Some vegetable plants come back year after year, without needing to be replanted. No beds to dig, no soil to prepare, just a little weeding and mulching from time to time. Sound too good to be true? Perennial vegetables are pretty amazing. They can be a wonderful addition to any food system, be it […]
Perennial crops are some of our favorites. They’re the starlets of the permaculture world for many reasons. Not the least of which is that once they’re established, they keep giving and giving with (usually) less maintenance than annuals. There are tons of different perennial crops, from giant trees to tiny ground covers. Indeed, each […]
To make maple syrup, collect sap from sugar maple trees (Acer saccharum) and cook it down. This is done by placing small tubes (also known as “taps” or “spiles”) into shallow holes in the tree’s trunk; they direct the sap into buckets or other receptacles. After collecting it, pour the sap into a large pot […]
Have you met chaga (Inonotus obliquus)? It’s a medicinal “mushroom,” although technically the part that we use is not a true mushroom. Chaga has been used for health maintenance and healing for millennia. It’s an amazing medicine and happens to also have a pleasant taste. We love putting into into spiced winter “chai” tea blends. […]
Most of us gardeners peruse seed catalogues in the fall and winter. After checking out what’s new and interesting, plus covering the bases with our trusty standbys, we place our orders. At that point, all there is to do is await the arrival of our box full of neat little packets. Some folks stick […]