This spring, while acquiring seeds for the container garden, I was quickly reminded just how expensive this undertaking was going to be. Along with nearly everything else, it seems like seeds are either more expensive or the size of the packets are shrinking. I settled for ‘mix’ packets for things like lettuces, hot and sweet peppers, and a few other packets of middle of the road…
The Chippewa blueberry is setting buds nicely. The two transplants are still showing no signs of life. This concerns me, as I will need at least one of these plants to pollinate the Chippewa. If the Chippewa was a two-year-old start I wouldn’t be too concerned, because I would not let it set fruit this year, but since…
It’s hard to believe it’s been nearly seventeen months since I wrote the first entry in SPISBLOG’s Journal. That first post was about a surplus of firewood we got as a result of some mature trees being removed and what I did to get that wood ready to season. This afternoon’s work was the closing chapter on that firewood post. The remainder…
We have recently expanded our container garden to include some strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. Last year I planted a couple of two-year-old blueberry plants, only to have them flounder through the summer and get nearly destroyed by winter-starved bunnies. These both appear to have made it through the winter alive. I’ve transplanted them into containers and…
During the last few days the weather here in NE Indiana has begun to turn more “springlike”. Sunny days with highs in the low forties and cold frosty nights. The buds on the trees appear to be plumping right before my eyes and the boxwoods out front are showing signs of their spring growth. As I sit here writing at…
It’s amazing how wonderful a sunny evening and 42-degrees F feels after a long, cold, snowy winter. As simple a task as cutting down some ornamental grasses was, it felt so incredibly relaxing and refreshing. With my ever-expanding awareness of Permaculture and landscape design, I now view our landscape in a totally new light. I’ve become more aware of the beautiful, living, breathing, evolving ecological canvas…
Having spent a lot of time in the great out-of doors, I was aware of the synergy that the web of life provides, but I never gave much thought about the inter-relations within the home landscape. Jack Spirko, and his TSP podcast, helped enlighten me to principles of Permaculture. I’ve been hooked on Permaculture research…
This week the postman delivered the most recent addition to my Survival/ Preparedness/Homesteading library. It’s a 1999 reprint of William S. Wicks’ book “Log Cabins and Cottages- How to Build and Furnish Them”. My copy is a nice little fabric covered hard bound 1999 version. The original was published in 1920. The book covers some basic…