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  • Why We're Here 

    Grow it - Gardening in The South with a focus on heirloom (open pollinated) varieties. Raise it - Raising chickens and other small livestock in The…

  • Chickens 

    Much of what we will cover here will be the design and construction of chicken coops, but we will also cover general chicken care with a strong focus on…

  • Garden 

    The most important lesson that I have learned (so far, anyway) is that you must do your own experimenting to find out what works for you - not what some author…

    • A Systems Approach 

      Gardening (and all agriculture, really) can be classified into one of two types: Intensive and Extensive. Extensive gardening is characterized by a large…

    • Raised Bed Garden - Overview 

      As much as I love a traditional garden with its neat rows of lush vegetables growing directly in the soil, that just doesn't work here in Florida. What we have…

    • Saving Okra Seeds 

      Saving seeds is one of the most basic of gardening skills, and saving okra seeds is easy and a great way to get started. The variety that I grow is Clemson…

    • Mixing Tub Garden 

      One of my garden experiments was the idea of using plastic tubs designed for mixing concrete as a container garden. I knew that they were going to be marginally…

    • Growing Mixture (Soil) 

      I found that "Mel's Mix" of equal parts by volume of vermiculite, peat moss, and a wide variety of composts, was far too "hot" to use. When I took a sample to…

    • Garden Photos 

  • Southern Homesteads 

    Enjoy these photos of life on Southern farms and homesteads.

  • Starting Seeds 

    I usually use soil blocks to start my seeds rather than plastic trays (although I use some of those also). Soil blocks have a number of advantages - plus a few…

  • Site Map 

    This page contains the site table of contents. Use it to quickly find content on this website.


Blog Posts

  • Category: Uncategorized  (2)
    • Smell The Roses 

      While our focus is on the vegetable garden and chickens, we try to keep things in perspective. God created roses and other things of beauty for a reason.…

    • Netting to Protect the Garden 

      Guarding your garden against various pests is a never-ending task if you expect to benefit from your labor. Before adding this netting over the strawberry…

  • Category: Garden  (23)
    • Bugs 

      When the summer heat arrives, so do the bugs. Since we try to avoid the use of any chemicals in the garden, there are some battles that just aren't worth…

    • Switzerland, Chickens, a Garden, and Ronda 

      The lovely Southern Lady on this magazine cover is Ronda - the step-daughter of my best friend from college. Ronda and her husband live in Lausanne,…

    • Gardening in West Africa 

      This is a follow-up to a previous post in which I mentioned that some of the seeds that I have been collecting from my garden would be sent to Sierra Leone,…

    • The 33 Golden Rules of Gardening 

      Carol Deppe is, without a doubt, one of my favorite authors of gardening books. We'll talk more about her books in a future post, but I wanted to pass along…

    • How Big Does Okra Get? 

      On October 20, I began removing all of the hot weather crops from the garden. The next step is to add and mix in some more compost and prepare for the cool…

    • Soil Blocks Update 

      On the Starting Seeds page, I showed how to use a soil block mold for starting seeds. After much experimenting, I have made a few modifications to the…

    • Sweet Potato Update 

      Our first crop of sweet potatoes was a major disappointment. Although the plants were extremely vigorous, they produced only a few potatoes when it came…

    • Saving Eggplant Seeds 

      Eggplant seeds are processed much like tomatoes. The main difference is that tomatoes are allowed to ferment in the same liquid that is used to separate the…

    • How Much Okra? 

      Sometimes it just helps to see how much a given area can produce rather than reading numbers on a spreadsheet. Okra, beside being something I thoroughly enjoy,…

    • Three Tools 

      There are three basic garden tools that I consider to be necessities. These are the ones that I use constantly. Stainless steel garden trowel. I have…

    • Never Prune Okra 

      Several months ago, I decided to try an experiment. I pruned back several okra plants by cutting a few inches off the top. The idea was to see if, as happens…

    • Squirrel Traps 

      One of the most serious pests that I have to deal with in the garden is squirrels. They either completely destroy the fruit, or they will eat just enough…

    • Hot Weather Crops 

      Here in The South, the intense summer heat limits your garden to only those few plant varieties that can truly handle the heat. Fall, Winter, and Spring…

    • Fried Okra 

      One of the very few things that will grow even during the hottest part of the summer is okra. It not only grows, it thrives. Once it starts producing, picking…

    • Lessons Learned - Part 1 

      I'm titling this one "Part 1", not because I have a "Part 2" in mind, but because learning new things is an on-going process. I'll write "Part 2" (and 3, and…

    • ECHO Demonstration Farm 

      We recently visited the ECHO Demonstration Farm in Fort Myers, Florida. ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) is a great resource for those…

    • A Trellis For The Garden 

      A raised bed garden such as ours can present some added challenges when it comes to accommodating climbing plants. Once a trellis is filled, then it…

    • First Fruits - 2011 

      This evening, we had fresh squash and zucchini from the garden. The first of the beans are ready to pick, and the tomatoes should be ready soon. …

    • Bunnies in the garden 

      Most folks see rabbits as the enemy in the garden. Fortunately, that's not a problem with a raised bed garden such as mine. Even the strongest rabbit…

    • How Close to Plant? 

      These tomatoes were planted about as close as I would ever attempt. The results of this planting will determine whether or not next year's crop is planted…

    • Planting in Stages 

      Looking from back to front in this photo: Tomatoes, the first batch of beans, the second batch (planted 2 weeks later), and dirt where the unsprouted next…

    • Picking Worms 

      Before you can pick vegetables, you usually have to pick worms. So far, I have done all my gardening without using any pesticides, and hand-picking worms…

    • The Need For Light 

      Seedlings need light - lots of light. This photo was taken on March 2, and shows two tomato plants that were both raised under artificial light, 18 hours per…

  • Category: Chickens  (8)
    • Mama Hen and the Brood 

        On January 1, we put 12 fertile eggs under a broody Buff Orphington hen. Twenty-one days later, we had seven baby chicks. The chicks are (I hope)…

    • Building a Roll-away Nest Box 

      We were having a constant problem with eggs being broken and eaten, and with very dirty eggs. Cleaning the eggs was taking a significant amount of time, and it…

    • Switzerland, Chickens, a Garden, and Ronda 

      The lovely Southern Lady on this magazine cover is Ronda - the step-daughter of my best friend from college. Ronda and her husband live in Lausanne,…

    • Clean Water for Chickens 

      Chickens seem to prefer drinking the nastiest water they can find. It is our job to make sure they only have fresh clean water. From my own reading, experience,…

    • An Interesting Chicken Tractor Design 

      I am fascinated by chicken coop designs. Gardener's Supply Company has something called the Little Egg Chicken Tractor. Now, I tend to be very much a…

    • A Water Tower for the Chickens 

      One of the earliest lessons that anyone learns when they start keeping chickens is that water is heavy. Lugging around gallons of water for the chickens is not…

    • The April 9 Hatching 

      This batch of Rhode Island Red eggs is due to hatch on April 9. This is the first batch of eggs from these hens and rooster, so we'll see what happens. The…

    • Chicken Snakes 

      Chicken snakes always seem to eventually show up when you have chickens. I usually like having them around since they are also known as rat snakes for a good…

  • Category: Southern Agrarianism  (6)

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