By the second week in October the reality of the arrival of fall is sobering. Especially for small-scale flower farmers. By small scale, I mean backyard flower farmers, like myself and other growers who are getting swept away in the beauty and romance of growing old-fashioned cut flowers like the ones they remember from grandma’s […]

This is always a busy time on our farm. The garden is at peak production and I try to preserve any produce left over at the end of our market days. On days the stand isn’t open, I’m usually found in our processing kitchen making jams, salsas, pickles, and more. There are also plenty of […]

Here at Pleasant Valley Farm, we raise a number of heritage breeds and try to be active in helping to conserve them as well. We like Dexter cattle because they are great homestead cows, produce a nice beef carcass, calve easily and are great mothers, are hardy, easy keepers, give a nice amount of milk […]

Homesteading is the aim for a more self-sufficient lifestyle, and is an admirable pursuit for any individual or household. No matter how large or small your collection of livestock, the moment you begin nurturing your own farm animals, provender becomes a major concern. Unlike a large farm, homesteaders plant to primarily use their crops. The […]

Have you heard of livestock being called a heritage breed? Have you ever wondered what exactly that meant? Is it a buzzword, or something that matters? Most importantly, could they be a good fit for your homestead? Simply put, a heritage breed has been around for a long time and was generally developed in a […]

Although our hatching season has ended, this is the time of year we have money to invest in equipment and livestock for our farm’s future. With that in mind, I thought it would be a great time to follow up on our first post about hatching poultry and take an in-depth look at the kind […]

Our farm is horse powered. We don’t own or desire a tractor. We plow the fields, cultivate crops, make hay and more with the help of a mother-daughter team of Belgian draft mares, Dixie and Dolly, who were both born right here on the farm and trained by my husband. While an unusual choice for […]

Spring on a farm can be stressful as you try to fit everything that needs attention into the time you have available, and it’s often equally stressful to look at your bank account. It sometimes seems that all you have are expenses, with very little income before crops are ready. One way we diversify our […]

Small-Scale Medicinal Herb Farming Success Written By: Susanna Raeven, MOTHER EARTH NEWS Blogger It’s been quite a ride and it is still going at a high speed. From the moment of realization that the world of healing herbs was calling me, to my first herbal class, to running a small-scale herb farm that grows medicinal herbs with […]

How To Get Started Frog Farming Shared From MOTHER EARTH NEWS  Written By: Pat Patera Raising bullfrogs — then — can be fun, profitable, and easy . . . if you’ve got a couple of acres to work with, have just a little bit of common sense, and are willing to let an “old-timer” in the business help […]