When it gets hot Last week, our house hit 97°F. Not far from here, other parts of Northern Virginia were past 100°F. We had planned a family hike and despite weather warnings decided to drive to the Shenandoah mountains very early in the morning anyway, with lots of water packed. We did a loop trail about 4 miles and were delighted to find that just when we were at our sweatiest, a freshwater pool appeared, beckoning us to go for a mid-hike swim! This gave us just the refreshment we needed to...
10 days ago • 1 min read
Happy Early Summer, Reader!Something good happened this week. Our Spicy Mix and Sweet Mix microgreens sold out on the shelves at the Lovettsville Cooperative Grocery. Permaculture Gardens, right there next to baby spring mix. It still makes me smile every time I see it. Photo by Dr Anne Stewart. Shout out to Tobin James of Lovettsville Coop! And then Chef Alison from Between the Hills Kitchen & Catering took our spent microgreens trays and planted them in the garden bed right outside her...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Hey there, garden friend.We had about a hundred visitors walk through Bethany Farm for the Loudoun Spring Farm Tour two weekends ago, and even a few who drove all the way from Pennsylvania! If you were among our guests, Reader, it was so good to have met you in-person. And we hope you walked away raring to grow something good for you and/or your family. The tomatoes are not quite in the ground. (We're still recovering from farm tour) The eggplants are settling while flea beetles threaten to...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Do you like tomatoes, Reader? Tomatoes from Alix's VA Garden a few years back Or peppers, potatoes or eggplants?Well, these plants all happen to be part of the Solanacea plant family.And where we live in Virginia, these family members are growing in ground for us. But how do we ensure we actually get a successful harvest of tomatoes, peppers, potatoes or eggplants? Join us tonight at 4:30 PT / 5:30 MT / 6:30 CT / 7:30 ET. Dave and I are hosting a live webinar focusing on the Solanaceae...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, There's a log cabin on the back of our property that brings me so much joy. Now, the truth is, it has seen better days. It's rickety. There are gaps in the eaves. The red cedar is showing its age and the chinking is falling apart. We don't have the budget to do what it needs right now. But this week, I walked in with a broom, a vision, and printed art by Scottish artist Anne Thubron, and I thought: what if I just start here? Anne, by the way, illustrated much of the botanical art...
2 months ago • 2 min read
Dear Reader,Just wanted to celebrate Wilma from Washington, a member of our GIY Community. Just look at her beautiful lettuce bed! Wilma's transplanted lettuces growing beautifully with rosemary! Meanwhile, at Bethany Farm, every day has been planting day for our family. As soon as the kids get off school, we do a nature walk/run at a nearby trail. My PlantNet app ID-ed this as "Dames rocket" a beautiful purple brassica that peppers the trail we run. And then head home where I unplug the wifi...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader, Just a quick heads-up — we're going live tonight at 7:30 PM ET for Starting Your Summer Beds, and I wanted to make sure you saw this because we are so excited to show you how to plan your summer beds while also showing off our SAGE App's Crop Planner and Guild Builder! Here are a few sneak peak screenshots into how it (and this webinar) can help you select the plants that go into your summer beds) If you've been looking at your garden and thinking "I missed the window," you...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hey, Reader!I finally planted the remaining potatoes this week! Rows of them, in what we in permaculture call Zone 1, the area closest to your home, the kitchen garden. And every time we put something in the ground in April, I think about the invisible work happening beneath the surface, the thing no one talks about at the garden center, the thing that determines whether your plants thrive or just survive. The life in the soil. Unbeknownst to me for many years, the life in the soil actually...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Hey Reader, This time of year, Bethany Farm is loud. A truck is dropping off mulch for our muddy paths. Dave is hauling fencing materials up the steep slope. The boys are catching the baby chickens who don't want to go back into their coop. I'm somewhere in the middle of double-digging a bed I've been trying to finish for two weeks, getting interrupted every twenty minutes by dinner, something wonderful or urgent Not so tidy in April but very much alive! And on May 16th and 17th, we're...
3 months ago • 1 min read