Longleaf Breeze

The rain cut deep rivers in our new orchard expansion. But we won't panic. We have a plan. Also: progress on a grow light for starting seed and a visit with Mallory Kelley, our ext...

My brother Dave Gray and his bulldozer were active for only about seven hours this weekend, but that's all it took for him to push out all the stumps, clean out an area below the o...

We love our visit each year to SSAWG. Each year, though, it's less dramatic, more subtle. These are mostly commercial farmers, not into subsistence as we are, so we have to be care...

We love heating with a wood stove, because it’s efficient. comfortable, and economical. But there are disadvantages, and we talk about them too. We finish with our guesses about wh...

We look at the question two ways: (1) how much do we want to have? and (2) how much land do we really need? We do like wandering around in the forest. But what we really need is a ...

Our decision to remove stumps turned out to be more difficult than you might think. All about cutting down all those lovely trees, what to do with the firewood and mulch, and wheth...

We look back on our first full year living on the farm and what has surprised us about our new life. Then we look forward to 2011, the projects, the challenges, and the dreams. We ...

We have contrasting reactions to our decision not to decorate for Christmas this year. All about drip irrigation: cost to install and run, improvement in growing performance, plans...

Fall veg grows slowly, but muscles through a 15 degree freeze. Also: Do we need row cover after all? Cleaning up the microclimate bed, farewell to Master Gardener classes, good to ...

We talk frankly about the advantages and disadvantages of downsizing our residence, about what works in its design and what we would do differently today. We also describe the ways...

Why we’ve changed from our suburban squeamishness, deer hunting as harvest rather than sport, and how we hope to use the meat. Also: “Amanda Oakley” ready to go with her gun, our a...

We say thanks for our blessings: the farm, the deer fence, health, family, friends, technology, and the chance to keep learning. Also: grieving over the end of Master Gardener, dis...