I know a lot of gardeners who have started to use winter cover crops to keep their garden protected from erosion, add fertility, and suppress weeds. Despite the popularity of winter cover crops, ...
How to Safely Introduce a New Goat to an Existing Herd
Goats are herd animals by nature. I remember when I first read that statement on some blog, or in a book, many years ago. It seemed like such a quaint, charming idea. I envisioned goats living ...
Tobacco Mosaic Virus (TMV): Symptoms, Control, and Treatment
The Tobacco Mosaic Virus or TMV is the first plant virus ever identified. Although it wasn't labeled as a virus until 1930, it has plagued tobacco farmers since the late 1800s to present. Despite its ...
Beginner’s Guide to Raising Goats for Milk Production
Raising goats for milk production is generally considered the most labor-intensive reason for keeping them. Between daily milking, special nutrition management, and the mandatory breeding necessary to ...
How To Make The Easiest Fermented Pickles Ever
The first year I grew a large vegetable garden, I spent most of my summer days hauling in laundry baskets full of cucumbers. It was thousands of pounds of food that only amounted to only a few hundred ...
Growing Poppies for Decorative Seed Pods, Spice, and Beauty
I've been a culinary herb gardener for most of my adult life. For the past few years, though, I've been expanding beyond herbs and mastering the art of growing spices. To me, spices are a bit ...
Carbon to Nitrogen Compost Calculator: Create the Perfect Compost Pile
Do you want to create a perfect compost pile? Well, according to the USDA, the ideal carbon to nitrogen rate for optimal microbial action in a compost pile is between 20:1 and 40:1, with 24:1 being ...
American Lamancha Goats: Breed Info, Characteristics, Breeding, and Care
If you are thinking about bringing home a friendly, cooperative, long-milking, and adorable dairy goat, American LaMancha Goats might be the perfect breed for you. Many of us think of the Man of ...
Basic Goat Care Management Responsibilities for New Goat Herd Owners
When you start a goat herd -- whether for milk, meat, fiber, or professional weed control – you'll be bringing home a lot more than just livestock. You're bringing home a whole lot of management ...