Katie's Journal

The wordpress iPhone app is a pain to post more than one photo from. I’d like to write some text, insert a photo, write more text, insert another photo, etc. Unless I’ve missed something my only option is to put all the photos at the end, upload the post, update the app, then go back […]

This year I found out about the concept of a garden CSA. What is that? Community Supported Agriculture. It’s the idea that people buy a share of the garden, paid in advance, and then each week they get a share of what’s ready. This is instead of a produce stand, where people pick and choose, […]

I want to send out a good endorsement of the Swampy Hollow Ground Hog Cultivator. Ern had been wanting a new tiller – his is 20 years old. He saw an ad in a dairy magazine for the Ground Hog. He called about it, but at $1100 we just couldn’t justify it. And then last […]

This method of tying up tomatoes is based on a method Ern’s family learned from WVU. It’s been modified slightly based on practical experience and has worked great for Ern’s family for years. They used to raise around 800 tomatoes each year to sell at their produce stand so you know this method is proven […]

It’s been several weeks ago now, but it finally dried up enough to get the lower garden plowed. Ern hooked up his Ford two bottom plows to my little tractor and got started. He says they fit the tractor nicely and do a good job with it. The tractor needs new tires though. The ones […]

Our sweet corn raising has been a hit or miss experience. As a second generation Ohioan who grew up on entire meals of sweet corn when in season I know what good corn is and will not settle for less. Having married a farmer with third generation produce experience you’d think outstanding sweet corn would […]

For years Ern’s family raised a big garden and sold produce at the courthouse square to make extra money. There came a point when Ern was no longer a part of that and he’s missed it. He concocted the idea of using the wagon he built me to haul produce down to the road and […]

The other day Ern asked me to research tomato blight. Our tomatoes have been hit with it the last several years. We’ve tried the odd “so and so said this works” things but never tried looking for the latest research to see what might actually work. What I found makes me hopeful we might be […]

This year Ern wanted to do a bigger garden. Thankfully Ern’s aunt Suzie has decided Ern is the devil incarnate and no longer comes around. w00t! I rather think Suzie is one of the devil’s best minions but that’s another story. Anyway, we claimed the garden space between our house and the other farm house […]

For the last 3 years our tomatoes have failed. They bear, but they die off quickly and don’t bear like they should. Ever year we move them to a different spot in the garden. We have spaced them, mulched, tried every brand of blight spray… No luck. And again this year, they look awful. UPDATE: […]

I got suckered in. I love strawberries and while wandering around in Walmart stared at the Topsy Turvy Strawberry Planter. I bought one, thought about where I was going to put it, and ended up buying a second one. So I sure hope they work. I was flipping though a magazine and saw a Four […]