One of the practices that has been central to my work in my annual (vegetable) garden is the cover crop. In nature, we very rarely see bare soil–the ground is always green and lush most times of the year (and …
Gardening & Homesteading
Garden Update & Permablitz: Many Hands Make Light Work
I wanted to post another update from my garden and update from our Permaculture Meetup, which blogged about some time ago (Here’s our meetup group site: Oakland County Permaculture Meetup). Recently, I hosted what we call a “permablitz” or a …
Planting Garlic: How to Guide
Tis the season to plant garlic (at least here in South East Michigan)! This post will talk about some tips and techniques for planting garlic in your organic garden. I planted garlic for the first time a year ago, and …
As Within, So Without: Blight and the Magical Garden
There is an old magical adage, first written by Hermes Trismegistus, that goes “As above, so below, as within, so without, as the universe, so the soul…” I’ve spent a long time in trying to understand this statement, see it …
Finding the Balance in Providing One’s Own Sustenance: The Time-Intensive Example of Canned Corn
I’ve not been blogging as much as I did a few months ago for a simple reason–the harvest is upon us. Starting with the black raspberries in June to seeking out wild mushrooms the start of apple and autumn olive …
Embracing the Sacred and Understanding the Druidic Garden: Growing and Preserving Your Own Food
When I was a child, I used to read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. In her books, Laura spends a lot of time talking about food preservation–slaughtering the pig, making maple sugar, making “head cheese”, sowing crops, cutting hay for …
Garden Trellising – Bedframes, Sticks, and other Repurposed Items!
This year in my garden, I focused on growing “up” rather than “out” and spent a lot of time finding and using trellises. Last winter, I purchased and read a book called “Vertical Gardening” by Derek Fell; after reading it, …
Wild Food Profile: Black Raspberries + Fruit Leather Recipe
Black raspberries (Rubus occidentalis) are one of my very favorite foods. This year we have a bumper crop–everywhere I go, the black raspberries seem to be growing! I have been harvesting at several spots, including in my own yard. Black …
The Garden Resistance Movement – Replacing Front Yards with Gardens and Food Forests
Note: I have been composing this blog post for quite some time. This past week, I received a letter from my township about the “state of my lawn” and now find myself in a similar position to those I was …
Garden/Homestead Updates – June 2013
I wanted to spend a bit of time on my garden updates–its been a while since I showed progress. So here’s what’s happening at the Druid’s Garden (zone 6a, South-East Michigan, USA). Photos were taken about 4 days ago. Chickens …
A Guide to Composting with Tumblers, Sheet Mulching, Worms, Chickens, and Piles
Composting is a very easy way to integrate natural processes and nutrients into your garden, flower beds, and life. While various statistics exist, most commonly, I’ve seen statistics that suggest that up to 50% of what we throw away in …
From Consumptive Spaces to Productive Spaces: The Lawn as a Site of Change and Growth
In America and many other industrialized nations, one feature dominates the landscape, especially in the suburban areas of the great cities–the green, pristine, velvety lawn. The lawn is so ubiquitous in American culture that a huge industry of chemicals, tools, …
Climate Change and Growing Food: Creating Resilient Polyculture Crops for Spring Weather
In Michigan, last spring (2012) was one of the warmest on record. By early April, I had beautiful spinach and lettuce crops; the crops were bolting by mid-May. The warm weather took its serious toll on our fruit crops—most berry …
Garden as Sacred Sanctuary
The garden is a sacred sanctuary. The calming nature of the plants; the patterns of light, water, and growth; and the tranquility the garden provides are unmatched. This world we live in is so busy, so full of concrete and …
Building Community – The Oakland County Permaculture Meetup and How to Form a Permaculture Group
I think community and community building should be a critically important part of any sustainability efforts. When I first became interested in sustainability and permaculture, I checked a bunch of books out of the library and set to reading and …
Mushroom Cultivation – Inoculating Mushroom Logs – Instructions with Photos
I was excited to attend another workshop at Strawbale Studio, this one on Mushroom Cultivation lead by my good friend Paul. I’ve blogged about starting mushroom beds before–this post will cover mushroom log inoculation, which is one of the things …
The Process of Tapping Trees and Making Maple Syrup – A Blessing from the Maple Trees
This time of year, something magical happens to the maple trees. When the temperatures drop below freezing at night and then goes above freezing during the day, the maple sap runs. In South-East Michigan, this usually occurs in late February …
Wassail – An Ancient Rite of Orchard Blessing
Last weekend, I was honored to be invited to a friend’s orchard for an old-fashioned Wassail ceremony (you can read more about my friend’s orcharding and sustainability work on his blog, The Fruit Nut). Wassail (or Old English waes hael, …
January Garden Updates
I really love January. The bitter cold, the winds, the snow–there’s something so magical about being out in a snowstorm. Where most people lament for the sun and hot summer months, I welcome all of the cold, the wind, the …
Growing Amaranth for Food and Beauty
Amaranth is a wonderful plant to grow for a variety of purposes. First of all, many varieties of amaranth are absolutely beautiful. I grew Hopi Red Dye Amaranth this year, and as you can see from the photos, its stunning.The …
Reducing Your Impact on the Planet: Ten Tips to Get Started
As we quickly approach the most consumptive season of the year, I wanted to post about ways that you can reduce your overall impact on the planet. I think its critically important that we, as druids and other earth-centered spiritual …