Tag Archives: gardening

Spring is for Working in the Dirt

Posted on by May 9, 2017  
farm kids working in the dirt 004

We’ve been busy planting, planting, planting around here since the weather improved. The crew’s gardening skills have really taken off this year and they’ve been doing a lot of independent work. It’s a new stage for us when they can manage the tools and plants with little or no supervision. We prepped the trellis fence line for beans and peas and set the seed potatoes out to callous. They should be ready to go in with the onions, beans, and peas later this week–as long as the rain hold off … Continue Reading…

Letting Kids Be Involved in Every Step of Gardening

Posted on by April 26, 2017 1
Letting Kids Help with Every Step of Gardening via Walking in High Cotton

Do you have a flower garden or vegetable patch? Do you let the kids help you take care of the plants? Maybe occasionally plant one– after you dig the hole and carefully pull the plant from the store container? Or let them water–after you’ve done the planting? Or maybe you let them help with the planting after you bring everything home from the store? Each separate activity has value in and of itself, but this method lacks the big-picture view that lets children see gardening as a life skill they … Continue Reading…

Using Paper Grocery Bags as Weed Barrier in the Garden

Posted on by April 29, 2017 17
How to use brown paper bags from the grocery story as a frugal weed barrier in the garden. Via Walking in High Cotton

Every year we plant a garden and it does great in April, May, and early June. But come late June and early July things would normally start to slip. Usually, by the time we’d get to mid-July the weeds were out of control and I’d given up on everything but our berries and any pole beans that out-raced the weeds. Mr. Fix-It would till between the rows and big spaces to help me keep up, but by the end of July our garden was a goner. It’s terrible to admit … Continue Reading…

Easy Pallet Garden Fence

Posted on by April 4, 2017 1
Building an easy, one-day garden fence out of pallets and wire. (at www.walkinginhighcotton.net)

Well, we are busy back in the garden again this year. We had great plans the last few years but haven’t brought much of them to fruition. And I’ll admit that a lot of that was my poor attitude about gardening without a fence. I just couldn’t find a good spirit about all that work knowing that I would drive myself crazy trying to police the dogs out of it every minute and that if the sheep got out even one time–even for just 10 minutes!–they could destroy an entire … Continue Reading…

Repair or Rebuild…the Daily Farm Adventures {52}

Posted on by March 9, 2017  
Moving our first batch of chicks into the chicken tractor @ The Lowe Farm www.walkinginhighcotton.net

Well, I suppose I’m back to our daily life again, so I’m back to putting words in this space again. I may usually hate change, but it is occasionally soothing to know that time continues to flow. That the seasons continue to cycle. That change can bring renewal as well as destruction. That dead trees come back to life each spring. That new lambs are born each year. That no matter how far you travel from home, the mosquitoes will be waiting when you get back. There is a fresh … Continue Reading…

For the Love of Brussel Sprouts–It’s Gardening Time Again

Posted on by March 9, 2017  
For the Love of Brussel Sprouts...the Daily Farm Adventures at The Lowe Farm

So, this past beautiful weekend we took some time to put our cool-season garden plants in and weeded up our raised beds. We put red and yellow onions in the raised beds with our strawberries and raspberries–which are both coming back well this year. I talked a little bit last year about companion planting. We’re trying to use the same basic plan as last year with a  little rotation this year. Our raspberries actually look better so far this year than last! All four plants are coming back and two … Continue Reading…

Spring Has Shown Up…the Daily Farm Adventures {45}

Posted on by April 14, 2014  

Well, Spring has finally decided to arrive in our little corner of Virginia! {smile} Everything is popping up and turning green. The grass has come back! Our poor, neglected garden is coming alive again–and the chances of survival are much higher since we’ve moved the sheep onto the father pastures! We’ll be cleaning up for the sheep shearer this weekend and then setting up the brooder house and refreshing the chicken tractor for new spring chicks coming next week! Most of the new chicks will be meat chickens but we’ll … Continue Reading…

Spring Gardens and Growing Things

Posted on by July 21, 2015 1

It’s spring! It’s spring! {smile} Everything is green, and growing, and even 57 degrees feels warm with the sun shining! I’ve been having a heck of a time keeping the kids in coats and hats! Yes, I’m a little militant about hats or hoods. But I’m also not a fan of ear-aches and migraines–and besides, the Cowboy’s “highlighter” hat is the only way I can keep track of him sometimes! Their Carhartt gear just blends right in! We’ve been letting the kids hit the woods right at the edge of … Continue Reading…

Simple Tips for Sucess in the Family Garden

Posted on by April 4, 2017 2
Simple DOs and DON'Ts to have a fun, successful season in the family garden. Learning, loving, enjoying fresh air and family time together. via Walking in High Cotton

If you’re a regular reader, you know that we do a big family garden every year. And it’s not always been my favorite part of the homestead. Probably because it’s a lot more work than folks like to make it sound and we’re already really, really busy! Don’t get me wrong–it’s totally worth it! (Hello, we do it every year!) But it definitely takes time and sweat. Mr. Fix-It and the crew have just kept plugging away year after year and each year it gets better and better and this … Continue Reading…

10 Homestead Updates

Posted on by March 29, 2013 1

Even though I came from a late meeting on Thursday to find the Cowboy and Mr. Fix-It curled up in the fetal position with raging fevers (and my Ladybug cleaning the kitchen and making dinner–talk about making me proud!) we have managed to have quite a productive few days around here. Here’s some updates (which I may or may not expand on later this week!) 1. We’re all on the mend again.  Yeah!! I took the Cowboy to the doctor on Friday and apparently we’ve had Influenza B going through … Continue Reading…

Garden Planning

Posted on by February 12, 2013 2

Ok, it’s rainy and ugly and cold here and all I can think about is Spring, Spring, Spring. Spring means lambs, and spring means flowers, and spring means the garden–which I’m not always as enthusiastic about as I should be. I think everyone should garden, at least a little bit, but not because it’s fun and easy and quick like most of the things I suggest around here. Just because it’s worth it. Our vegetable garden is a. lot. of. work. Especially since neither of us is home full-time. It … Continue Reading…

Outdoor Fun {Family Connections Summer 2012}

Posted on by July 10, 2012 6

Once again I’m joining Aurie, Lisa, Amy, and Connie to share ideas for fun, family activities for the summer. We hope you’ll stop by every Wednesday to share in our theme or link up your own posts about great summertime fun for the whole family! This week we’re all sharing ideas for Outdoor Fun. Hot, sweaty, fogging up the lens of my camera, outdoor summer fun. {smile} As I mentioned before, it’s been really hot around here. I thought it was so hot that it was evaporating the water from … Continue Reading…

Family Time and Homesteading

Posted on by March 23, 2013 5

The longer we parent, the more convinced I am that chore-time is essential to our family dynamic and each of our personal growth–or it can be. If you choose to be intentional about it. If you choose what is best instead of what is good. Homesteading just seems to bring God right into our…well…yard. We all do chores here at The Lowe Farm. All. Day. Long. Especially in the spring and fall. And laundry and dishes have never been my favorite part of the day! But I’m learning to love … Continue Reading…

Homestead Updates: Lettuce and Lambs

Posted on by April 6, 2012 2

It’s turned rainy and chilly again, but Spring is definitely here. We’ve got lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, onions, and potatoes in the ground. We usually start with small plants for the early planting, while starting seeds inside for later planting. We find that the little plants are hardier for early season starts than our own seedlings. I haven’t gotten the knack of “hardening off” yet. We also find that having those good-sized plants out there to start with get everyone more excited about getting out and helping and make it easier … Continue Reading…

Charlotte’s Web

Posted on by September 26, 2011 2

This post is not about a children’s book. The other day the crew was sitting at the breakfast table before school and Speedracer started hollering about a spider outside. “Ewwww. There’s a spiDer on the porch!” (He’s been reminded about the “d” so much it’s a whole new syllable for him now.) Now, spiders are allowed on the porch. Mostly. High up in the corners. I mean, it’s the country. I try to be fair. But then I looked out the window. It was one of those big black and … Continue Reading…