I used to think cover crops were for commercial farmers with tractor attachments to use for tilling. Now, I know they are a basic gardening tool that any gardener can use to improve and protect soil while reducing weeds. What are Cover Crops? Cover crops are kind of like an exciting adventure vacation for your soil life. Because they germinate and grow quickly, a round … Continue reading Cover Crops: An Invigorating Vacation for Your Soil!
Want to live better while improving our shared environment? It’s easier than you think. Issue Two of Epicurean Living includes ideas on how to garden sustainably and regeneratively. There are tips on cooking and snacking to save time, money, and benefit your overall well-being as well as our environment. Plus, it’s full of ways to live more creatively and ecologically right now. You can read … Continue reading Live More Sustainably
Hi all, I know there are still plenty of challenges from the pandemic, extreme weather, and just the ordinary stuff that comes with being human and caring deeply about our world and loved ones. But I hope you are finding moments of grace and pleasure, getting time to homestead, enjoying being with friends and family, and savoring the beauty of the natural world whenever you … Continue reading Epicurean Living (Free eBook!)
Last week, the IPCC released its latest report on climate change. In the most basic terms, it says we need to get to net negative carbon emissions ASAP and prepare for things to keep getting worse over the next few decades. As I skimmed the report, a burning desire to go out to the garden sidetracked me. I planted some heirloom Calima French filet bush … Continue reading Carbon Gardening
Hey Everyone! I’m sorry… I disappeared again! It’s been a fabulously full summer. So many amazing, unbelievable things happening! I’ll be getting back to regular posts soon. But in the meantime, I wanted to give you some updates on why I’ve been missing in action so long. Superfood Garden Summit! I was invited to be a speaker at the SUPERFOOD GARDEN SUMMIT, streaming live for … Continue reading Weed-Free Gardening, Superfood Gardening Summit, and More Posts Soon!
Can one woman really garden on about two acres using hand tools in just a couple hours per week? Absolutely! That’s what I do. I occasionally get some help from Matt for special projects. But the routine care is my domain. My secret weapon in being able to handle all this land is permaculture. And I don’t mean the lightweight “one trick wonders” that pose … Continue reading Landscape Gardening: Real Permaculture
Gardening is addictive. First you start with a few small containers. Then you clear a small plot in your lawn and grow a bit more. Then, you expand the plot. You expand again. And again. Before you know it, you’ve outgrown your suburban lot and moved to severely sloped, horribly eroded, but affordable acreage in rural North Carolina. There, you begin using permaculture practices to … Continue reading How Does Your Garden Grow?
Matt and I recently watched an aptly-titled documentary called Can’t Get You Out of My Head. It focuses on how our human fears, anxieties, and propensities to live by impulse rather than reason have shaped so much of our recent history. One aspect of this particular historical view that stuck with me is that the documentarian, Adam Curtis, claims thought leaders — fearful about our … Continue reading Modern Homestead Living: A New Future Not a Romanticized Past
Spring is nearly here. That means its time to get gardening in earnest! I have written tons of posts and made lots videos about gardening over the years. So, below, I’m going to detail what I’ve got going on in my garden right now and what’s coming up in the near future. Then, I’ll also intersperse links to some of my related posts. That way … Continue reading Vegetable and Spice Garden Time!
Who needs sleep when you’ve got baby goats to distract you from your slumberless stupor? (Warning – This post has a sad story. But it also contains some hopefulness and Epicurean advice on goat keeping.) Normally, I don’t lose sleep over goats. In fact, during Covid-19, they’ve provided much needed distraction and entertainment given our limited outside human contact. Also, early on in the pandemic … Continue reading Life with Goats
Sorry for disappearing for awhile. To be honest, after the events at the Capitol on January 6, I got lost trying to make sense of what happened and felt unable to write about homesteading again until I did. This event struck a very personal chord for me because I know that terrain well. In college, I interned for Congressman George Brown Jr. in the Cannon … Continue reading Unsettling Times
Hi all! Today was the big day! Copies of Grow Your Own Spices started showing up at homes everywhere. Some dear friends of mine spontaneously started sending me photos of their copies as they arrived. It was amazing because it felt like we were together for a moment. But as more photos showed up on Facebook, Instagram, in texts, in emails… I started to think … Continue reading Grow Your Own Spices Arrives – at Homes Everywhere!
Each morning I walk our dogs through the semi-wild parts of our wooded property. There I encounter various trees, shrubs, ground cover, mosses, lichens, and a seemingly infinite variety of fungi. What beautiful complexity exists in this woodland ecosystem. Yet, as a gardener, I can’t help but notice the diseased limbs on otherwise healthy trees. My attention is drawn to the anthracnose stricken leaves on … Continue reading Simplestead Guide to Pruning Plants
Lately, I’ve had several people tell me that they don’t think they can grow spices where they live. I happen to know that’s simply not true. You can grow many spices anywhere if you put in a little effort to create ideal growing conditions. That’s why spices like coriander have literally been grown on all 7 continents, including Antarctica. Here are a few resources I’ve … Continue reading Spice Gardening for Indoor Landscapes, Greenhouses, and Outdoor Gardens
Happy holidays everyone! I know 2020 has been a tough year for so many people. I don’t want to diminish any of the hardships we’ve suffered and shared for so long. Yet for a few moments, I hope that you all get a chance to quiet your fears, quiet your worries about tomorrow, quiet all the thoughts about hardships and longings, and dwell in a … Continue reading The Quiet Christmas
Simplestead with Tasha 