Beautiful, peaceful Christmas day here at Planet B. Early morning was equally spectacular.
what’s SPIN farming?
“SPIN” stands for Small Plot INtensive farming. The basic idea is to grow high-value crops — i.e., those in demand by local restaurants, farmers’ markets, CSAs, and groceries — that can be planted and harvested quickly. You plant and harvest a crop to make room for the next high-value crop on the same plot of land. The goal is to turn as many high-value crops as feasible given the length of the local growing season. Listening to a podcast a month or so ago, I heard Curtis Stone, owner of Green City Acres, talking about how he makes a very decent living on less than an acre of land using the
October 15, 2014
honeybee or not to be
I met with a dozen or so local beekeepers tonight, looking to get my feet wet in advance of plunging into beginner beekeeping planned for the coming spring. While I’d read of Colony Collapse Disorder in passing, it was enlightening to hear experienced beekeepers’ stories of recent collapses among their hives. One beekeeper with 40+ years’ experience described visiting his hives recently to discover one had completely vanished. Another beekeeper working with established commercial hives described a similar scene. One day the bees are happily humming along with their bee business, and the next day they vanish from the hive without a trace. No dying or dead bees, no physical sign of disturbance,
October 11, 2014
storable food favorites
Garage pantry and storage area is finally set up at Plant B, so now I have a good spot to put backup food supplies. Especially out here in the rurals, you never know how long you might be snowed in, have access to town cut off because a river decided to overflow its banks, or have to make do at home for some other unplanned reason. Best to be prepared. My list has been tested and refined over the last seven or eight years. What’s on and what’s off the list boils down to answering: Edibility: Will we really eat that? Perishability: How long will it last at room temperature? Versatility: How many ways
September 10, 2014
what’s up at planet b?
Plant B Gardens is just getting started. We moved here at the end of June 2014 with the goal of building a sustainable homestead in beautiful, rural Montana. The vision is to grow productive flower, herb, and vegetable gardens, install a greenhouse and small apiary, plant fruit and nut trees, and create meandering paths through the pines bordered by an occasional sprinkling of wildflowers and berry patches. Bookmark the blog page to keep up to date on progress, challenges, what we’re learning, recipes, and sustainable living topics.