Soil Blocks in Action

Soil Blocks in Action

Barbara Damrosch and Eliot Coleman are spouses, writers, and farmers who have been advocating for sustainable growing practices since the 1970’s. As we’ve investigated small scale farming, I quickly went from not knowing anything about them to referring to them casually by first name. For example, “Shouldn’t we try making soil blocks like Eliot?” Coleman is strong advocate for growing seedlings in soil blocks rather than plastic celled seedling trays. Once the roots begin to run out of room in…

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Seed Starting and Seed Saving

Seed Starting and Seed Saving

Whenever I’ve planted seeds directly into the soil I’ve had a very low success rate. As we started contemplating farming, I worried that lacking this pretty basic skill could be a minor problem! I’ve since learned that most small-scale farms start their seeds in a greenhouse where conditions are friendlier and plants can get a head start when it’s still cold outside. Using hearty transplants (a la Singing Frogs Farms) also means that the plants have a good chance of shading…

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Zucchini, Zucchini, Zucchini

Zucchini, Zucchini, Zucchini

I hate letting food go to waste. And I can’t say no to produce. This is a bad combination during zucchini season, especially when you are volunteering on a farm. A few weeks ago our single zucchini plant was cranking out fruit and we were gifted about 20 lbs of zucchini from 21 Acres on a volunteer day. I am happy to report that we used it all! Here’s what I’ve been cooking. Zucchini Bread I adapted this recipe from…

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