This summer our daughter Rain decided to raise the tamest Easter Egger hens and sell them once they were close to laying age. She is selling them for the excellent price of $20.00 each. They are now large and feathered enough to be housed in outdoor coops but young enough they haven’t started laying yet. They will start laying sometime…
It’s here. The garden classes are in gardens, the cooking classes are in kitchens, the nature study is in forests, the raspberries taste like raspberries, and the snozzberries taste like snozzberries! I worked for weeks on the lesson plans for these hands-on classes, workshops, and tours and am so excited to finally roll them out. Click here for my entire…
We’ve got an amazing variety of class topics available right now — with limited seating so reserve your space ASAP! Are you a beginner gardener? Our January block of classes starts with the absolute basics and ends with you knowing how to design your dream garden (and what plants to stock it with). Not only that, but they’re available on…
Scenario: Instead of figuring out what’s for dinner, head over to the Swamp Rabbit Cafe & Grocery to choose from their delicious menu and enjoy an evening of information and inspiring photo eye-candy. Cappuccino? Soup? An entire bar of artisan chocolate? Treat yourself or buy a gift for a friend! The choice of topics is huge and there’s something to…
We have new classes available! Click here to see the list of topics. We have classes for beginners through experts on subjects like permaculture, soil, insects, beneficial wildlife habitats, plant propagation, fruits, vegetables, seeds, heirlooms, backyard chickens, beekeeping, winter growing, and preparing a garden for next season. We’re teaching small classes (limited to 12 students per class and available first…
This past weekend the weather in our little corner of South Carolina got quite pleasant, reaching up into the mid 70s and all around feeling very spring-ish. It was great. The whole greater Greenville area seemed to decide that with such delightful weather at hand, it was only appropriate to spend some time out of doors. By the end of…
We love the Organic Growers School in North Carolina and are delighted that we now have a similar version for South Carolina! This is the 2nd year for the annual SC Organic Growing Conference which occurs on March 2nd, 2013. It’s run by the SC Organization for Organic Living (SCOOL) which you can find on their website or on Facebook….
I’ve noticed more and more people seem fed up with trying to choose what to eat. Attempts to make good food choices are often derailed by yet another media blitz announcing our dinner is unhealthy, contaminated, ruining the environment, inhumane, or causing human rights violations. How can any sane person navigate all the food noise? Why can’t there just be…
I wanted to share this free online “Introduction to Permaculture” course offered by NC State University. It’s a high-quality, 40 hour college course taught by Professor Will Hooker that really explains the fundamentals. Click here to watch the lectures. The first lecture mostly covers orientation for the live classroom students (introducing themselves, field trip carpooling, etc.). If you want to…
The Greenville Urban Farm Tour is over for this year and we hope our visitors went home inspired to make their own green paradise. During the UFT, we set up an “ask the site owner” table in our garden and one of the most frequent questions was, “do you consult and when are you going to offer classes?” How about…
It’s time for the Greenville Urban Farm Tour again! When? This coming Saturday, May 12th, from 9am – 5pm. Tickets are $8 per adult (children under 12 free) and there is a group rate available on the UFT website. This year there are 31 sites to visit, 16 free workshops at the UFT’s headquarters (Crescent Studios), and bicycle tours offered…
For over ten years I have grown my own garden transplants by carrying the seed trays out into the sun on warm days and bringing them in every evening. In the last 3 years, I was juggling over 20 trays in and out of the house. This method uses natural light to produce strong, non-leggy transplants — but if you’re…
Urban Farm Tours (a collection of sites featuring intensive city gardening) are becoming more common these days. You may have a great one near you (if so, post the link in the comments!) Those of you in the upstate South Carolina area can check out the brand new Urban Farm Tour hosted by GOFO (Greenville Organic Foods Organization). If you’ve…
In all likelihood there are wonderful, inexpensive plant sales happening near you this spring. Good places to check are your Native Plant Society, Master Gardeners Association, local botanical garden, farmers market, nurseries, and local farms. If you live in the Greenville, SC area, here are some of the great places you can get plants this season (apologies that the Upstate…
So… did anyone see my giant spring todo list? I’m not going to be writing as often for a bit, but when I do it will include lots of garden transformation photos (and probably some mushrooms since morel season is coming up). Many thanks to those of you who were on top of your entries for How to Find Great…
Here is issue #3 of How to Find Great Plants (apologies for the one-day delay, my weekend was spent moving boxes and furniture). I finally managed to choose 8 of the 36 entries to feature this month… so difficult! Be sure to read them all or you’ll miss some delightful plants! FOOD: Little Green Bees: Pumpkin on a Stick Don’t…
I briefly considered writing a “How to Get Started with Chickens” post, but I don’t like writing about something until I’ve actually done it. Once my chickens arrive this May I’ll talk about my personal experiences with it — until then I thought I’d write about some chicken products I’ve encountered while begging for advice from people who have personal…
Fer is hosting a garden goals blog carnival at My Little Garden in Japan and oh my gosh, do I ever have a lot to do this year! I’ve included info about the Organic Growers School in March since it always heralds my spring planning. For the last three seasons I’ve jumped from garden to garden, so I haven’t been…
It’s another Real Things Thursday! As my goal with these installments is to think about the way we consume rather than to encourage consumerism, I decided that today I’d focus on getting things for free. We all love freebies, but it is also a great way to minimize our impact on the environment! Recycling has a long way to go…
I’m not a big fan of shopping or owning huge quantities of stuff. When I do put on my modern hunter/gatherer hat, I think of my purchase as a vote. Do I spend my voting dollar on artisan-made or an overseas sweatshop? Am I going to vote for something that will last generations or for built-in-obsolesce? Will I purchase biodegradable…