Bringing in HelpGMonday, April 4th, 2016 Building your own home is an amazing adventure, but one that should probably end at some point. Carly, Vermont Natural Homes Since Tyler and I held our Life Summit, I've been busy getting quotes from different companies to tackle vari...
Impromptu Garden Update: AugustGWednesday, August 13th, 2014 The garden is doing amazingly, despite (or perhaps because of?) my lack of care: I haven't weeded at all, and I only watered once at the very beginning when nothing had sprouted yet and we'd had a few days without rain. Now, everything is do...
Impromptu Garden Update: JulyGFriday, July 11th, 2014 Here's the update after a month after planting our first impromptu garden: the peas are doing great. One cucumber plant is growing like crazy. The salad mix and arugula were chowed on by the slugs. Mache never came up. Garlic chives are looking and...
No-Risk GardenGTuesday, June 10th, 2014 Last fall, Tyler and I surrounded our camper with hay bales from our friend Patty's farm in order to prevent cold winter winds from rushing underneath our camper. Months later, the bales had served their purpose and were decomposing into wet, rotty...
On Starting a Homestead from Scratch: Lessons from our First Year, Part OneGSunday, February 16th, 2014 Over the course of the past year, we've chatted with many folks who are hoping to start a homestead. Like us, they've been dreaming of going "back to the land," of living a simple, self-sufficient life in the country. Quite often, they've sought o...
Buying Herbs at Shaftbury's Clear Brook FarmGMonday, May 27th, 2013 I've been aching to pursue the gardening aspect of our new homesteading life, but alas, it's far too early in the game for that sort of nesting. With large machinery passing through our future garden space at least once a week, and several vehicles...
Dreaming of Our New LifeGWednesday, July 27th, 2011 For as long as I can remember, I've wanted to lead a self-sufficient life. As a child, I was inspired by children's book author and illustrator Tasha Tudor. I wanted to follow in her footsteps, living off the land, growing lush gardens and caring...
Our First Garden: Part TwoGSunday, July 3rd, 2011 After countless hours of pulling tendril after tendril of thick, white, quack grass roots from the ground, it was finally time to plant. Beginning a garden a full week after the very latest recommended planting date probably wasn't the greatest id...
Our First Garden: Part OneGSunday, July 3rd, 2011 When we arrived in Minnesota last month, we spent most of our free time in my mother's giant garden. She wasn't going to plant much of anything this year, until Tara and I offered to help. Ever since, we've been tagging along, following her lead,...
Gardening on the Road?GTuesday, December 16th, 2008 Right before I moved to Minnesota, I started growing potted plants and was pretty fiercely bitten by the gardening bug. (just a little advice for anyone thinking of moving in the near future: I suggest cultivating your green thumb after you are se...