neither of them mention the Seabright as endangered. "Okay then, I'll just go to the Livestock Breeds Conservancy website (see resources)." I think and do. Nope, not there. The Sebright is not even on the recovering list so the odds that this birds status changed after the printing of this book seems unlikely. My suggestion is to check the status of a bird if endangered chicken breeds are important to you when considering what breeds you would like to raise. Another mistake or misprint I came across again regards the bantam breed of chicken. In this case, Silkies. I currently have my own little flock of Silkies. They are fantastic little birds. Anyway, they don't list all the standard of perfection colors. For example, there is no mention of buff or what I think of as "red". Silkie Standard of Perfection Colors: Black, Blue, Standard Buff, Gray, Partridge, Splash, White. I also noticed that breed aggression or non aggression wasn't always listed properly. This isn't as big of a sore spot for me though, because as the author points out, there can be exceptions to the rule. In my nearly 20 years experience, I've never had a particuarly aggressive banty rooster. I'm sure they are out there, but I have found each and every one of them to be either little sweethearts or posturing (non attacking) little idiots chasing around after me. Regular aka standard non banty roosters? Forget it. I've learned that they almost all become aggressive. Every single breed of full sized rooster, with the exception of only one, has attacked me at some point. Some are much more aggressive than others. The only breed I've raised that has never shown aggression is the Lemon Cuckoo Niederrheiner. I love these roosters! They are gentle giants. It may seem funny that a little feathered tough guy is attacking a big ol' human, but for something so small, they can actually be very dangerous when they have their spurs. They can do real harm. I'm short. When I get attacked (they love to attack when your back is turned) they jump & flog my hips/bottom. I do not enjoy having my body punctured and cut up. Nor do I enjoy having my clothing torn by a rooster who is just plain mean. They can also be a serious threat to small children. However, I know some folks who swear by their roosters sweet temperament. Here are the problems for beginners and even those, like me who simply enjoy everything chicken. Not only do you not get your "chicken porn" or to put it more nicely, "chicken eye candy" you also don't know if the information printed in this book is correct. This really stinks because for the most part, it is a lovely little book. I really enjoy the style of artwork and the effort the author put into describing various breeds temperaments, egg laying capabilities, show potential, meat potential, status, and more for various situations. For example, are you in a neighborhood where you don't have a lot of space and don't want your birds to bother the neighbors? Do you eat very little to no eggs? You might want to get Silkies. Do you want meat to feed your family? The author lists what she feels are the best meat birds. Here are the chapters:
If you are into chickens, this is an enjoyable read. When you find breeds that may be of interest to you, visit some hatchery websites (&/or request their catalogs) who provide great real photos (not drawings) of their birds as well as the basic information on the bird/s you are interested in. If you are interested in raising threatened breeds, visit the Livestock Breeds Conservancy and see what's there. Thanks to this book I learned about the Icelandic chicken. I went to the Livestock Breeds Conservancy website to learn more. I discovered they are very hard to get in the United States. The Livestock Breeds Conservancy website was kind enough to provide a link to a well trusted and dedicated page on facebook for this breed. I clicked the link and joined. As long as you don't blindly trust this book to be the holy grail of chicken truths and do your research before you buy your birds, it is worth the read. And who knows, you may even decide you'd like to buy a copy. After all what's wrong with adding one more book about chickens to your bookshelf? 📚 🐔  Beautiful Artwork of Feather Types on Page 116  Cherry Picked & Not Very Good At It Food or War by Julian Cribb
Food or war? The author sets out to convince the reader that the majority of wars have been fought over food. By cherry picking history, you could conclude that & many other things, but the reality is that for the most part wars are fought for power. To see who has the biggest ding dong. Sometimes as with King Alfred The Great, the wars are fought for religion rather than to see who has the biggest ding dong. King Alfred wanted there to be one "Englaland" all peoples speaking one language & all practicing one religion. He wanted the Danes, Northmen, & anyone else out of his country if they didn't convert to his religion. The author lost me almost immediately with his weak history of the Viking era. We know very little of the "Northmen" or the "Danes" from the Viking era because nothing was written down in their cultures. Everything was verbal. The first written accounts were from the monks who witnessed the Viking ships arrive on their shores to ravage & pillage. Having the view point of only one side of the story is hardly accurate & that is the view the author has. It is very disappointing. His view is so misguided he even seems to view the "Vikings" as a race rather than an activity, "To go Viking." He claims that "Vikings" fought for food. Sure, they wanted land, but they fought for much more than just food. They fought for glory, they fought to make a name of themselves to be retold long after they are gone. They fought to go to Valhalla (die with a sword in their hand), they fought for riches & fame. Sound familiar like maybe having a big ol' ding dong? I'm not a history professor, so take what I say with a grain of salt, but as the author moves forward in history, it seems like he has a better grasp of it. Probably because so much more of human history gets recorded. He even mentions when Stalin had his farmers murdered because his people were starving & he viewed his own farmers as his enemies. When this made the food crisis worse, he killed more farmers. Yeah that'll fix it! Then in 1975 Cambodia decided to try out the USSR's & The People's Republic of China's failed farmer killings & started to kill off their rice farmers. The author then continues along in this slog of a read to try to force his idea that wars are started due to a lack of food. It's a great way to twist it. I'll give him that, but common sense & history say otherwise. Armies must be fed. So a army or war can cause hunger or starvation either by large marching armies moving through the land & ravaging it's resources like a swarm of locusts or because of sieges where one side tries to starve the other. I'm not saying that food has never been a cause for war, just that it's not the cause as the author wants us to believe. He then discusses the different ways humans are producing food. Things like mono cropping, concentrated feed lots, Eco farming, organic farming, gene editing (CRISPER), biotechnology, GMO's, chemicals, etc. An interesting thing he suggests is that gender confusion has been caused by the chemicals in our food. I told this to my husband & he scoffed at it. The thing is, I can see this being real. My reason is because chemicals in our environment have already been proven to alter the sexes of frogs. This is real & it's happening now. So why not mess up humans too? With an author who speaks out against pseudo foods aka processed "foods" & chemicals you'd think he'd be against GMO's & other unnatural practices right? Wrong. The author thinks the only mistake made with Genetic Engineering is not being open about it with the public. He's all for GMO rice & many other genetically modified franken foods. Yet he is anti chemicals. But but but, GM "foods" are engineered to survive being doused in copious amounts of chemicals while everything around them dies. This is hardly environmentally friendly or good for us. It seems the author has fallen for the Kool Aid that we need GMO's & CRISPER to feed the world. He would be far better looking at all the waste humans create. Humans throw out a shameful amount of food while overeating & getting fatter every day. We don't need to produce more food, we need to eat less & eat real food, not franken foods or processed factory foods that have been engineered to cause overeating. The author promotes & encourages gene editing, farm robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, advanced pest control, biocultured "food" & more. I've already covered why gene editing isn't a good idea, how about nanotechnology? This is still way too new & nano particles are so small, it is believed they have the potential to wreck havoc on not only our bodies but also our ecosystems. What about biocultured "food"? He thinks that we humans wont like it at first but as with synthetic materials aka oil byproducts we will learn to love it. Sorry but I don't want to eat biocultured steak or fish. Nor do I want to eat farmed fish. I find all of this deeply disturbing & going further from the natural world rather than embracing it. The author feels we should reallocate 20% of spending money away from defense & towards "peace through food". This is a noble idea, but no matter what the author wants us to believe, war is not about food. When a country no longer has the biggest ding dong, another country is sure to move in for the kill & be the new biggest ding dong on the planet. I'll gladly keep that defense budget high thank you very much. My freedom is pretty important to me. But hey, I'm an American & the author's Australian so we clearly have much different views on the value of personal freedom. The only thing I agree with the author on is raising a new generation of food aware children. However, I think my view of "food aware" & the authors view are vastly different. I'm for getting kids back in gardens & farms. Lets have a garden in every school from elementary all the way through college. Let's bring back home economics & wood shop. I strongly believe that we have this massive food problem because many folks have no clue how food comes to be on grocery store shelves. They don't know that certain foods grow in the dirt or that other foods are from animals, or that an apple grows on a tree or leather is from cattle or goats, etc. The author also pushes global warming. I personally don't know what to think. On one hand, I believe it, but then many scientists say it's the natural heating & cooling of the planet. The author even points out different heating & cooling periods of the earth. This would actually support that global warming is a hoax. The author says it's not a hoax. While I don't like being lied to (I don't know which side is lying), I do believe in caring for our Mother Earth. This is our home. I respect the planet. I am an Eco farmer. I don't use chemicals. I don't lock up my animals. They are pastoral. I grow my food in soil rich in my own composted materials. I grow with the seasons & work with the land, not against it. I desperately want people to care about our planet. But is global warming real? I just don't know. Last, the author thinks that women should take the place of men in business, politics, government, & religion. I can understand this to a certain degree because most women don't have the "I have to prove I have the biggest ding dong" problem that most men have, but I hardly see women solving the worlds problems. Personally as a woman, I find when men & women work together as equals we have the greatest success. Both sexes have much to offer & it provides a beautiful harmony. Neither sex is perfect, but together we can accomplish great things.  Arugula on the Verge of Bolting Arugula (Eruca vesicaria) is a vitamin-rich, leafy green that produces large yields in the correct growing environment. It is excellent for salads & for cooking. It is full of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, & anti-cancer nutrients. You can eat it raw, saute it, steam it, add it to soups & salads, use it in place of lettuce in sandwiches for a little kick, add it to potatoes & casseroles. Bitter greens past their prime can be enjoyed gently steamed alone or with other greens such as mustard or turnip greens, or used as a creamed side &/or in creamed soups. Arugula is a cool weather crop. It is great for spring & fall harvests. Arugula can overwinter in many parts of the country under cold frames or heavyweight row covers. It can withstand some heat but is prone to bolting. I don't recommend growing it in the summer. With that said, If your growing environment tends to be warm, plant your arugula in the shade of taller crops to protect it from the suns heat. It is likely to bolt quickly in a warm environment, so enjoy it while you can! Sow outside (spring): Sow seeds in the spring as soon as the soil can be worked, with successive sowings 3-4 weeks apart. Sow outside (fall): In the late summer for a fall crop. Start indoors (spring): 4-5 weeks before last frost Soil pH: 6.0-7.0 Days to emerge: 7-10 Soil depth (when using pots): 4" Seed depth: 1/4" Seed spacing: 1" Row spacing: 18"-24" Thinning: 4-6" Days to maturity: 20-50 USDA Zone: 3-11 Seed Savers: Allow the plants to bolt (flower & set seed pods). Long green seed pods will form. As the plant matures, the pods will turn brown. If you don't want to save the seeds, you can let nature do her thing. The seeds will eventually self sow. Your main work will be removing weeds. To save the seed for future use, I cut the long stalks that contain the pods, then massage the pods over a large container. When done, shake the seeds a little to get a good amount of the chaff to rise to the surface. Allow a gentle breeze or blow gently on the chaff to remove it. When I do this, I do loose some seeds, so please keep this in mind. Slow & gentle is the key. You don't want to blow away all your hard work!  Arugula Seed Pods  Many Great Projects For Kids & Adults Gardening for Kids: Learn, Grow, and Get Messy with Fun STEAM Projects by Brandy Stone
Initially I was thrilled with this book & for the most part, I do still like it, but I feel it could have been better. Perhaps I am spoiled by books like The Unplugged Family Activity Book and The Organic Artist for Kids. Granted neither of these books is about gardening per se, but they do still get the whole family engaged in the outdoors. I'm sure if you break down many of the projects in the two books I mentioned, they'd have plenty of STEAM components to them. I suppose my biggest problem with this book is that too many of them have kids make nothing more than junk using plastic crap & paints. What is odd to me is that in one of the nice projects in this book, it teaches how to get particular colors out of plants & to use them as paints. Why not use these paints rather than conventional store bought paints? Isn't that more fitting? This use of plastics & other garbage producing supplies are my only real complaint about this book. Shouldn't teaching kids about gardening go hand in hand with preserving the environment? Now that I got the bad out of the way, let's get into everything that is great about this book & trust me folks, there's plenty. The very first test is brilliant in it's simplicity & has been suggested many times before for adults to use to get a basic idea of their soils type. It is titled Simple Fizzy Soil. This test lets you see the composition of your soil. How much of it is clay, silt, or sand? Is your soil acidic, alkaline or neutral? Another test gardeners have used over the centuries is the Sprout Old Seeds project. This is another simple project that teaches kids about germination rates & even includes a little an extra credit project to teach kids how seedlings (aka stems) always grow up & roots always grow down. How about the Seed Tape Garden Design? Again, this isn't just for kids. Why buy more expensive seed tape at the store when you can easily make your own at home? This is a really fun project for kids as they get to learn how to not only create the seed tape but also how to plan the spacing of the seeds & then get to plant them & learn about their growth cycle. Space Saving Spiral Garden is a beautiful project. You can make it however you want, in a raised bed, big or small. It allows plenty of room for creativity while also teaching kids how to plan to plant seeds based on different micro climates within the spiral garden. Food Scrap Sprouting I expect if you have a social media account you've seen various memes with folks showing off their food scraps. It works & is such a fun way to teach kids about growing foods. It also teaches them how to figure out why this method doesn't work with all food scraps. My favorite part about this project is the one that teaches how to make your own sweet potato slips. After getting my first organic slips from an organic seed supplier (see resources) I have since made my own slips every year from the last seasons harvest. Do Your Tomatoes Need A Best Friend? This project is all about companion planted. The project, like many of the other projects in this book, is brilliant in it's simplicity. What plants get along, what plants don't, how does a plant grow alone verses with a friend? Assemble A Team Of Garden Superheros This is all about creating a beneficial insect garden aka a butterfly garden, a bee oasis, etc. This allows for ample creativity & enjoyment. Worm Tower Soil Conditioner aka vermicomposting. This project lets kids get busy with worms making a worm home (what the author calls a tower) that is buried in the garden. If you've ever had your eye on worm bins, you know exactly what this is. Garden Grow Pigment Paint this shows kids how to make paint using various plants, berries, etc. along with an acid. Kids can see what colors are created from the different plant matter & are sure to be surprised by the results. Floral Studio Photography this teaches kids how to create their own light & dark back drops, & how to place their plants by seeing the results of their actions through photography. Strawberry Salsa Science is a bit of a cooking lesson that kids can really get into mixing various ingredients to see how they alter the taste of a finished dish. Note: Above are many of the projects, but I didn't list them all. I only mentioned the ones I am particularly fond of & as you can clearly see, there are a lot. Each lesson provides the STEAM connection or an I DIG IT! section when applicable. For example in the "Space Saving Spiral Garden" project the STEAM connection is the following: Spiral gardens create microclimates - areas where the soil moisture, sun exposure, & temperature are very different than in surrounding areas. A good example of a microclimate is a valley in a hot, dry desert. The shade in the valley creates cooler temperatures than the surrounding desert. Cold air sinks into the valley & gets trapped, creating moist air. Just like a small valley, the shady sides for a spiral garden are god for shade - loving plants while the areas facing the sun are good for sun-loving plants. An example of the I DIG IT! section in the "Sprout Old Seeds" is the following: Germination is the process a seed goes through to start growing into a plant. germination happens when everything is just right; the seed has the warmth, air, & water it needs to make its seed coat swell up & break. Seed coasts are a barrier to damage, cold, heat, & bacteria. They are adapted to their environment & protect the baby plant until conditions are suitable. When you provide a seed with the perfect mix of water, air, & warmth, you help the seed germinate! The back of the book provides a 'My Garden Journal' page, a 'Gardening Lab Record' page, & a two page 'Gardening Assignment Chart'. These can all be downloaded as well. Overall, this is a great book to help get kids off their bums & devices & back into nature where they can thrive. As a full time Eco Farmer I have directly seen the results of "city kids" on my farm & frankly, they loose their little minds & many actually cry when they have to leave. If that doesn't tell you kids need to be outdoors in nature, I don't know what does. |
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 Hi there! My name is Jen. I'm a "tree hugging dirt worshiper" who has been organically farming for nearly two decades. It never ceases to amaze me at how much I've learned & how much I am still learning. I have studied natural health, nutrition, & herbs for nearly three decades. Our health & the natural world around us are connected in ways we don't often realize. How we treat the land & animals directly affects us in both body & mind. My goal is to provide others with truly natural humane goods from my own little piece of paradise, & to freely pass along whatever knowledge I pick up along the way. I am grateful every day to be able to have such a worthwhile & fulfilling job surrounded by the beauty & unpredictability of Mother Nature.
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