Hello everyone, Some here know that I am in the process of writing a book. It is written mainly for the busy family that wants to grow some of their own food, herbs and flowers, even with a full season of work, parenting, and everyday life. The book will be written as a series of books that follow a five-year path from bare land to a healthier, more productive home place. It begins with small first-year wins that grow into building a stronger soil with healthier harvests. A healthier soil produces not only more food, herbs and flowers, it also increases secondary metabolites promoting greater health. Later as the land matures, we then look to berries and fruit. At the center of it is one simple idea, when life increases in the soil, life increases above the soil. Someone recently asked if the book is for a busy family or a serious new homesteader. The answer is both. It is written with a busy family in mind although the steps are really the same whether the setting is a quarter-acre yard or a five-acre spread. The main difference is scale, time, and money. Even with an abundance of time and money, nature still works at its own pace. We cannot rush it, but we can learn to walk alongside it. As we walk with nature, observing her rhythms and nuturing life in the soil, our work becomes simpler as natural synergies begin to form. Even when we are not intentionally growing a garden, living soil creates abundance above ground, nourishing plants, drawing pollinators, and giving wildlife more food, shelter, and balance. What are your thoughts?

One of the reasons I didn't use fresh manure is we don't know what's in it and comparing is the only way to ensure that we can reduce pathogens. By the way ..... just an explained..... I've never used raccoon poop. oh yea totally forgot..... @Dr. Maria Nagy was the one who showed me this.

When good things happen in life, we have to enjoy them. 🎉 And every now and then bad things happen and we have to work around those things. Hot to play: Post a photo of either a plant, pest, disease, microbe, etc - If the last post was a plant then post a bad thing that will kill it. 🪳 - If the last post was a pest, disease or bad thing, post a plant. 🪴 Winner: Last person to kill a plant ☠️ Prize: Bragging rights as the best plant killer! 😆🥀💀😆 Ends: Sunday 22 Feb @ 8pm PST

1. Increasing soil organic content from 0.5% to 3% will double the water retained by soil. (FAO, 2019) 2. We are losing an acre of soil every second! (Scientific American, 2014) 3. Many widely-used antibiotics originated from soil microbes, including penicillin - the first antibiotic. (FAO, 2017) 4. Only 1% of soil microorganism species have been identified. (European Union, 2010) 5. Fruits, vegetables, and grains like wheat have half the micronutrients they used to. If it's not in the soil, it's not in our food. (TIME, 2012) 6. A teaspoon of healthy soil contains 10,000-50,000 microbe species. (Timling, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2016) 7. A study on nutrients in food concluded that we would have to eat 8 oranges to get the same amount of Vitamin A as our grandparents did with one orange, because soil depletion has caused massive drops in nutrient levels in food. (Scientific American, 2011) 8. All of the world's topsoil could be gone within 60 years, according to UN FAO. (Scientific American, 2014) How many of these did you know? Post your answer 👇

For all the outdoor gardeners in here. What do you grow the most of and why?