Garden – Heart & Bones Hollow, LLC

Winter Planning

Folks often ask me if I’m enjoying all my time off from farming in the winter. I try not to laugh too hard. While it’s true the pace is a little slower, my days are still full of farm work. Turns out the animals want to be fed all year, not just in spring andContinue reading “Winter Planning”

Orchard Raising

Last winter we had a company come and clear two areas on the farm that were overgrown in invasive trees and brambles. One was a half-acre or so area that had been my grandparents garden/orchard many years ago. Years of neglect due to illness, allowed the area to become overgrown and begin to re-forestContinue reading “Orchard Raising”

A Day at Heart & Bones Hollow

One of the beauties and challenges of farm life is that you never really know what each day will bring. Between escaping critters, rogue chickens in the garden, unexpected weather events or human crises of one sort or another, something is always threatening to derail my best laid plans for the day. Still, most daysContinue reading “A Day at Heart & Bones Hollow”

My Favortie Unusual Veggies

I love tomatoes. They’re what got me into farming. I love the smell of the new starts when they just begin to leaf out in the greenhouse. I love watching the flowers turn to fruits and then swell with growth till that first flush of color announces their impending ripeness. And that first tomato isContinue reading “My Favortie Unusual Veggies”

A Year on the Farm

December means it’s time to reflect on the last year. 2017 has been a great year for our little farm. We more than doubled our growing area from the previous season, attended 2 weekly markets, started selling pork at the market, had our first goat birth on the farm, and dipped our toes into mushroomContinue reading “A Year on the Farm”

One Mower Plow

Not long after we moved to Virginia, my cousin passed down a couple of tools from my great, great grandfather. One was his pitchfork – over a hundred years old with the original handle and his initials carved into it – still as strong and as useful as ever. The second was his plow. FarmingContinue reading “One Mower Plow”

Backbone of the Farm

I’ve been laid up with a back injury this past week, which has reminded me of the importance of a farmer’s back. Or anyone’s back for that matter! Since we try to limit our use of fossil fuels on the farm, much of the work is done by hand. We use our small garden tractorContinue reading “Backbone of the Farm”

Autumn – Letting Go

One of the things I love most about farming is the changing of seasons. Each season has its own delights and challenges. Now that we’ve had two hard freezes, it feels like we have finally moved solidly into autumn and are beginning to stare down the start of winter. This autumn has been particularly beautifulContinue reading “Autumn – Letting Go”

Fall Farm Update

Fall weather seems to have finally arrived. We’ve *almost* had a frost. Growth is slowing down on all the fall veggies and stopped altogether on the summer veggies. We’re slowly putting beds to rest for winter with lots of mulch and compost. The pigs have been enjoying the abundance of acorns that fell this yearContinue reading “Fall Farm Update”