seasons

slide

How To Put Your Garden to Bed – Winter Is Coming!

How to Put Your Garden to Bed As winter approaches, it is time to prepare the garden for dormancy.  This is true in areas that experience hard frosts or freezes.  Here is how to put your garden to bed. First, prune back. Cut back perennial plants.  Wait until after the […]

planting calendar

Planting Calendar and Warm & Cool Season Vegetables

Planting calendars are essential to successful gardening. A planting calendar is a tool that tells a farmer or gardener the specific dates or window of time that is best for planting various crops. They are one of the most valuable tools in a grower’s toolbox.  Here is why. Has this […]

Raising dairy goats

Raising Dairy Goats at Wish We Had Acres Farm

How We Got Started Raising Dairy Goats & Tips for Cold Weather Farming

Raising dairy goats in the city may sound like a strange idea.  But nothing beats fresh, sweet milk and cheese that can only come from backyard goats.  If you want to get a goat, be sure to get plenty of advice from urban dairy farmers beforehand so that you understand how to keep goats and how to get the most out of them. We had the good fortune to meet our mentor goat farmers by happy accident.  Here is how we got started raising dairy goats and some tips for keeping goats warm in winter.

Learn to farm at MCC

Learn to Farm at the Center for Urban Agriculture

Interview with Peter Condon of MCC Center for Urban Agriculture Where Students Learn to Farm Using Sustainable Agriculture Methods Kari:  I’m here with Peter Condon and Christee Rothbard at the Mesa Community College Center for Urban Agriculture, where students can learn to farm successfully and profitably.  We are here to […]

School Gardens & Farm Education at Youth Farm

School Gardens Teach Teens and Young Adults to Farm Interview with Molly, co-manager of The Youth Farm school gardens and teaching farm (Brooklyn, NY) On a cool April day, one month prior to the peak growing season, Lewis and I visited one NYC’s most visionary urban farms, The Youth Farm […]

Backyard Permaculture Trelisses

Backyard Permaculture at Rodman Farm

Backyard Permacuture with Urban Farmer Heather Rodman The internet is a wonderful tool for connecting with like-minded folks.  I recently asked a question online about Tattler canning lids, and received a wonderful reply from Heather Rodman.  Her response piqued my interest in her farm.  I discovered that Heather is a […]

start a farm business

Start a Farm Business: Notes from Stone Hoe Gardens

Interview with Tina and Bruce Leadbetter of Stone Hoe Gardens on the history of the farm, how they manage their dairy goats, how to start a farm business, and how farm businesses evolve.   (Kari) I’m here with Tina and Bruce of Stone Hoe Gardens in Phoenix, AZ to talk […]

Using Water for Frost Protection

It may seem counter-intuitive, but one strategy that commercial growers use to protect plants from cold temperatures is to water the soil prior to a frost.   Water is an excellent insulator. Plant cells that are plump with water are more resistant to frost damage.  Moist soil retains heat better than […]

Garden Fabrics

I have been known to use old bed sheets for frost and shade protection in my garden.  But sheets have some disadvantages:  they block too much light, can be unsightly, can block the rain, and must be removed during the daytime in the winter.  I have also used plastic, which […]

How to Grow Tomatoes Anywhere, Even in Phoenix

Tomatoes Are Easy, Once You Know a Few Tomato Growing Hacks I have heard it over and over again; newcomers to the Phoenix valley lamenting the tasteless tomatoes in our local grocery stores, and the loss of red, juicy wonders they knew back home. Here in Phoenix, the only way […]