In February we helped a friend tap 650 maple trees on property owned and managed by Camp Whitewood in Windsor, OH. Thankfully, we had a beautiful day and got into a nice work rhythm. Hammer in the tap, hang the bucket, put the lid on and repeat! It’s incredible how quickly the sap flows on […]
During the winter months we try to catch up on reading and resources that keep us motivated and help us continue to learn how to farm smarter not harder. At the Young Farmer’s Conference, I heard several people talk about the Farmer to Farmer Podcast as a great resource. After listening to several episodes, I […]
I recently finished reading The Lean Farm by Ben Hartman. This book is going to be a game changer for our farm and I cannot wait to begin putting some of the practices in this book to use. I’m also giddy because we got to meet the author and hear him speak at the Young Farmer’s […]
For the past few years we have set aside money for continued education…yes, even farmers need to go to class! Our first learning opportunity was the Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association (OEFFA) Conference, which is held in Granville, OH each February. We were on the verge of growing for market when we attended that […]
As urban market gardeners who want to expand, we often struggle with the idea of whether to try to find more places to grow in the city or moving out to the country where we have more flexibility to do what we want (get some chickens and goats, have a few acres under till that […]
In an attempt to escape the winter weather of Ohio, Spink and I took a week’s vacation in San Diego. Despite the cooler temps (highs in the low 60s), we did enjoy full days of SUN! We took the opportunity to visit a few farms in the region in order to learn from those with more […]
Now that we have some time to reflect on the season, we thought it might be helpful to share some of the lessons we learned from our first season of urban market gardening. In no particular order, we give you our lessons learned….likely to grow as we continue to plan. Making compost: Don’t get me […]
What is the best value in Northeast Ohio for those interested in urban farming? In my opinion, hands down, without a doubt the answer has got to be the 12 week Market Gardener Training Program offered by OSU Extension. Not only do you learn great stuff, such as info about urban soils, business planning, soil […]
We just got back from the 31st Annual OEFFA Conference in Granville, OH. It was a great weekend of learning from those who have been farming and living low-carbon lifestyles. And, it was a great opportunity to network with others about how to get started (or continue) down this path. Apparently, the conference sold out […]
We just got back from the 31st Annual OEFFA Conference in Granville, OH. So glad we went, met lots of great people and built existing relationships…..planning a full recap of the weekend later this week, but wanted to share a quick picture of our new tiller attachment!! More to come soon….