garden-dwellings

2011-11-28T09:47:00.000-08:00

How many of you have friends, family or know someone who is a snowbird? You know, a North Dakota snowbird- someone who finds another place to reside temporarily when the cold weather sets in. Funny how we call them snowbirds when really they aren't around for the snow at all. And funny how the 'snowbirds' come back to their permanent home when the snow is all gone. Nuff said about folks that move around during different parts of the year...yeah - you know who you are that asked this question!

My sister from Tennessee sent a link to their news page today. It snowed in TN last night and apparently it is causing quite a stir. I saw the photos, it looked to me more like a hard frost than real snow, but OK, guess it you're used to average November temps in the 50's and 60's, it might be a little surprising.

I'm a little worried. I have received only two - count them, TWO seed catalogs so far and its the end of November. Wondering if I've made Santa's naughty list or what I did to deserve that? The one I really need to show up is the Johnny's catalog. I've got lots of seed to order this year and I want to make sure I get my 'stocking' filled before they run out of the varieties I really want. They've always been good to me though. This past year they did not have the Dill seed I wanted so I settled for a different variety. Sorry to say it did not live up to my expectations and it made harvesting and keeping Dill in stock a little difficult. When I called to let them know, not really complain, just give them some feedback - they credited my account for the whole amount. In 2010 however, we had to switch varieties of Zinnia and found Johnny's recommendation for the new variety to be a big hit.

I've already spoken with the Rock Lake greenhouse to get the Rosemary plugs ordered and they're looking into Italian Oregano plugs for us too. OOO, gotta love that Italian Oregano. The Greek is great for some recipes but you can't beat the true 'pizza' flavor of a good Italian.

For now I guess I'll just wait by the mailbox, hoping Olaf the mailman will deliver what is to me the equivalent of the old Sears Holiday WishBook. Hope you all had a great Turkey Day!

2011-10-04T09:41:00.001-07:00

They say history repeats itself, repeats itself, repeats itself...

Churchs Ferry’s most successful industry was the Northewestern Ironworks which was begun in April 1895. At that time Samuel Hann, who had been working near Cando, set up business in the former Nelson blacksmith shop. Hann and his partner David Hough of Minneapolis erected their first building just east of the intersection of Church Ave. and 3^rd. ST. In March 1897 the iron works started advertising its services statewide. For a few years the business and the number of employees continued to expand. By April 1900 the Devils Lake paper wrote a description of the business that stated, “An institution like this would be a great credit to a city much larger than Churchs Ferry”. The business expanded again in 1901 adding 30 feet on the north side of the building and again in 1903 adding a second story. The company’s most significant contribution to the area was the structures for 14 bridges required by Ramsey County in 1904. In 1905 the company produced steel cells for a jail at Starkweather. Late in 1906 Hann decided to move his business to Devils Lake. Faced with losing this important industry, Churchs Ferry residents responded with punitive measures. On Nov. 12^th the village board president swore out a warrant for Hann’s arrest charging him with violating an ordinance requiring the removal of machinery standing in the alley by his building. Brought to trial before the local justice, Hann’s Devils Lake lawyer fought and won. Thus after 10 years Churchs Ferry lost what was its most important industrial enterprise.

Now after 10 years, the City of Churchs Ferry has decided to repeat history with gardendwellers FARM as the object of its attention. I predict the outcome will be somewhat the same, but this time maybe the citizens of Churchs Ferry can ensure that it will never happen again.

'"Democracy must be more than two wolves and a sheep deciding what to have for dinner."

James Bovard

2011-10-03T13:49:00.000-07:00

Finally Fall!
It's always amazing to me how fast the leaves can turn their subtle shades of fall gold and orange. This year it has come all too fast and none too fast at the same time.

I couldn't wait for fall this year. Not because that's when we usually take our yearly vacation - which we will miss this year - or because that's when nature finally slows to a crawl, but because for me October is the time for a new beginning.

Last Wednesday evening was the beginning of Rosh Hashanah. The start of the Jewish High Holy Days and the Jewish New Year. It was a day of prayer and repentence for me and I felt joy after relieving myself of those burdens. I am certain this new year will be one of great joy, new adventures and a few challenges for us. What's a life without some challenges?

My first challenge is that my computer has decided the 'shift' key on the right side of the keyboard no longer should be functional. This makes any capital letter typed with the right hand a challenge, not to mention question marks, exclamation points and dollar signs. Good thing I'm not one to have a lot of dollar signs, question marks or exclamations in my life1 -- oops I meant "!"

Challenge number two: patience. When I was young I had a book about a pussy cat named "Perserverance". Now, when I become impatient that I am not getting things done as quickly as I would like, or there seem to be roadblocks that prevent me from doing all that I need to do, I think of Perserverance and remember to have patience as well. This and a third "P" word - Planning, will hopefully get me through the mountain of tasks that need to be completed before Jack Frost paints us all his monochromatic color scheme for a few months.

Challenge number three: good posture. As many of you are aware, we have been without a septic system since June here in Churchs Ferry. As a result, we have been using the restrooms in the classroom or the outhouses which both are serviced by their own holding tanks. That means late night trips in the dark to use the lou. Early - like 6 AM early - about a week and a half ago my warm shoes met the frosty steps and that was quickly followed by my bum meeting the edge of the steps. While I'm pretty sure I broke my pelivs, I am reluctant to go to the doctor. As I keep telling my well meaning family members, "broken bones are NOT like birthdays - you do not need to commemorate the occassion with a picture". In other words, a doctor would not put my bum in a cast, and since I am allergic to most pain killers the most he would give me would be exactly what I am taking for it now - over the counter medicine. So, here I sit, with really good posture, so as not to lean the back of my pelvis against the chair. Yes, it's swollen - like I need my bum to be any bigger than it is - and yes, it is colorful, kind of like a tie dyed patch on a nude colored pair of pants. Who needs tattoos1 - oops there we go again "?"

But none of these challenges is insurmountable, none a thing so big that a smile from my loving husband (you remember him, tall dark and handsome right?) or my son, or a goofy look from the little black dog can't erase, none so overwhelming that the cry in the sky from the hawk we rescued from the bird netting as he swoops on a field mouse or the sight of the sunrise on these fresh fall mornings won't vanquish. Oh, yeah, and with a little Planning, Patience, and Perserverance - I'll face them all.

2011-06-22T10:02:00.000-07:00

Email, Water and Other Random Thoughts for the Day

I love Email, I really do. However...we have three email addresses and I have one more for work. Thank goodness for them too as without them I wouldn't know that I could be 'friends' with Freida in the Czech Republic. I wouldn't know that I have won the Swiss Lottery or that the Bank of Britain has an inheritance from some long, long, long lost relative is just sitting waiting for me. I wouldn't know that Rolex watches are on sale, that I am trusted friend in G_d of someone in Africa who would like me to enter into business with them. I wouldn't know you could order Viagra online or that there are pretty girls out there who want me to see their pictures.

Thank heaven for Email newsletters as without them I wouldn't know that the herb farm in Kentucky is selling purslane (my favorite weed) for several dollars a pound, that the folk school is building a new star bale building or that the latest BEST recipe will require me to buy spices never heard of by man nor beast in North Dakota. I also wouldn't have gotten the Real Simple Email newsletter that claimed "How To Get Rid Of Virtually Everything".

I have to admit that this particular subject line caught my attention. I mean, ANYTHING??? Really, ANYTHING? Several things came to mind before I even opened the message - like water, as in Devils Lake, the flooding in Minot, Bismarck, Mandan and all across ND. I also thought of other things like weeds, creepy people, mosquito's, and interest on loans. As I dreamed on it, my list of things that I would get rid of, if I could, got longer and longer...wood ticks, most video games, most reality TV, winds over 50 mph and lastly, junk Email.

How disappointing when I actually read the newsletter to find their answer to ridding yourself of Virtually Everything was rubbing alcohol, baby power, vinegar and Vodka. Maybe if I were to try just the last one none of the things I want gone would bother me.

Next thought for today - our house is all about water now. It's quite a quandary when you have too much water on the edge of town so that causes friends and neighbors to move away and leave their homes and farms they have occupied for generations and yet at the same time you are in your home trying save water and use as much. You see, our city sewer was shut off yesterday. That means we're living off our holding tank. What that means if navy showers and tree hugger flushes, washing clothes somewhere else and washing dishes in shallow cold water. Too much water outside, trying not to have water inside. And for those of you who don't know, a navy shower means turning the water on, jumping in before it gets warm, getting wet, shutting the water off, lathering up head to toe, turning the water off and rinsing quickly then jumping out. This method was first developed by the Navy for soldiers on submarines with limited supplies of fresh water. It is said that a normal shower can use up to 60 gallons of water where a Navy shower can use as little as 11. Tree hugger flushes, well, let's just say "If its yellow let it mellow, if its brown, flush it down". Think about it - the typical toilet uses 1.6 gallons of water for each flush. If you're like me (because I work from home) I use the porcelain throne at least 6 to 8 times per day - that's almost 12 gallons just for me. Using the tree hugger method can mean half that use each day. And with the costs for fuel and labor - the less often I need to have the holding tank pumped, the better.

And lastly - random things like why is it the 22nd of June and yet those fuzzy bastard Mayflies are thicker than ever, don't they know May is long gone? Why is it Canada doesn't want any of North Dakota's water via Devils Lake and the Red River but they haven't hesitated to send Minot a crap load of water from Canada! Why did some people not learn about fairness and equality in kindergarten and bible school? Why do the deer have to eat my most prized plants instead of the weeds? And lastly, why do I crave carbs like pasta and bread on cool days like today?

Hope your Email is full of good news, your water stays where it needs to stay and your 'Virtually Anythings" turn into virtually nothings.

2011-06-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

Mint!
Boy do we have the mint! The weather has been great for getting this wonderful herb growing and now its time for it to have a haircut. This week only, we will have the mint on sale. Instead of the usual $9 per pound - it is $6 per pound. It's great for soap makers, wine makers, mead makers, potpourri makers, drying for later use, bakers and maybe just a huge part of Mojito drinkers. Just call the farm if you'd like to take advantage of our great sale!
Here's a couple photos to wet your appetite!

2011-05-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

Gosh, it's been a while since I've written but inspired by sunshine and my two favorite bloggers, I felt I had to take the time to write a little.

It's been a stressful 18 months for us and we're not through it yet, but while the world was busy celebrating the death of one evil person, yesterday tons of other people were out lending a hand to help others. Bless all the souls that turned out yesterday to quickly move a neighboring family of five from their flooding farmstead and the others that reached out to help those that had lost power and were trying to save their greenhouses from cold and wind and the others who helped when high water and no power were threatening homes and gardens. That's what North Dakota is made of. People who care enough to set their own troubles aside and help when a neighbor is in need. All neighbors should be like that.

Today though, the sun is shining, it is a fabulous temperature and it was even warm enough to move the portable greenhouse outside. Filled with rosemary plants that have been dwindling at a slow but steady pace while waiting to go outdoors and tomatoes for our personal use that are as big as trees, the little plants are out gathering their first taste of real sun. Hardly a comparison for the fluorescent lights they've been used to so man are they soaking it up. Hopefully the weather will hold and the rosemary, chives, tomatoes, thyme and marjoram can go in the ground in the high tunnel soon. Barry watered it today and once the ground warms again within a couple days we should be able to plant not only the little transplants but also our first seeding of basil. Always a good day when we get to plant.

We've already had requests from Louisiana and North Carolina for basil and it makes us wish we could produce year round but until an efficient way of heating a North Dakota greenhouse is found, we're not ready to go there.

In two weeks we'll receive our shipment of fruits. I'm very excited to pick up our cherries and Haskaps. Can't wait to be a little more diverse here at gardendwellers. I've also been out walking and noticed that the rhubarb is coming up - even after all of our efforts to dig up as much of it as we could to give to others who hope to start rhubarb growing businesses. Not sure how we'll get that part of the production lot cleared of rhubarb and ready for herbs but I know it will be tough. But then again, that's why we planted the rhubarb in the first place. Guess you have to be careful what you wish for.

Tomorrow night is another episode of Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution on TV. I encourage everyone to watch it. It's amazing to learn more about our food, especially what our children are being fed. North Dakota is lucky. We have many schools that serve fresh food and many schools with working school gardens whose produce ends up in the lunches and snacks our children get served. But not all schools are like this and there is always room for improvement. I urge you to help make a difference for our kids when and where you can. It is LEGAL for all schools in ND to take donations of fresh produce or to purchase fresh produce from local farmers as long as it is not processed (raw form, uncut only). If you need more information regarding this contact FARrMS, the ECH at Dakota College at Bottineau or the ND Dept. of Agriculture.

So for now, I'm off to go out and enjoy the weather. What a difference a day makes...

2010-12-29T12:29:00.000-08:00

A LOT of catching up to do!

When I was checking in on several other blogs that I like to follow I realized that I had not written in our own blog since early November. Now, I'm not making any excuses because winter is when those of us in the garden related industries are supposed to have time to just sit, relax, drink warm beverages, read books and romanticize about next years gardens; right? But honestly, we all know that the holidays are a busy time for everyone and the snow storms have kept us cooped up on the days we weren't busy.

In all reality, 2010 wasn't a stellar year for us so I'm looking forward rather than back at this point. I am determined to make 2011 a better year for all of us. I have attacked my reading pile like a rabbit in a carrot patch and am quickly gnawing away at the books I've been waiting all year to read. I love to read - it's calming and since I read mostly non-fiction - educational as well. I am determined to finish the tatted ornament that I started two years ago. So far, I've taken apart what I did wrong last year and have spent several hours 'studying' how to fix it - progress huh? I did a little baking. I actually successfully made the hubby's favorite holiday candy for the first time in 27 years. You gotta cut me some slack on this one folks as the recipe includes combining vinegar and baking soda and you know what happens when you do that? Usually, with me, what happens is either a large rock or a small explosion, but this year I mastered it and the end result was better than the store bought candy I have been substituting for the aforementioned 27 years. I also made a couple pairs of mittens, both for gifts. This is way shy of the 10 or 12 pairs I usually make but as I said, it hasn't been a stellar year.

The little dog has been able to feed her addiction for mint as candy canes and mint flavored dog breath drops entered the house early in the month. The little one is a mint fanatic and nothing makes her happier. She also got a new coat this winter as after I gave her a haircut she shivered so bad I felt guilty and quickly sewed together a fleece lined felted wool coat to keep her warm. She's much happier now.

I got a gift card to the book store for the holidays so plan on spending even more time reading. Once I finish "The Edible History of Humanity" it will be on to "Anastasia", first in the Ringing Cedars of Russia series of books and hopefully end the winter with "Truck, A Love Story" by Michael Perry. I'll need a laugh or two by then! If you haven't read any of these books, I highly recommend them.

Now, it's back to work, waiting for more snow and training with the little dog for our next Rally Trial in April. Hope all of you have a great New Years and move into 2011 with great hope for a good year.

2010-11-09T06:41:00.000-08:00

Eating Locally

For the last six days our house has been abuzz with hunters. Deer season, statewide holiday in North Dakota, is always family and friend reunion time at our house. Its the time when our usually quiet home fills with the laughter and smiles of friends and relatives who come to hunt and spend time together in North Dakota.

For me, it means rising early to make the sandwiches for the lunch box and be sure that everyone has all they need for a day outdoors. It also means large meals around a big table with hungry hunters. After the group leaves in the pre-dawn hours, I usually crawl back into bed to do a little reading, my quiet time. Currently, I'm reading a book about local food infrastructure and regulation. I won't name the book as I'm not sure I totally agree with or even like the author, but I'm reading it anyway. This morning it got me thinking about what I have been feeding my hungry crew and I was pleased to realize that every meal contained at least a portion of local foods. For me, more than for your enjoyment, I want to list my menu here:

Thursday - steak from a local butcher. Although I have no way of knowing where the beef originated, I feel better knowing I supported a small local business rather than a large chain store.
Friday - Venison french dip sandwiches and baked potatoes with pie for desert. The venison, shot during last years hunt and still hanging around in the freezer needed to be eaten. The French dip was prepared with local garlic and home made Au jus. The potatoes were from our garden and the pie - well it was home made pecan pie with pecans one of the hunters brought with him from down south. Not really local, but grown by a small farmer which makes me feel better about the whole thing.
Saturday - home made pizza on home made crust using ND flour, cheese we picked up at a farmers market in Wisconsin on a recent trip, onions from the Bottineau gardens and pepperoni that one of the hunters had made himself with venison from last year and pork sausage also purchased at the farmers market.
Sunday - Chili made with venison - you guessed it -from last year - still trying to empty out that freezer! And more pecan pie.
Monday - Walleye caught on Devils Lake this summer, grilled and served with wild rice purchased at the Town Square farmers market in Grand Forks, carrot sticks from our garden carrots - and of course more pecan pie.
Today, Tuesday - I'll use the leftover venison from the french dip and turn it into venison barley soup with our home grown carrots, onions from Bottineau and some barley I picked up at a farmers market this summer. Maybe for desert tonight I'll surprise the guys with an apple pie made in our own kitchen from apples on the trees outside.

So you see, even without breaking a sweat, its pretty easy to eat local, even in North Dakota, even in November. All it takes is a little forethought and a freezer full of venison!

2010-09-15T08:28:00.000-07:00

gardendwellers FARM Fresh Herbs on the move!

Well the last couple weeks have been exciting. Along with taking herbs to the WomanSong conference in Grand Rapids North Dakota, we've received some great, but somewhat unusual orders. We received our once per year birthday order to be delivered to Fotis restaurant in Culpepper Virginia. Frank Maragos, a Minot native runs this really nice restaurant there but misses home so his Mom orders him fresh gardendwellers FARM herbs each year on his birthday. I hate to say it but she pays more in shipping then on herbs but Frank really appreciates the 'taste of home' and shares his birthday present with his staff family and friends.

We've also received an order from the Grand Forks public schools. September 20-24th is Farm to School week and they will be doing their very best to put local vegetables and fruits on the Grand Forks Public School lunch menu. gardendwellers FARM will be supplying herbs for a pasta meal - basil and parsley. We'll deliver them bright and early Monday morning so their nice and fresh for the students. Thank goodness we now have a high tunnel to get us through the predicted frost on Friday night!

The best and maybe most unusual order we have received is from the NOLA Brewing Company in New Orleans Louisiana. http://www.nolabrewing.com/ They have a seasonal beer called 7th Street Wheat and for some reason the basil growers in the south have had some trouble with their lemon basil. This unusual wheat beer contains lemon basil to give it a unique flavor. These folks seem like the nicest people - although I did have a little trouble with their address. Their company is on Tchoupitoulas Street - that's a mouthful and even harder to spell. You can imagine how well spell check likes it! NOLA Brewing Company would like 20 pounds of our lemon basil to help them finish off their season of this fabulous brew. So guess what we're doing? Picking and de-leafing a whole LOT of lemon basil. Good timing again as the frost would take all we have anyway - had they called just one week later we could not have helped them out. This will be an adventure in shipping for us as we've never shipped that large of an amount that far. We're all hoping for the best and relying on overnight delivery. Stay tuned for more photos and updates on our adventures with NOLA!

2010-09-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

Animal Party!

It seems all the animals of the prairie wanted to party last night. Barry and I were out in the wash/pack house - otherwise known as the shed - late last night getting orders ready for today's deliveries. As we were out there we could hear noises and often went to check on them. Which could of course explain why it took until 11 PM to finish orders! The fox, raccoons, hawks, deer, neighborhood cat and more were out and about last night and all very talkative! I don't know if it was the weather or just that fall is in the air but everyone wanted to have one last party is seems.

Then again, maybe they were out complaining because I hung a bunch of CD's and bags from the apple trees trying to keep the animals at bay until after the Produce Party this weekend. The apples are ready, nice and tasty and colored up - and all the critters know it. As we were harvesting I noticed lots of deer tracks leading to the trees and saw several squirrels making trips from home to tree to home. That might be what has them all in a ruckus. So, IF I can keep the animals out of the trees - come and get some yummy apples with caramel dip this Saturday at the Produce Party - only $2.50! We'll let the critters have the leftovers!

2010-08-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

The migration has begun!

It's official, the migration has begun. The other day was awfully windy here and Barry was out harvesting with our hired hand Chris for our Minot orders. He called me from the field on the cell phone and told me to bring the camera. This is what I saw:

Monarch Butterflies travel between 1200 and 2800 miles between their starting and ending points, flying around 50 miles each day. They stop along the way to feed on bright colored flowers and nectar from other goodies. They like gardendwellers FARM because who could resist the rows and rows of Zinnia's? It gives them a good meal to continue their journey. It will take them two months to reach their destination in Central Mexico. They use the sun's orbit as a guide and even without a compass or on cloudy days these amazing insects can find their way to a place they have never even been before. Although each year the migration pattern varies slightly - most years we're lucky enough to have these beautiful creatures stop on their way to say hello. Those of you in the area should be on the lookout for them and if you do not have a food source, bright colored flowers, there is an easy way to create one below:

Place a small kitchen sponge in a sugar dish in a shallow bowl. Use a brightly colored and shallow bowl or a bright sponge to attract them. For nectar, mix 4 parts water with 1 part granulated sugar. Boil this mix for five minutes until the sugar is dissolved. Let it cool and then place it on the sponge. Extra nectar can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week but most likely within a week all the Monarchs will be past our area and further south.

Be sure to have your camera handy during this exciting time and hopefully you can catch some great photos of the Monarchs as they pass through!

Now, back to work!

Holly

2010-08-18T10:40:00.000-07:00

It's Almost Produce Party Time!

The plans are underway for this year's Produce Party and I'm REALLY excited about this one. We've got so much going on! We'll have the 'Make Your Own Scarecrow' booth back again this year. What fun that was last year and there were so many families and kids that took advantage of it. I even saw one of our scarecrows still hanging out in Devils Lake in July! The cost will stay the same as last year, $10 gets you a life-size scarecrow to take home. We have everything you need, you just need to stuff him - or her. We have a wide variety of outfits to choose from for your scarecrow and you get to draw on the face, so happy, sad, or scary - you choose. Last year after Thanksgiving, I covered my scarecrow with a large sheet and made him into a snowman - double duty is the way to go - he made a great decoration all the way through to February.

New this year is going to be the caramel apple table. We're so lucky to have a little extra help from my assistant, Stacy Baldus, from Bottineau to man the table. We'll be picking fresh Cenntennial apples direct from the tree and serving them up with caramel sauce for dipping. Only $2.50 - what a bargain!

I'm also really excited about Marte Holen Stensli and Bob Nelson coming with the Norwiegen Dole Horses. Marte will be tending their booth with all kinds of fresh veggies but Bob will have one of the horses here and he will be answering questions about the breed. He'll also do a plowing demonstration in the afternoon.

At 11:00 AM I'll be working with my litttle dog Ida to do a Rally Obedience demonstration. Ida has now completed all trials to have her AKC (American Kennel Club) Rally Advanced Title and next we'll be heading on to the Excellent level. For more info on the sport - check out our demonstration or the following web site: http://www.akc.org/events/rally/index.cfm This is a great sport and with just a couple trips to Grand Forks to visit with their Kennel Club members and learn a few of the signs, anyone can enjoy this great opportunity to work with their dog. Come and see what it's all about.

The Zion Lutheran Church of Churchs Ferry will be serving up great food for breakfast at a great price and The Prairie Bistro, a division of Sonja's from Mohall, ND will have concessions available after breakfast time to make sure everyone gets fed great food.

Billie's Soaps and Spa will be on hand in the afternoon to demonstrate some of their home made beauty products. I really love their stuff - especially the waterless soaps - they make your hands so soft!

All in all, it's going to be a GREAT day - so bring the family and enjoy it with us. Come Out and Play!
Check out our web site for a full schedule: www.gardendwellersfarm.com

2010-06-28T11:26:00.000-07:00

We have new neighbors!!!

Yes, there is a new family in Churchs Ferry. We first noticed them a week ago, although they most likely moved in months ago. The whole family has beautiful golden red hair. Mom, Dad, and several little ones like to play tag in their front yard every evening around 6:30 until dark. They love to wrestly in their nicely mowed lawn and Dad even gets in on the action with the kids. They're a fun family to watch. I sure would like to get to know them better. They seem to like to watch us too!
Sorry for the bad photo, I'll post another better one as soon as I have it - but these new neighbors are 'foxy'!

2010-06-12T06:57:00.000-07:00

New Additions, New Changes to the FARM

Well, rhubarb harvest is complete, for this year and possibly for always. After another disappointing harvest, only about 1000 pounds, we're considering giving up the rhubarb business. It's really a lot of labor for very very little return and the weeds have become almost unmanageable. We'd love to find someone who would like to take the rhubarb - dig it, divide it and take it away - so if you know of anyone, please help us spread the word. We're putting together a short video highlighting all it takes to harvest 1000 pounds of rhubarb. We'll post a link on the blog when it is complete.

As for new additions - we have yet again been the nursery for tons of baby birds. We have robins nesting and feeding babies in the lilacs, catbirds by the arbor, ducks in the labyrinth, yellow warblers raising a brood in the nanking cherries (right)

and a killdeer family in production lot #2 (left). We're glad to be able to provide habitat for all of our feathered friends. Of course we have our toad friends in the high tunnel helping to keep the insect population under control - we're thankful for them as well.

We're proud to say that at least for a while we once again have Chris Klier working for us. I don't know what we'd do without Chris. He is an EXCELLENT worker and knows just what to do to harvest, weed, maintain and keep the place running with us. Thanks Chris!

We're also happy to report that with thanks to our new high tunnel, we're about two weeks from our first harvest. The Basil that was planted early looks great and should be ready to go by about June 28th. This is about three weeks earlier than any harvest we've had.

We're already seeing the return of geocachers to our cache and are awaiting the arrival of several education based vacation families this summer. Watch for updates on our visitors!

As I worked on updating our web site and other business matters this morning, I came across a poem I had always wanted to post to our site, I'll share it here as my parting words:

This is the field where grass joined hands,

Where no monument stands,

And the only heroic thing is the sky.

by William Stafford.

Peace!
Holly

2010-04-14T07:57:00.000-07:00

Good People, Great Conversations

We were really pleased to have a great conversation with Lisa Hamilton on Monday. Lisa is a writer and photographer from California who was here writing a story about the water issues our area faces. Lisa's writing focuses on agriculture and food issues. Being from California, where water shortages are the norm, Lisa is finding the story of the Devils Lake Basin fascinating.

Lisa arrived on Monday, mid wind storm and with rain blowing her into town, with only a windbreaker to keep her warm. She had been in the area since Saturday and had already seen her share of water. Having arrived at a time when overland flooding, overflowing sloughs, gushing culverts and the threat of more to come were abundant, Lisa found as much story fodder as water.

Lisa's focus with us was the story of the people that have been affected by the water and the story of our business. We had a great conversation with her about the great community of Churchs Ferry, its previous residents and still loyal supporters. Lisa is delightful and we'd love for her to come back to the region in warmer, sunnier times to see the beauty of this area as well as the rich history, present and future of agriculture that we all share. If you get the chance, visit Lisa's web site at: http://www.lisamhamilton.com/ where she features her photography and background.

Lisa was saving a few dollars (and some heartburn) by cooking for herself while she is here. I was pleased that even in the cold spring of Churchs Ferry, I had some bright green fresh chives to share with her. Here's hoping they seasoned her little meatloaf to perfection!

Lisa, thanks for telling our story and here's hoping you can arrange a trip back when we're all at peak production. Count on gardendwellers FARM to feed you full of great organic herbs!

2010-03-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

Spring comes early at gardendwellers!

Saturday Barry and I spent a good portion of the afternoon getting the high tunnel ready for planting. Seems like fall flew by last year and we didn't make our goals for tilling and laying plastic. As you can see in the photos, Barry started off with a winter jacket but it wasn't long before we were both in our shirt sleeves and sweating up a storm. It was 40 degrees outside and you can see the snow piles on the outside of the tunnel but inside it was toasty!

It was great fun to play in the dirt again and see sunshine. I think I even got a little bit of sunburn! You can see we had to incorporate a little organic matter into one corner as there is a little more clay there. We also used an organic certified product that helps to break down clay particles in hopes of bettering the soil in that corner.

The soil was warm and thanks to the watering we did a few days earlier, just moist enough to make a fine seed bed. We put down the black plastic to warm the soil even further and deeper in anticipation of an early seeding of Basil. Basil likes really warm soil - 55 degrees or more - to germinate and the warm soil bed will help to keep the air temperature warm during cold nights. Now granted, we won't get the seeds in for another month (maybe) but we're still shooting for having our first crop in the grocery stores and restuarants by July 4th. That's a two week advantage on other years. If we're lucky and Mother Nature plays nice, we might even be in to our customers sooner!

Spring really is here - at gardendwellers at least!

2010-02-28T14:53:00.000-08:00

Sunshine - YEAH!

Today is a lovely day in ND! The sun is shining, the snow is melting and there's no wind to speak of. This week is the beginning of preparation for spring (besides the seedlings that have already been planted). We'll shovel a path to the cold frames and the high tunnel. That will be a chore as the banks are 3 feet high in front of the frames and at least 5 feet high at street level in front of the high tunnel but it will be worth it if we can get access to a warm and cozy place to start our herbs early.

Speaking of the seedlings, so far so good on most of them. The thyme, winter savory, marjoram, oregano and sage look good. The rosemary has me worried however and thinking I need to make a call to our favorite seed seller tomorrow to order more - just in case.

We're still waging war with the deer who are voraciously routing around all areas of the farm trying to get the dry grass under the deep snow. While it is pretty cool to see them pawing around out there and pretty serene to see them wandering about (anywhere from 8 to 20 at a time) - I am more than aware of the damage they will do if left unchecked. We have sprinkled the smallest trees and shrubs with "Plantskyd" a deer and rabbit repellent and it seems to be working - where we sprinkle it - unfortunately we have too many things to sprinkle the whole farm so Ida, our little black dog, has been getting a work out. It's pretty funny as she doesn't really scare the deer very far away, they are not afraid of a 12 inch dog that is colored like a skunk but she is enough of an annoyance to keep them moving on.

Soon we'll be planting the cold frames, readying the high tunnel for seeds and spring will really be with us. Some people have told me they have seen robins, I haven't even heard one yet but I'm ever hopeful. Enjoy these last days of monochromatic color schemed winter, walk, snowshoe, ski, make snowmen, and know that soon the white will give way to green.

2010-02-13T12:21:00.000-08:00

Spring is here, REALLY!

With 12 inches of standing snow and 3 more already fallen today you might not believe it but spring is really here. I know this because today I sat down and wrote out the planting plan for this summer and reviewed the seeding schedule. I quickly realized that I'm already one month behind on my seeding. Last year we planted our rosemary on January 21st. Here is it almost Valentine's Day and I have yet to get anything in soil. Tomorrow or Monday I'll have to go to town for potting mix and get the rosemary, savory, sage, thyme, oregano and other perennial herbs seeded to catch up. I've written a two page to-do list for later this spring with items starting as soon as next week and running through almost July. Guess we'll be busy soon enough!

With snow everywhere and frequent snow storms, February may seem like the longest month - even though it is the shortest, but with planning like ours it can fly by. Add to the hectic planning schedule a few conferences and we're just run run run all month. Last week I attended the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society conference in Watertown SD. It was great fun and I came home with a lot of great ideas to implement this year but also the renewed energy to tackle the planning projects I started today. I learned some ways to increase our soil fertility this year while maintaining our organic principles. I can't wait to try them. I also learned a few things about frost protection that I'm working on implementing this year.

Later this week (Thursday) I'll head to Jamestown so I can help with the ND Local Food Summit and ND Farmers Market and Growers Association annual conference on Friday and Saturday. I should be great fun, lots of work and much learning. On the 25th, my assistant in Bottineau will head to the MOSES conference in LaCrosse. I have to miss it this year - I've been to the conference for two years running and this year I have a different speaking engagement booked and will miss the conference. I really enjoy the MOSES conference and am sad that I can't go - but other duties call. You can bet I'll be back again next year!

So keep smiling, enjoy the snow - becuase spring is coming, really it is. My planning book says so!

2010-01-24T13:34:00.000-08:00

Fun in the North Dakota Winter

So who ever said that a North Dakota winter can be boring? This is a picture of what Barry and I spent some of our Saturday doing. The weather, even though the weather reporters were talking of another doozy of a blizzard, was actually perfect. We had about 3 inches of very wet snow that came down slowly and silently blanketing everything in the most perfect white followed by a balmy 32 degrees, and no wind! What a time to head outside and enjoy the wonder of snow. There is no age limit on making snowmen right?

The other thing I was able to do was get a handle on my reading. The stack of magazines and newspapers has slowly risen to mammoth proportions so I spent Saturday morning, while Barry was running mail and moving snow, catching up on the reading pile and wrangling it down to just three issues of Farmers Market Today.

While reading through the mags I found an article about ordering seed. The article, in Growing For Market magazine, talked about storing seed, inventorying seed, ordering seed and keeping records. In it, the writer gave a list of common seeds and how long they can or should be stored. The article cited Parsley as a use it one year and then toss the rest - not viable after the first year. Since I knew that we had just completed our own seed inventory and our Parsley seed was several years old the writers opinion surprised and scared me. We have successfully planted Parsley seed that was two and even three years old. However, facing the possibility that this could be the last year for our 2006 seed, I did put together a germination test. Parsley takes a LONG time to germinate. We direct seed into the field as early as we can each year with the Parsley being the first in the ground of our herbs. We've also planted it in the fall just to avoid problems with wet springs where we can't get in early to seed. To do a germination test you can wrap some of your seed in a moist paper towl and put them in a plastic bag in a location that is about the same as the ground or outdoor temperture will be. Check them daily - not only to add water if they need it but also to get some air exchange in the bag. Keep checking for small roots on the seeds or signs that they have sprouted. If none sprout, get new seed. If half sprout, you'll either have to overseed or get new seed. If all or most of them sprout you are most likely OK to put them in the ground. It's always a good idea to run a germination test on older seed. It's so much better to know than to worry once spring arrives and then possibly have to send in an emergency order for more seed after you have lost valuable growing time.

For now - I'm just watching my little babies and hoping they sprout. If not, I'll just add Parsley to the seed order and things will all be on time come April.

Hope you are enjoying the snow the way Barry and I are - stay safe and be patient. Spring is coming!

2010-01-17T12:30:00.000-08:00

When Earth and Water Don't Mix

I'm not big on astrology. I believe that the horoscopes in the local newspaper are just a hotdish of obtuse phrases combined with a dash of generality that can be interpreted into anyone's dish of life. However, that said; I do think that your astrological sign and related birth signs can be a general guide to your personality. There's too many people that 'fit' the assigned personality traits of their astrological guides to call it coincidence.

Take our family for instance. I am an Earth sign. Makes sense with my love for the Earth and passion for gardening. I also fit my astrological natal chart personality traits to a "T". Like it or not, I can be materialistic and I am very business-like, planning and community oriented. I know my downfalls and being too empathetic is not one of them.

My son, Boy as we call him, is a water sign, all ruled by emotion, intuitive, in it for the long haul, wanting to build, tear down, and rebuild to suit rather than going with a pre-determined plan for success.

My poor husband, the fire sign in the family is very externally motivated. His goal is to fit in, make others happy and go with the flow. You might now see where this leading...

The reason for this post began a couple days ago when Boy and I were emailing. He's beginning the final leg of his college journey and will graduate this spring with his second degree. He'll be entering the full time career workforce soon (again) and as a Mom and a "P" word person - planning that is - I of course wanted his landing spot to be within a reasonable driving distance from his beloved parents whom he can't live without (smile here folks) and of course in a place where he would be happily and gainfully employed with a quality of life far exceeding his parents.

Well, taking into account that he IS a water sign, compared to my Earth sign and the fact that he is of generation Y, you can imagine his reaction to my suggestion he look into a job I recommended. He had other more immediate things on his mind, like finishing his current schooling, working as much as he can at his current job so he can pay his bills, and how to communicate with a new friend in his life. He did manage to tell me thank you for the thought - which was thoughtful. Earth and Water make mud.

So now comes the moral of the gardening story. Mud isn't all bad. Gardeners recognize that the mud is a sign that new life will soon spring into their gardens. The moisture works with the Earth to bring nutrients and hydration to the roots of the plants causing new growth and blossoms. Mud is a great place for butterflies and small birds to drink, toads and frogs to wallow and worms to bathe. If you're a kid, mud is great for pies and moguls for toy cars and trucks. Mud can be fun - mud wrestling, mud racing, and if you're a generation X or Y person MUD can be a multi-user-dungeon game. (Boy - See how hip your Mom really can be?)

For now, I guess I'll learn to live with the mud in my life and just like in my garden, to be thankful for the water that rejuevenates me. I'll try to remember what Earth would be like without water and rejoice in the fact that I have water in my life to keep me refreshed and growing, able to sustain the hard times. And, to be ever grateful for the Fire in my life - who just wants to go with the flow and keep the Queen happy - afterall, he does have to live with this Earth!

2009-12-01T10:18:00.000-08:00

Hurray for Snow!
Finally, it's snowing here. I know most people were looking forward to a long set of weeks before we received snow, but I'm not one of them. My gardens and farm are my baby. I've always felt the farm in winter is like a sleeping child and best left to rest quietly and comfortably under its blankets and not awakened from its nap until it was ready in the spring. This late fall early winter without snow was like seeing my child sleep restlessly with no blankets. The trees were dormant but had no covering or protection from the bitter nights. I'm glad for the snow. Snow is always so quiet. It's one of the things that makes living in North Dakota great, the peacefulness of a snowy day.

I'm very excited now. I had been feeling almost lost, like I needed a purpose or a project. This Sunday while Barry took his shift at the local bar I tried to make mittens. It didn't go well and I ended up with a mess and no mittens to show for it. If anyone has a very simple mitten pattern to share with me, I'd appreciate it. So with this attempt at creativity failed, I just felt like there was something else I could or should be doing. Last night that chance came. We received a call asking if we would host Dr. Colin Skinner who is walking from New York to North Dakota to raise money for Hospice programs all over the country. Since my father passed away from cancer in 2002 and the hospice workers were such a help to him and my mother - of course I said yes.

This morning I went online to check out Dr. Skinner and his quest. You should do the same. You can visit these two web sites for more information: http://www.freewebs.com/drskinnersite/ or http://www.nationalhospicefoundation.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=258. This is an amazing journey for such a good cause. I really want to be a part of it and help Dr. Skinner. I'm hoping to have time to decorate the classroom and bunkhouse for his arrival in a really festive way and my friend Bernie Solwey at Tenderfoot Socks has already agreed to donate a pair of socks for him. In reading his journals he made metnion of a trip to a store to buy socks and hoping that they wouldn't give him blisters. Tenderfoot socks would be the perfect give for anyone who is on their feet a lot and if they bring some comfort to his journey I'll be so happy. You can check out Tenderfoot Socks - a real live company right here in our region - by looking at their web site: http://www.tenderfootsocks.com/.

Watch the channel 8 news tonight or in the next couple days, I'm sure they will have Colin on the news. He's traveling from Grand Forks to Larimoure to Lakota to Devils Lake to Churchs Ferry then on to Leeds, Knox, Rugby, Granville and Minot.

Stay warm and safe in the snow - and feel blessed that now our sleeping gardens are getting the rest they deserve while we work to give some rest to a dedicated traveller.

2009-11-06T08:12:00.000-08:00

Blessings and Friends

We're coming up on Thanksgiving and I think it is important to take count of our blessings during this season. Harvest time has typically been a time of reaping and counting - and counting our blessings is a way to do just that.

This past week I was blessed by a new friend. Anne Hursh of Cando came into my life in July or so. She called out of the blue one day and asked if I would be interested in some lilie's. Of course I'm interested in FREE plants! Are you kidding??? I went to visit Anne and saw her beautiful gardens that have been tended with love for many years by Anne and her husband Lloyd. Surrounded by mature evergreens, their farm is an oasis with vegetable and flower gardens scattered throughout the beautifully landscaped farm yard. Anne is amazing, with some old age wear and tear creeping up on her health, she still is able to maintain a fabulous looking garden with the help of her family. She now needs to use a walker but Anne stays determined to garden.

Anne, who is originally fro Oregon where her family used to raise lilies commercially, loves her lilies and was willing to share them with me. So, a few weeks ago, she gave me a call and told me it was time to dig. On a sunny afternoon I picked up my shovel and a box and headed for her place. I came home with a big box full of lily bulbs, which I put in the ground immediately so the weather wouldn't sour on me and keep me from getting them planted. I also came home having made a new friend in the gardening world. I found Anne and Lloyd to be delightful and their gardens were candy for the eyes. What a blessing! Thanks Anne and Lloyd for the new additions to gardendwellers FARM. I hope I can keep them living and growing for many years and make you proud!

2009-10-23T13:08:00.000-07:00

As American as Apple Pie!

Fall is truly in full swing and Barry and I are hard at work making the pies that we give as gifts to family and friends (and land friendly farmers who allow hunters). So far we've made 26 pies with plans for 6 more in the works. We ran out of sugar last night or we would have had them all done. Thank heaven for friendly neighbors (Lorrie Sandberg) who donated the cup and half of sugar we needed to complete just those we had already started last night.

Our assembly line style of pie making uses a recipe from an Occident Family Flour cookbook so old that the cover and any copyright information, including the year it was published, are now long gone. My guess the cookbook was my grandmothers but I've had it so long even I don't remember. All I know if that this is the recipe that I have used for apple pies all my life and one that I know is a 'no-fail'.

Barry's a great help in this process. He's the master with the apple peeler-corer-slicer and he helps with the rest of the assembly to - preferring to be the cinnamon and butter guy. Together we can pump out 16 pies in about an hour and a half.

Real ingredients are important to us but you can see that we use store-bought pie crusts. I never was very good at crust and with most of the pies being given away, it saves on having to buy pie tins. We do use Pride Dairy butter fresh from the creamery/dairy in Bottineau and of course the apples from the tree here at the farm. We make sure to use ND's own Crystal Sugar and ND Mill and Elevator four when we can.

The pies are assembled and then wrapped in freezer paper and frozen for delivery. We put baking instructions on the top and always include the phrase, "please place a baking sheet under the pie when baking, they're so full of goodness it might just ooze out into your oven."

Home-made and hand-made always tell a story, we hope that our pies tell our friends and family that we care about them - enough to take the time and effort to give something that we grew, created and then gave with love.

Happy Fall!
PS - we wish all the hunters out there a safe and successful season!

2009-06-18T13:01:00.000-07:00

Abundance
Each year at the farm we have an abundance of something. Some times its just plain weeds. One year it was an abundance of frogs and toads, one year it was gardener snakes and this year seems to be the year for feathered friends.

The FARM is alive with birds and feathers of all kinds. There are ducks nesting in the rhubarb and in the labyrinth, doves nesting in the lilacs, brown thrashers nesting under the Adirondak chairs in the front yard, yellow warblers nesting in the maple tree, barn swallows on the back of the shed and catbirds in the bushes on the north of the main block. We are blessed with their song and thier color every day and happy to have them. I can't say they feel the same way about us. Mrs. Duck has had to renest after we inadvertantly mowed down the tall grass around her first home and the brown thrashers get extremely excited every time we let our large Bernese Mountain Dog out of the house. Little do they know that Mae just wants to peak at the babies and would be the first to defend them should a predator come close. The catbird landed on Barry's hat the other day just to let him know he was a little too close and Ida the cocker spaniel has had her behind pecked on more than one occassion. But for the most part, we're all good neighbors and it's really fun.

For those of you planning a trip to the FARM, let me tell you how things look right now - awfully weedy and pretty small. The spring has been a wet and cold one keeping us from weeding as we would like and keeping the seedlings small. Now that we are having some heat we're hoping everything will catch up - including the hoes - and things will look much better in about two weeks. We're still hoping for our first harvest around July 14th so by then we should be looking good and have lots of herbs and flowers to show visitors. Your best bet if you're planning a trip is to come mid-July or after but of course, we have LOTS of interesting things to do even if you come before then.

Our geocache has already been found by 6 people this year. That's great! It's fun to watch these high tech scavenger hunters scour the property as they GPS thier way to the treasure. Welcome to all who look foward to our cache and thanks to everyone who has found it thus far.

We hope to see you all this summer - come on out and say hello - pull a weed or two! And of course have a safe and happy summer!

2009-04-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Water Water Everywhere!
It seems the state of ND is trying to wash away the snow from winter and covering itself in a blanket of water. Up until now, we have been relatively unaffected by the flooding that seems to be inundating the whole state but the last few days have brought it into the forefront of my reality.

The inserted chart from the USGS shows the increase in water into Lake Irvine. For the most part, our land is high and dry and is likely to remain that way, however we do have one planting area that borders some lower parts of town that could be at risk should the water levels continue to rise. our home and classroom, however well protected by higher elevation, could be difficult to reach should the water cover the roads into town. Many of the rural and township roads in the area along the Coulee are already closed. The elevation at the back of our east lot is 1452-53 and the field that borders Lake Irvine, which is already under water, is at 1449. So you can see we didn't pick the best year to erect a high tunnel on that property.

The road to the old bridge east of town is not completely covered and the rural water main flush-out is either covered today (I haven't been down to check it) or will be soon.

It seems surreal to be worrying about flooding when for the last 6 years we've been worrying about how to get enough water onto our crops. Two days ago I told Barry it was like a big toilet and as long as the water continued to flow south like a big toilet flushing the water down stream, I wouldn't worry. I said I would only worry when the flow started coming north again like an overflow in that great white porcelain bowl. Today, my theory is a little different. Water is so unpredictable, it's very nature, fluidity, makes it almost impossible to predict where it will go and when.

I grew up in Minot and lived through two large floods and I know that of all natural disasters flooding is the worst. Most other disasters are over in a matter of minutes. Fires, tornado's, hurricanes, earthquakes; they all come and go in a matter and hours and the rebuilding can begin and you know where you stand. Flooding is different, the time it takes, the mental anguish, all are prolonged as the water slowly rises, sticks around a while, and then hopefully recedes.

Here's hoping the water in Devils Lake and Lake Irvine decides to recede to at least an acceptable level in the not too distant future - I've got tourists to cater to and plants to plant!

2009-03-16T14:30:00.000-07:00

Well there are truly some amazing things that happen in the spring. Yesterday, the weather was so beautiful here we just had to play outside. Since the tops of the cold frames were starting to peak through the three feet of snow surrounding them, I grabbed a shovel and started digging. In light of the nice weather, a little of me was hoping I could start planting them soon if I could just find them. To my surprise, once uncovered, there was still life in them! After being buried in four feet of snow since December and enduring sub-zero temps, the mache', freckles lettuce, and leeks and a few oinons were still green. We'll see how they recover now that they are subjected to sunlight and warm temps once again but its a good sign. The long sleep is over and new life is ready to begin anew.

2009-03-13T12:09:00.000-07:00

Well, spring must be near. Our new high tunnel (a less expensive version of a greenhouse) was delivered today. It seemed really odd to put the pieces all in a pile of snow knowing that it will be months before we can erect this large pile of tinker toys but the sun was shining and it gas us hope that spring truly isn't as far away as it seems sometimes. This pile of pipe, screws, tape, connectors, and plastic will turn into a 26 X 48 growing structure that will hopefully allow us to grow more herbs for a longer season, keeping our customers happy longer. what a deal!

2009-01-06T12:23:00.000-08:00

Busy winter Planning
Most people think that we spend the winter sleeping like bears or taking it easy and having fun. Just the contrary! In the last week we have finished the seed order, and already have had some of the seeds delivered, designed a few drafts of new labels for our grocery store herbs, researched UPC symbols for our products, researched and ordered a new high tunnel - much like a greenhouse that will lengthen our season and increase our yeild - researched and are now ready to order the components for a cooler that will extend the shelf life and safety of our products when delivered to grocery stores and restaurants, updated the web site, cleaned the classroom, spoke to a group of 4-H'ers in Edinburg about growing herbs and gardening projects and the list goes on! We have yet to plan for the 2009 classes and events so any input you have would be welcome. If there is a class you'd like repeated or didn't get to attend in the past, now is the time to let us know. We'll be cutting back the class schedule in 2009 as we have a lot of construction and a few new customers to deal with on the wholesale end and there just isn't enough time in a day. Don't worry though, we'll still have classes and events - just not one each week.

This summer we will finish the therapy gardens. The completion of this area will make us fully accessible to wheel chairs, walkers, and those with special abilities or limitations. We'll also have to erect that high tunnel - good thing the community members have offered to help!

Tonight I will go to Rugby to help them kick off their American Heart Association Wellness challenge. I will be teaching a series of classes on eating local, fresh, and organic. There will be 6 classes held every Monday from the end of January to April. We'll look at ways to shop in your own home town for fresh, local and organic foods and ways to keep on living a healthy lifestyle without dramatically changing the way you cook or eat. It's going to be a lot of fun and I'm really looking forward to it.

This month is a hectic one for us with something booked on the calendar almost every day. I have lots of vacation time from my job at MSU-Bottineau to use - I just can't seem to find time to use it. I'm hoping that later this spring I can sneak away for a day or two to show our little dog Ida in the Rally Obedience ring in the twin cities or Fargo but we'll just have to see what comes. For right now - we're just bobbing around trying to keep one step ahead of this growing business!

Please be sure to drop us a note or keep in touch. If there is anything we can do to help you plan for summer excursions, classes, events, cooking, etc. - contact us! We always love to hear from you. In the mean time I'm sure our winter is going to go by way too fast - soon we'll be planting rosemary and lavendar and putting up temporary greenhouses in the classroom for the herb babies. Stay Warm!

2008-12-23T08:24:00.001-08:00

2008-11-11T14:22:00.000-08:00

Caught in a nap.

When the weather is bad and snow and ice are all around, seems like all you want to do is lay down with a good book, a good movie, a good blanket and nap. Our early winter storm brought out that quality in me last week. Today however was different. With temps hovering around the 30 degree mark I took the day to play outside.

I warmed up first by baking a pecan pie (Uncle Jim's favorite) for supper and at least moving my body along to Richard Simmons Sweatin' to the Oldies (I'm not coordinated enough to call it dancing) and then dressed up warm and went out to play.

I spent most of the day outside and had a great time. I took all the Halloween decorations off the shed and replaced them with sleds, evergreens, and I even put up the lights. Water was dripping down my arm and back as the snow on the roof melted but it was clean fresh water and I didn't mind. As the sun began to get very low in the sky, I decided to go out back and make sure the grill would light. We're having some BIG pork ribs Unca Jim brought with him from Wisconsin and although I started them in the oven we want to finish them off on the grill. You have to take advantage of every day like this you get in ND - don't ya know!

As I stood by the grill to make sure it was going to stay lit, I noticed one particular little downy woodpecker who seemed quite disturbed. I knew it wasn't because he was hungry as I had filled the bird feeders with suet just two days previous. I didn't pay too much attention to him until I looked over towards the suet tree (that tree that Barry pruned to within an inch of its life so we could move the house in and now all the stump branches work well as suet hangars) and there she was.

At first I thought she was hurt or ill as she certainly was breathing but she wasn't moving. I even said 'hello' to see if she would fly away. Her friend was flitting around chirping quite excitedly and I didn't want to get too near her but I was really curious at this point. After snapping these few shots of her I cautiously reached out and tapped the tree beside her. She pulled her head from under her wing, opened her eyes, which were kind of foggy at first but soon cleared to ebony balls, and ruffled her feathers to put the down all back into its neat smooth lines. She hopped around the tree a little then up to a crevice for a bit of snow for a drink.

Wow, I thought, another lesson from the gardens. Winter and cold brings on a natural desire to sleep your life away. Even as friends call and invite you to "Come out and Play" we sometimes drift into a deep slumber. As my gardens sleep through the winter, I too want to hibernate away until spring brings us all alive again. But just as the little Downy Woodpecker concluded her drink - she heard the calls of her friend and flew away for a little play before the sun set. I need to remember to do that too. Getting out in the winter might be tough, but its worth the effort when you have someone who cares about you, wants to spend time with you and will help you to fly away to great places. Hope everyone remembers to take joy in the winter- it's the seasons that we live that help to make us seasoned.

On another note - my cold frames with fresh lettuce, onions, mustard and leeks have made it through the first batch of cold and snow just fine. The Flashy Trout lettuce didn't take the cold as well as the Freckles but it still looks promising for a December harvest. Today, with a balmy 30 degrees outside, the inside of the cold frames was 55 degrees. It was overcast and not particularly sunny or I'm sure it would have been much more.

The day I brushed the snow off of them the outside of the boxes was actually sweating - at 18 degrees outside it was 35 inside. I can tell the buttercrunch lettuce has taken a freeze but there is also mache in there and that will freeze, thaw, and be able to be eaten so I'm not too worried.

Hope everyone has friends to call them when they need to go play, a warm place to stay inside when the weather gets bad, and a garden to plan for spring!

2008-10-17T11:13:00.000-07:00

It's been a long while since I had the chance to blog! Here's why, I've been really busy working with the ND Dept. of Agriculture and many other FINE sponsors to travel ND and do some local foods meetings.

We had a great time and met a ton of wonderful people. We even ate local foods at each of our meals which was fabulous. In the end though I got more than good food - I also got very inspired to keep doing what Barry and I have always done - trying to stay local.

Did you know that more than 13,000 kids in North Dakota are undernourished? Did you know that to feed all the people in ND that are hungry or concerned about their ability to have food on the table would mean increasing all the reserves in all the food banks until they were at least DOUBLE what they are now - or to around 9.1 million pounds of food?

Fifty percent of North Dakotans have a chronic illness, 12% have diabetes and 77% do not eat enough fruits and vegetables. Diabetes health care costs in ND alone are over $209 million.

If 1/3 of all ND churchs found just 10 volunteers each and each volunteer planted 8 tomato plants and each plant produced 15 pounds of tomatoes that were valued at $2 a pound - they could provide ND food banks with $1.7 million worth of food! Just this last week my mother told me that her Christmas present to me was a contribution to the Great Plains Food Bank - I'm so happy! What a great way to support local foods.

Other ways include participating in farmers markets, school gardens, and CSA's. We've just started a CSA in Bottineau at the college. For more information on that please call Kirsten Moseng at 701-228-5649. School gardens are also a great way to get younger people - who are especially at risk for many health/diet related diseases involved in living better. And last but not least- all of these things contribute to a better economy in our communities and a better quality of life. For more information contact the North Dakota Department of Agriculture - Sue Balcom - she's really fired up!

PS - I've eaten one or more North Dakota/locally produced meals every day for the last 10 days and I feel great!

2008-09-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I last wrote you anything, a sign of a busy season. The Produce Party 2008 went off without a hitch and everyone had a great time. The wind came up a little bit in the afternoon but all was well.

Since then I've been teaching at WomanSong in Grand Rapids, ND, hosting some family from Washington state that I haven't seen for 20 years or so, working hard at my REAL job for MSU-Bottineau, and actually taking a night or two off here and there.

Fall is my favorite season and the time that I start to wind down. I know that there is still plenty to do, however I don't feel the urgency to do it that plagues me the rest of the year. We called it quits for the season with our customers this last week. The cold weather and rain really got to the Basil and the quality dropped below my standards so that was the end of delivering to Grand Forks and Minot. We still have some great stuff for sale here at the farm and might consider taking flowers to the Cando market if our schedule allows but otherwise, our season of selling is over. If it weren't for the cool weather and rain we could have gotten another two to three weeks out but I won't sell things that don't look great and the Basil doesn't look great.

Fall is a wonderful for exploring too -- look at what I found in the woods this week:

It's a nice little cup bearing clavaria mushroom, perfectly edible, always beautiful and a forest floor dweller. Sometimes great things come in small packages.

I also have taken a little time for myslef and the dog. Ida and I went to doggie class in Grand Forks for the first time today. We had a blast. She did pretty well for a beginner and will learn quickly. Her nose is what will get her in trouble though, within a few minutes she had sniffed out every tennis ball, dog toy and treat in the arena - what a girl! Wish us luck as we practice her new skills. Barry just came in and said it was break time (like I've been working so hard I need a break). Remember, you can always email us through our web site with comment, questions, or to book a time for a class or public presentation. It's never to early but sometimes too late!

2008-08-05T06:02:00.000-07:00

Busy, Busy, Busy,

Seems this last week my saying has been "I'll just slip on my cape and tights and take care of that for you". We've been up to our eyeballs in herbs and customers, classes and cooking, tours and geocachers, weeds and grass.

We've had a lot of fun though. We had an excellent cooking with herbs class last week with a few new faces added to the mix. The food, of course, was wonderful and everyone had great questions and a good time. Today we are preparing for a garden tour and luncheon with more great food made with our own fresh herbs. We've had some rain here lately so the herbs are loving it and they look fabulous! Our customers will be very happy.

The last two weeks at the Grand Forks farmers market have been our busiest ever. It really shows that people are changing the way they cook and eat. The media coverage regarding eating local doesn't hurt either. I saw on the news last night that our new customer, Rhombus Guys in Grand Forks, won first place in a pizza tasting contest - hurray for them! I wonder if our fresh herbs were on their winning pizza? We also saw another of our good customers on TV, Chef Kim Holmes of Sanders 1907 in Grand Forks, as he worked to hold a benefit for violence prevention. The benefit was at his restaurant and featured local celebrities as wait staff working for tips to benefit the CVIB. Congrats to all and we hope you raised a lot of money - again, I hope our fresh basil was in the great pasta that Chef Holmes is known for.

We've had our share of tours lately with two large busses last week and this week we are awaiting the arrival of a family of 6 who are on a learning based vacation. They are coming to us all the way from Florida and will be with us for three days and three nights. We'll have great fun meeting this new family and getting to know them.

I'm also trying to prepare for our annual Produce Party. Be sure to keep watch on the web site as August 30th approaches. We'll post our agenda for the day and hopefully highlight some of our special vendors and presenters. Remember, we're always looking for more produce vendors so if you have a little extra to share - come and join us. Booth space for new vendors is $20 and for returning vendors $10. Last year every vendor was very happy with their sales for the day and definitely made thier money back. In fact, we've become so good at drawing a crowd that this year we will have vendors from farther away than ever. Booths have been reserved for vendors from Grand Forks, Minot, Bottineau, Rugby and of course the local area. Be sure to join us won't you?

That's all that I have time for now - gotta run and put on my cape and tights and take care of our customer orders for Minot - Miracle Mart Dakota Square, Marketplace Foods, Miracle Mart Arrowhead, 10 North Main and a few more orders yet to come in!
Holly

2008-07-16T20:08:00.000-07:00

Would You Like Some Cheese with that whine?

This past week I got an email from a friend of mine in Wisconsin. He is farming for market and grow produce for his family's eating and works very hard at the land just like we do. He was just getting a few things off his chest - like how hard farming is. (This is the first year he has had to do the farm work by himself, in the past he's had help). I read his email and thought how much it sounded like us - it's true, farming is hard work but that's what winter is for recuperation.

When it comes to whining - or wining as it may be - we had a GREAT wine class this week at the farm. Greg Kemple and his family from Maple River Winery came to help us out. They brought 9 of their great wines for folks to sample as well as some other tasty North Dakota products such as four kinds of cheese (Tomato Basil, Horseradish, Garlic, and Brie), chokecherry honey, chokecherry fudge, Luna Salsa, and other great stuff. We had made some herb appetizers - actually Boy made them - and between the food, the wine, the great weather - it was a perfect night - a wonderful time was had by all. We had a big class of about 30 people but no one went away hungry. Greg was great at answering questions and the Maple River Wines proved why they are award winners. If you get the chance, check out their wines on their web site: http://www.mapleriverwinery.com/, in your local liquor store, or at their store in Casselton ND. Thanks Greg and family for an absolutely perfect night - nothing to wine about there!

2008-07-10T09:05:00.000-07:00

Geocaching success!

This week we finally got our geocache all set up and posted. For those of you who do not know about geocaching, it's like a scavenger hunt using a GPS unit instead of a treasure map. There are hundreds of people around the county getting into this new sport. I was surprised when I went onto the ND Tourism web site to update our information to find that even they had added geocaching to their list of possible activities for North Dakota.

Once posted to the geocaching web site (http://www.geocaching.com/) I began to receive weekly updates about other geocache's hidden in North Dakota. It was amazing to me the large gatherings, events, meetings, and the number of possible cache's to find in the state.

Geocaching goes something like this: if you have a GPS unit, you log onto the web site. Building an account is free and you don't need an account to look for coordinates in an area to find. Search for the area/region where you are traveling, where you live, or where you would like to search for your new 'treasure'. The web site will give you the first coordinates of the cache and even a map to help get you started.

There are several kinds of cache's. Some are just a simple set of coordinates, some give you a coordinate to find and there you will find the clues or coordinates to another location. This is called a multi-cache. The gardendwellers FARM cache is a multi-cache with 4 locations to find before looking for the real treasure.

The treasure at the end of your trail will be a waterproof box of some kind which you will have to look for - thus the treasure hunt aspect. In the box will be a log book. As a finder, you are expected to sign the log book and leave a note. There will also be instructions in the box. Some boxes contain trinkets. If you choose to take a trinket from the treasure, you are expected to leave one as well. These trinkets can be small toys, key chains, pins, whatever small treasure a person has. Our box, like some others, contains a camera and the instructions to take a photo of yourself having fun in the garden, then leave the camera for the next geocacher to also take their photo.

This is a fun, inexpensive (although the cost of gas is high right now) family or individual activity. No purchases are ever necessary and no fees are ever charged to go geocaching - you just have to find the treasure.

Once you've found a cache, you are invited to post your find on the web site - let everyone know how many cache's you've found, how fun it was, and what a great activity it can be. I encourage everyone to at least check out the web site for more information. You never know, you're next vacation may include a treasure hunt!

Happy searching!

Holly

PS - the first to find our cache (gneis) were from Grand Forks ND. They snuck in and out without us even seeing them and did it within 24 hours of us hiding the treasure! I knew they had found it as I received an email from the geocaching web site that informed there was an electronic log posted to our entry. What a great surprise! Way to go gneis!

2008-07-01T17:37:00.000-07:00

North Dakota's weather gets a lot of bad press, but in all reality our weather is the best in the Midwest. Currently we are experiencing 70 to 80 degree days with 50-ish nights. we've had some timely rains, just enough to keep the dust down and make things grow. The above photo shows the beautiful rainbow (a double actually) that graced us after the last rain.

The winds have been excellent for flying my kite and the evenings have been great for campfires and relaxing. Our weather is also great because you can see it! Other states and other places have trees, high-rises, structures, things to get in the way of seeing your weather. It's great to watch the clouds roll in, the lightning flash across the sky, the rain roll over the prairies, and yes of course the rainbows. In the winter we enjoy northern lights and all year long the night skies are filled with star and often meteors and falling stars.

Ultimately, our weather is really a balance, and that's what life is all about, balance. You have to learn to lean into the wind so you can enjoy sitting back to watch the stars. Take time this summer to truly enjoy our North Dakota weather.
Fair winds
gardendwellers FARM

2008-06-16T20:42:00.000-07:00

Why do we do this?

Some times you wonder why you do things. I don't oftne wonder why we have gardendwellers FARM. At the FARM I can be anything - a child, a caretaker, a healer, a mother, an explorer, and adventurer or a teacher. In the garden I can be relaxed. I can be stressed, if I want to and I let the weeds get the better of me. I can be creative, imaginative, and knowledgable. I can even be stupid if I want to. There are times the garden teaches me things. Many things.

A week ago I was weeding (oh really, aren't I always weeding?) and as I weeded I was thinking about a particularly troublesome situation that I had been in . I was taking my anger out on the weeds, which in itself is good therapy, but it wasn't helping much. I felt myself getting more and more agitated the more I thought about the problem. Then, out of nowhere I was showered with light pink petals falling from the sky. I looked up just in time to see the flowering crab beside the garden send another shower of feather light petals my way. Just a breeze at the right time of senescence in a flowers life? Yes, most likely. But I got the message - let go. I had to let go of the problem and move on. I get it. The rest of the weeding was quite pleasurable.

Tonight as I was weeding - again - I was wondering why we are organic. It would be so much easier on me if we used chemicals to do the weeding for us. The beds would look much cleaner - not to mention my fingernails would too. As I weeded along the row of parsley filled with ash seedlings, grass, and lambsquarters, I noticed someone watching me.

This is what I saw. Mr. Toad had made his home right under the young parsley plants and was quite happy just waiting for his next meal. Maybe a tasty bug of fly.

Then I got the message again - we are organic because it is good for our gardendwellers. It is good for the toads, frogs, birds, bees and others that live here and share our garden with us. It is their home too and they don't want it contaminated. I got it.

These are only two of the lessons I've learned in the garden and if I just take the time to listen, my garden schools me on many things every time I enter it. I just need to 'get it'.

Come out and play with us in the garden -- see what lesson it has for you.

2008-06-09T08:46:00.000-07:00

Places to go, People to see

This past weekend was a busy one for us. Barry and my mother stayed at the FARM and hosted the spouses of the ND Fire Fighters who were attending the annual convention in Devils Lake. They all had a great time even though it is early in our season and the weeds are still high and the crops just starting to poke through the ground. Just goes to show there's always something to do here. The ladies were a little short on time - so many things to do in this area - so Barry didn't even get to tell them about our 'You Learn' center, the vending machine where you can purchase self guided tour maps, projects, histories, and other great things to do on the farm.

While Barry and Mom led the tour at home, I was up at the International Peace Gardens helping with their Gardening Boot Camp. Since 1923, the International Peace Garden has been a unique tribute to the peace and friendship between the people of Canada and the USA. The Cairn in the Peace Garden states, "To G_d in his glory, we two nations dedicate this garden and pledge ourselves that as long as men shall live we will not take up arms against each other."

When I arrived Doug Hevenor, the Director there, was leading the group through the gardens explaining the many changes that are to come in the next couple years. I'd really like to commend all the folks at the gardens for the work they do. The upcoming seasons will be difficult ones. The maintenance at the gardens has been neglected for many years. The neglect came from a lack of funds, not a lack of caring. That's one thing I know about all of the workers up there, they care VERY deeply about the gardens. Time and the elements have taken their toll on the parts of the garden we all love the most - the formal gardens and pools. Doug is doing his best to find funding to make the major renovations and repairs necessary to bring the gardens back to its glory but finding money is no easy task. Once the funding is in place, the destruction and construction will begin and that's not easy either. The gardens will be under construction for a couple years at least. This means the view of the formal gardens will not be the same for a while - but that's a GOOD thing. It will be fun to watch the progress and being interpretive gardens, this gives the folks at the International Peace Gardens a chance to talk about renovation of a garden, how to fix what time and temp will do, what types of maintenance and preventative measures will be needed as they move forward and also preservation of some of the most valuable and important historic parts of the gardens. It will be a great time to tell the story of the gardens, the great people and plants that have come before and how it will be preserved for the future. I think it is very important for visitors to understand what is going on. If you do not understand you could go to the gardens and be disappointed because it doesn't have that finished regal look you are used to - but if you go understanding that they are trying to set the stage for the future and tell the story of what deer, moose, and mother nature can do to a garden you will be more appreciative of the work they do.

Speaking of work - all of the grounds and buildings get maintained by a very small staff on a limited budget. The young people I met this weekend that work at the gardens have no formal training in horticulture but they are doing a bang up job and working their little hearts out. Let's give them a big thanks when you visit.

With gas prices the way they are - and looks like they will stay that way - it's time to stay home - home in ND I mean - and visit some of our own treasures. The International Peace Gardens are one of America's finest spots. Even without the gardens, the Peace Chapel, the Peace Poles, the Peace Tower, the 9-11 Memorial Site, the Game Warden Museum, Masonic Auditorium, Historic Civilian Conservation Corps Lodge and the many other spots to see at the garden will make for a great vacation spot. If you haven't been there, GO NOW. If it's been a while since you've been there, you owe it to yourself to GO NOW. If you're not from ND and have never heard of the IPG - learn about it and plan it as part of your vacation. It's well worth the trip. Check it out at: http://www.peacegarden.com/.

PS - you do need to show your credentials when coming back from the gardens so please remember to take your passport OR your drivers license and birth certificate with you.

2008-06-02T09:14:00.000-07:00

History Lessons

History lessons come in all types. This past week we had to remove an old elm tree from the FARM. Since we did not have equipment large enough to remove the tree, we asked the Mayor, Paul Christensen, to use the city equipment to remove it for us. He gladly came and toppled the big old girl. It took a few words of encouragement (?) and some patience on his part but she fell with a mighty thud. By the time Barry and I got over to where the tree had fallen, Paul was counting the rings to guess the tree's age. The tree was about 107 years old.

This summer Churchs Ferry will celebrate its 125th Anniversary on June 27th and 28th. That means this elm had to have been one of the first inhabitants of the city. It's sad when you see something that has lived so long be taken out by such a little bug. Dutch Elm Disease has destroyed so many trees in North Dakota and has been devastating to many of our community forests. Unfortunately we are now facing the same with Ash trees as the Emerald Ash Borer works its way ever closer to our ND borders.

I'm sure this tree was home to many birds, had many children playing in and around its branches and gave shade for many picnics and outdoor activities. I like to imagine its history - and it will be fun to hear about the rest of Churchs Ferry history as we celebrate this month. Won't you come and join us in our celebration? Watch our web site for a posting of events. We'd love to share it with you.

See you June 27th and 28th!

2008-05-26T12:17:00.000-07:00

Things are picking up!

We sure have gotten busy in the last week or two. I think this summer will be a fun and fast ride for us. First, we had reporters from the Fargo Forum - we were featured in an article that ran in the May 25th edition. They did a great job and we had a lot of fun hosting them. We even got photos of Barry in the article!

The rhubarb harvest needed to be delayed until the weekend of May 30-June 3 or 4th as although the calendar said it was Memorial Day - the rhubarb doesn't read calendars. As far as the rhubarb was concerned it is right on schedule. We'll work on harvest this coming weekend so that means stretching exercises for all of us in preparation for the big harvest. Mom has already started harvesting little bits from the field and has made two pies already. I'm sure we'll have our fill of rhubarb goodies during harvest. She always feeds us so well - thanks Mom!

We're also gearing up for a great summer of classes and tours. Our first tour is booked for June 7th when the spouses of the fire fighters attending the convention in Devils Lake will come out for the morning and see what we've been up to. Other private and public classes and tours are scheduled throughout the summer so we're looking like a real happening place in the next few months.

Yesterday I got the seeds in the ground. I was hoping to plant the perennial herbs out today but with a chance of frost tonight I think I'll hold off. Speaking of herbs - we were able to harvest a bit of lemon balm which our new bar owner Kat featured at her Grand Opening on Saturday. She specialed the gardendwellers Tea (a long island iced tea made with rhubarb juice and lemon balm) and it went over smashingly. Kat had a great crowd for the opening of Kat's Korral and we were really happy to have another business in Churchs Ferry. Best of luck to Kat!

All summer the ND Tourism Division will be sponsoring a Saturday segment on KFGO featuring ND Tourism attractions. We'll be calling in on at least one show but everyone should give a listen and learn all of the great things to do in North Dakota. With gas prices so high, it is time to explore what's in your own backyard. And by the way - check out our schedule of classes on the 'come out and play' page of our web site. You'll find plenty to keep you busy in our backyard!

We'll see you all soon - I'm off to do some weeding.
Holly

2008-04-29T07:41:00.000-07:00

Spring? - Not yet, but close.

We're all getting a little antsy for spring. The cold wind has kept us from working outside as often as we would like and there's only so many games of scrabble you can play on yucky days. It's been great to have some extra help around here so we're well ahead of the clean up schedule just sitting and waiting for ground temps to go up and nighttime weather to stay well above freezing.

One sure sign that spring will really come is the rhubarb. It's already starting to pop up nicely and Barry has done his part to weed the forgotten ones.

The trees are starting to bud and I'm sure the nanking cherries and juneberries will be in bloom soon.

We think we have some people willing to come and help us out over Rhubarb Harvest (Memorial Day weekend) but we have to make the final phone calls. Remember, any and all help is welcome - but then again so are observers and visitors. May will be here before we know it!

Hang in there - spring is almost here!

2008-04-09T06:16:00.000-07:00

Congratulation to JoAnn Rodenbiker, the winner of our email drawing for a gardendwellers tote bag. If you weren't in on the contest, its most likely because your email address isn't in our distribution list. Send us a quick note via email to be sure your address is on our list so you don't miss out on possible future offerings and notices.

The snow is almost gone and now the work begins. With the nice weather this week we've started doing the spring clean up. This is where having our son home will really come in handy. We've been without our 'free' help for a couple years and we really missed it. I made a list yesterday of things that needed to be done, it had 22 things on it. Of course, one of them was keeping our little dog Ida busy so she would leave me alone while I work. Now that I work from home she's determined to make sure I don't miss a break or lunch time and that plenty of playing ball is involved in those breaks.

Yesterday I seeded the snapdragons, sweet annie, anise hyssop and some salvia. It's kind of late I know but our snapdragons are always blooming before we're ready for them so this year I held off. The first round of herbs that were seeded weeks ago are now ready for transplant and the mobile greenhouse has made its first two trips outside. True signs of spring.

On Saturday we had our first class of the spring in the classroom. We had an 'Artists Spring Cleaning'. There were four artists that brought their projects to work on but mostly we just shared stories and laughed. It was potluck and everyone brought food so by the end of the day our tummies and our souls were full. It was great to share laughter and good ideas with friends. Thanks to Joan Youngerman, Deb Carlson, Kathy (Klang) Benson, and Karon Nelson for sharing the day with us.

We look forward to many more classes this spring and summer and hope to see all of you here!
Holly

2008-03-26T10:22:00.000-07:00

Another Churchs Ferry landmark gone.

On Friday, March 21st, another Churchs Ferry landmark disappeared from the landscape. The Copeland farmstead - remaining buildings anyway - were burned down. As I understand it the old buildings will be replaced by new grain bins. A sign of the agricultural prosperity of the past year I suppose. I know it is for the best but I can't help but be a little sad. The old barns were very picturesque and made a great photo opportunity in the fall. On the bright side, it will hopefully eliminate the confused tourists we've had in the past who thought the the farmstead was gardendwellers and would eventually use their cell phones to call us and say "where are you?" The Mayor and City Council had warned us the buildings were to be burned and told us that we could salvage what we wanted from the buildings before the fire so we did do a little scavenging. We brought home some sturdy wood pieces that will become raised planters and a bed frame to make a bench. Also in our loot was a few old window frames we will use to make a shade structure for the farm and a cold frame for our own use. All in all I guess progress is good but I still can't help but look for the great old barn when I round the corner onto Walker Ave. (old 281) and head north. I know the care and sweat that went into building that barn and can't help but think about all the eggs from the chickens in the chicken coops and by the way - we also found a tin sign 'A 4-H Leader Lives Here'. Having been involved with 4-H myself and through my son, I know the pride that sign embodied at one time, the volunteer hours and community involvement that it represented. This wasn't just a few old buildings, it was a home. It was a home full of love and caring. Hopefully the replacements, although not as pretty to look at, will some day signify a prosperous agriculture in North Dakota and be as meaningful as what is now gone.

2008-03-10T05:34:00.000-07:00

It seems the winds of March are unsure about which way to blow. The snowbanks in the front yard have been rearranged several times like the sands of a desktop play thing. Inside, the seedlings have been started and the first of three temporary greenhouses has been made portable and put up. The seedlings are very happy, Barry is happy because it is not outside so we aren't trying to heat it from 20 to 70 - only from 50 to 70 and I'm happy because they aren't in my bath tub like last year.

The web site now has a new look, in time for the upcoming season. We're hoping to get some feedback from viewers. If you are looking over the site and have any input or find errors, please let us know. The web site is another thing we do by ourselves so almost everything is changeable.

Tomorrow I will speak on a panel discussion at a tourism conference in Devils Lake. It's going to be a lot of fun and as I understand it, they have a pretty good number of people attending. Then this weekend I am speaking in Wahpeton, next week in Bismarck/Mandan, and the following weekend in Beulah. March will fly by and take us to April when it will be time to plant more seedlings and wish spring was much closer. Take care all,
Holly

2008-01-30T13:50:00.000-08:00

What a week and weekend.
The past several nights we've been working on finalizing our 2008 schedule. It's a lot of work to coordinate calendars, examine past classes, line up other speakers, and examine costs to set prices but finally I think we have it complete. We are still waiting to hear from one other possible presenter but othre than that - the classes are out there and ready for registration. What a nice feeling.

I'm not one to get spring fever but this year it seems to have grabbed me. I can't wait to get outside and play. Speaking of which - that's kind of our new slogan here at the farm - 'Come out and Play'. We hope that everyone will take time in one fashion or another to join us this summer for a play date. With the completion of the classroom and some great opportunities with other companies, we're really looking forward to the possibilities this summer. Now all we have to do is get the seeds ordered.

I know, I know - we're kind of behind on the seed order. We know WHAT to order - it's just the when to find the time thing. This last summer we were lucky enough to get another greenhouse (thanks Mom!) so we'll be able to double our growing room. It's just another small temporary house but it still opens lots of options for us. Barry has been reading up on greenhouses, hot houses, and cold frames and is seriously looking at ways to extend or get a jump on our season. They might not happen this year but I'm sure some where down the line he'll build or construct something that will help us serve our customers for a longer period of time and will keep jack frost at bay for even a few weeks.

We're very proud that this Saturday (Feb. 2nd) in ND and Friday (Feb. 1) in other states, Market to Market has decided to re-broadcast the Churchs Ferry piece they filmed last spring and aired for the first time last fall. The reporter, Nancy Crowfoot, said they had great response about the piece so they decided to run it again. Great timing for us - let's hope it sparks the interest of a lot of possible visitors for this summer. We'd love to see them all! It's great fun having people show up at the farm from all over America. Meeting our visitors is one of the best things about this job.

Thinking ahead to summer - this year is Churchs Ferry's 125th Anniversary Celebration. We'd love to put together a calendar that we could have available on our web site but we only have about 6 photos of Churchs Ferry from times gone past - anyone who reads this and has a photo of our great little city and would like to share it - please let us know. You could scan it and email it to us with a description if you have it or give us a call and we'll figure out how to get it from you. Hope to hear from lots of people on this - wouldn't that be fun?

Anyway - right now it's 50 below wind chill and freezing outside, think I'll just go look at another seed catalog and pretend it's May.
Stay Warm!

2008-01-14T11:31:00.000-08:00

New Year and new challenges at gardendwellers Farm!

Well, this new year has already brought about some interesting changes in our lives and that will affect our farm in a good way we hope.
I (Holly) have left Lake Region State College after 8 great years. It was a good run at LRSC but a new challenge awaits, one that I hope will benefit the farm as well as my well-being. I am now working for MSU-Bottineau as their Director for the Entrepreneurial Center for Horticulture. It is our hope to raise $4 million to build a series of courses and greenhouses that will research organic and specialty vegetable production and its distribution in North Dakota. I don't know about you but I'm tired of the shriveled, wobbly veggies that land in our grocery stores from thousands of miles away - especially in winter. I'd love to see year round production of high quality veggies right here in the state, that would make us all a lot healthier.

My new job allows me to work mostly from home with a weekly trip up to Bottineau. In this way I should be around to move hoses, start watering, or give basic information to tourists this summer when our season on the farm begins. Hopefully working from home will be a great way to look after the well being of the farm and work on a project that means a lot to me at the same time. For now, the new job is keeping me busy. I am scheduled to be on the road to a variety of organic and farming conferences from now until the end of March. Please check out the calendar to see which conferences I will just be attending and which conferences I will be presenting at - they are getting too numerous to mention here.

Barry has also started the year out with a change. With the retirement of Bob Dennison from the Towner County Record Herald and the subsequent sale of that paper to Nordmark Publishing, Barry has been moved from printing in Towner at the Mouse River Journal to printing in Cando. He really enjoys not having to drive all the way to Towner (which he still does on occasion to complete printing jobs for them) and he says the people of Cando have all been SO nice to him.

As a part of the new changes, we will be getting satellite Internet. YEAH!!! I can't wait. What that means to you, our customers, is a new better designed web site. Thanks to our young IT department at the farm we will be bringing you an updated look along with the chance to purchase gardendwellers FARM items. We're particularly looking forward to being able to offer you calendars and useful items with photos we've taken here in beautiful Churchs Ferry. So check back often - the satellite Internet begins at the end of January and we hope to have the new site built by the end of March.

May your winter be a blessed rest in preparation for the spring into action of May.
Holly

2007-12-13T08:05:00.000-08:00

Snowy Start to Winter
November came and with the arrival of December we have received some of the 'white stuff', yes, the 's' word - snow. Personally I love it. I know that the snow means my perennials are sleeping peacefully beneath a soft, protective blanket and that next spring there may actually be some moisture to wake them up.

We're already starting to receive inquiries about tours and speaking engagements. I would encourage anyone anticipating a visit to the farm or wanting us to speak at an event to contact us soon. Usually, right after the holidays is when we start to book up quickly and dates become unavailable in a hurry.

I'm also waiting until after the holidays - once the busy season of parties and visiting is over, I plan to work on our new web site. The site will be much more user friendly and hopefully be full of additional information for our customers. We're also hoping to add a store where you can purchase calendars and other merchandise with photos taken at the farm.
Please be sure to check back often to take a 'new look' at gardendwellers Farm.

We're also working on finalizing a few new photos for the art gallery. Many of you really enjoy our take-off on 'American Gothic'. We have two more in the works for you - 'The Flower Carrier' by Diego Rivera and 'The Angelus' by Jean Francios Millet. They should be as much fun as our original. We're hoping someday to have our own art gallery online with take-offs of many famous paintings.

For now, we wish for you a Happy Holiday season and our best wishes for
a Joyous New Year!
Barry and Holly

2007-11-06T08:17:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone!
It's been a while since we had a chance to chat but that is a sign of fall, I start to get lazy and busy all at the same time.
We've completed work on the Harvest House and are now ready for some indoor classes and retreats. Please let us know if you would like to have a great place for a meeting, private class, or day long retreat for your business associates (groups of 45 or less please).
We were lucky enough to get a grant from the Division of Tourism and Department of Commerce for funding to help us complete this infrastructure. Thanks to them we are well insulated and finished and ready for the 2008 season. A great big thanks needs to go to the Towner County EDC who sponsored this grant application for us and helped us receive the funding. We hope to say thank you to them in a very special way this winter some time.

Deer season is coming and our house will fill with visitors from around the country. We will have our usual family gathering of Barry's family and mine from Tennessee, Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Carolina. Every bed will be full and the house will ring with laughter - AAAGGHHH, just the way I like it.

After deer season I'll start working on the class schedule and marketing for next year. There's plenty to do in the winter - finish up grant reports from the summer's work, send thank-you's to our wholesale customers and try to make some contacts for the next year, design and get printed the new marketing materials and of course, special projects.

This winter I would love to learn more about Letter Boxing and Geocaching. They both are take-offs of a traditional scavenger hunt. I really enjoy scavenger hunts. It will be quite the learning curve to get into either one of these but I think it would be great fun to have some hidden treasures around the farm for our guests to find. Hopefully it would also bring in some new visitors.

Here's wishing all of you a very safe hunting season and a happy Thanksgiving.
Bye for now
Holly

2007-08-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

The days are getting shorter. That means fewer hours of daylight to work in the evenings which has made for some hectic harvests as we work to fill all of our restaurant and grocery store orders. Because of the lack of length of day - I've gone in to work late the last couple days and spent the early morning hours harvesting. Everyone should be able to spend their mornings in a garden and start their day by harvesting herbs. I've been in a MUCH better mood the last couple days at work and I'm sure it's becuase I have started both days harvesting basil or better yet, this morning, lemon verbena.

It's hard to be in a downer mood when you get those great smells, the peacefulness as the farm comes awake and the birds start their day, and the quiet rising of the sun in the morning.

I'm really excited about September 12th. You may have noticed it as an addition to the calendar. My friend Lisa Swanson Faleide has booked our farm and my services for her first venture into 'Plainswoman Presents...'
Lisa wants a forum for plainswomen everywhere to explore new things, including their spirit, faith, artistic expression, and their inner selves. She has asked me to present an interactive workshop on Rosh Hashanah. This is really exciting for me as being Jewish on the prairies can be kind of lonely - so being able to share this wonderful start to the high holy days with others is wonderful. This workshop is meant to introduce the traditions and theologies of Rosh Hashanah to people of all denominations and explain why it is important in the Jewish religion. Hopefully I'll also be able to relate how the Jewish religion is similar to the Christian religion and break down some barriers in that way. Anyway, for more information regarding this wonderful workshop - where by the way we will have a lighted labyrinth walk, a short hayride to the coulee, and other fun - please contact Lisa at lisaswansonfaleide@yahoo.com.
I look forward to seeing you all at the Produce Party and maybe even at "Plainswoman Presents...The Beginning of the Days of Awe"

2007-08-13T09:45:00.000-07:00

Busy Week.

Last week was a really busy week for us. We had an excellent class on Monday night with people attending from Grand Forks, Tolna, and McHenry. We had great fun.

Side-note: I told someone in this class that I would post something to this blog for her and then - duh! I promptly forgot what I was to post, please email or call me and let me know and I'll be sure to get it right up here.

Later in the week we received news that North Dakota had been part of a Today show segment on America The Beautiful - the most beautiful things in our country. As a part of that segment, gardendwellers Farm was highlighted on MSNBC and the Today show website. Wow! What a thrill. And - it was totally unexpected. To see the series and the segment, check out this link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20180273/

Then of course it was harvest, harvest, harvest. The restaurants and grocery stores are loving our herbs. The freshness is what gets them - you can't blame them. There's nothing like fresh from the farm veggies, fruits, or herbs.

My mother stopped yesterday - she's been busy too. She brought over all of the jelly she has been making for us from the fruit that grows at the farm. There were boxes and boxes of Nanking Cherry, Chokecherry, and Black Currant syrup and jelly. We are truly blessed to have such a Mom to take care of us and help us out. She also was over on Wednesday when she leafed 10 pounds of Genovese Basil for a Sanders 1907 Restaurant delivery. Each week she usually does 5 pounds but Chef Holmes and Mom and I are all going on vacation this week so he ordered 10 pounds. Let me tell you folks, 10 pounds of leafed Basil is a LOT of Basil.

This week Mom and I will be taking off Thursday and heading for the North Dakota State Horticultural Society Annual Conference and the State Fruit and Vegetables show in Jamestown. We go every year and I am the editor of their quarterly newsletter. I've been saving my pennies so I can buy things on the silent auction and we always have lots of fun.

Hope your days are filled with Flavor!
Holly

2007-08-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

A Bounty of Basil

Seems like the last two weeks I've had more than my fair share of dreams about drowning in Basil. Last week we started harvesting and making our deliveries to Minot and Grand Forks. This truly is my favorite time of year as nothing is better than pounds and pounds of fresh herbs all around you.

This year for the first time we are dealing with packaging and labeling - seems the grocery stores kind of like them that way! Apparantly my fears about that were unfounded as well because Tracey at Marketplace Foods loved our labels and packages.

We've also had some great classes the last two weeks. Last week was 'cooking with herbs' and we had a full class. Everyone had a blast and the weather cooperated for our class so we had a great time. This weeks class was 'herbal wreaths'. We had 8 people in the class and the wreaths turned out beautifully. A great big thanks to all the people who come out to take our classes. We sure have fun meeting all of you and visiting as we have our outdoor gatherings! Next weeks class is Home Made Beauty. There is still room in the class so if you'd like to learn to make a lavendar sachet, bath oils, bath salts, or other beauty products - give us a call or email us to sign up. Everything we'll make will be yours to take home or give as a gift and we'll make them from herbs and flowers from our garden. This is one of my favorite classes so please join us.

Tonight I'll go home and start to harvest again - more and more and more basil - for delivery to the grocery store and the restaurants tomorrow and then the cycle starts over. I guess that's how nature is - one cycle after another, always growing, and always appreciating the beauty along the way.
Happy Summer
Holly

2007-06-18T13:19:00.000-07:00

Animal Spirits

Every once in a while, the higher spirit sends us a message. Several times in the past 5 years, that higher power has sent me messages through what many native americans call 'Animal Spirit Guides' or 'Animal Spirits'. The trouble with an animal spirit guide is you have to interpret what they are trying to tell you.

Just like when your dog gives you that look - you know the one - the look you get when you have just poured your heart out to your furry friend and their head tilts, their eyes get wide, their nose flares, and you wonder whether they just smell the neighbors grilling steak or if they really understood the importance of what you just told them. Animal spirit guides are a lot like that.

Not that long ago, a wolf spirit visited me. It was almost freightening and kind of scary until I thought about it. Wolves are intelligent pack animals with a heightened sense of surroundings. The females care deeply for their pack. When she visited me, I began to look deeply at what she might be trying to tell me. After much meditation and contemplation I figured it out.

Several years ago I had a guide visit that transformed from one animal into another. This guide was telling me to trust myself and that although some rain may fall, it wouldn't spoil our plans for the Produce Party.

This past week I have been visited by Moths. Two rather large moths actually. The first one showed up at the college - a large Cecropia moth and the other showed up the next day at the farm, a polyphemus moth. Both are large impressive, beautiful creatures. Both stayed put for hours before just disappearing. Both moths were not listed as being commonly sighted in our county according to the NDSU extension web site. Both were out of their natural territories. Both were trying to tell me something. Now it is up to me to determine their message. Was it that change, like the moths' transformation, is something we need to embrace. Was it their quiet stillness and beauty reminding me to slow down and enjoy the simple beauty life has to offer? I guess I'll have to do a little more thinking and until I figure it out, I guess I'll just marvel at G-d's little miracles and bless the heavens that I got to be a part of it.
Take Care
Holly

2007-06-15T05:41:00.000-07:00

All things Considered...

Those of us with a few wrinkles and gray hair will remember this phrase, from our parents and maybe from Prairie Public Radio. It's not a phrase that gets used much anymore and certainly not by the next generations. It came to me last night as I was weeding.

Yesterday I decided to look for more plants to fill the bible garden. I received a wonderful donation last fall for the bible garden which I used to purchase a small garden ornament, a plaque with the requested inscription, and some daffodil bulbs but the garden still has some empty spots. I quickly printed off the internet a listing of plants from the bible and last night while weeding I went over the list. Mustard (Matt. 13:31-32; Mark 4:31-32; Luke 13:18-19), Grass (1 Kings 18:5; Job 4015; Ps. 104:14), Thistle, also mentioned but no reference given, and ash Isa 44:14. As I looked at the 'weeds' in the bible garden, I realized all of these were pieces that were already growing in the garden and that my spade was ready to pull out. I wondered how many times in life do we cull those things that have value without realizing it? How many times do we overlook the things we see everyday in favor of something new or splahy? Like the crow, are we always looking for the shiny piece of silver to feather our nest only to forget the practical? All things considered, I left the 'weeds' in the bible garden for now. I'm sure I'll fill in with more 'slash' later, but for now the ash seedlings, the mustard, thistle and grass are safe.

2007-06-04T07:11:00.000-07:00

Building an Ark and Lots to be Thankful for!

As many folks have noticed, we've got a little building project underway. With over 9 inches of rain in the last 4 weeks, we're telling them that we are building an ark. Really it is a multi-purpose building that will serve as classroom, harvest room, distillation room, extra sleeping quarters, storage,and more! That's a lot to pack into a little space, maybe we need the folks from Mission Organization on HGTV to come and help us out!

Thanks MUST go out to John and Daniel - the fine young men who helped us with rhubarb harvest - they were great workers. Also a BIG thanks to Uncle Jim Wilkie, Taylor, and Nephew Brian for their help in putting up rafters this weekend - without them the ark would not have a roof skeleton! Thanks everyone. We also need to thank our son Adam and his girlfriend Rin who came to help with Rhubarb harvest and although we had a nice time visiting, flying kites, having a campfire - I know that we worked those kids hard. We really appreciate their help.

We also need to say thanks to Connie and Louise Nelson for returning the dahlias and cannas again this year. They donated them to the Churchs Ferry garden several years ago and have been taking care of winter storage every year. I really am thankful for these wonderful women.

A big thanks goes out to Eric Woodard and Sheila Moser - both of who helped us out at an auction by watching out for items we wanted after we had to leave. Eric was able to get a wagon wheel for us for the Churchs Ferry garden and Sheila brought a book that Barry had his eye on. What wonderful people!

Lastly, the gardens. With all this rain the gardens are full of weeds. The theme gardens are starting to come into flower and look great from a distance but those of you that are gardeners will notice the almost knee high weeds if you get up close. It seems like planting is taking me forever this year as I still have things that need to go in the ground inclduing 20 high bush cranberry, some lemon verbena, the second succession of basil, the cilantro, dill, and others, a few tomatoes for personal use and some climbing vines. The rain has been great for transplanting, little or no shock to the plants, but it has meant the soil is so soaked that I just can't get on it very often. We're hoping for a little moderation in the rain department from here on out - or we'll have to convert the multi-purpose building to an ark for sure!
Have a great week.
Holly

2007-05-18T11:27:00.000-07:00

Busy time at the gardens!
It seems there are too many things to do and not enough time in the day lately.

Tonight I'm hoping to seed the rest of the herbs and plant a few plants out of the greenhouse. I'm fairly confident in the weather now so the tender stuff should get out of the greenhouse and into the ground. The asters are looking spectacular and the snapdragons too. The lemon verbena arrived in great form the other day and it is crying to get out. If the rain holds off tonight I should be able to get the lions share of all of this done.

The pond needs cleaning and now that we have a new pump that chore should be an easy one. The medieval garden needs revamping as the grass has taken over and we're building a brick entrance to the labyrinth.

Speaking of building, the concrete for the Harvest House is poured and set and the lumber was delivered yesterday. I expect at least preliminary building will start on that this weekend. It will be so nice to have a place to hold classes if the weather goes bad and a place to clean and package herbs inside. I can't wait until it is all finished. We're hoping it is up and looking good way before the Produce Party in September.

The perennials are up and looking good and I can't wait to see some color in the gardens again, we're only about 4 weeks away from that. By July we should look really good.

We're still waiting on the arrival of the still. The shippers tell us it should be here in 7 to 10 days. Not soon enough for Barry who is really anxious to check it out before the herbs are ready for distillation. This is another thing we hope to have all figured out and ready to showcase this fall at the Produce Party.

I hope all of you are out playing in the garden and having a blast. Take Care.
Holly

2007-05-08T07:38:00.000-07:00

Spring is definitely here!
The last couple weeks have been very busy for us. We've had a visit from Amity Moore of AAA Living magazine and Annette Schilling of the ND Division of Tourism. Amity will be writing a piece about ND Learning Based Vacations later this summer and was here to visit all of the wonderful places she'll be writing about. We had a great visit and even joined the pair for supper at the Ranch.

We also had a great time with Nancy Crowfoot and Phil her camera man from Iowa Public Television's series Market to Market. We'll be featured on Market to Market, which airs on Public Television at noon on Saturdays some time within the next month or so. We spent most of the day with them and found them to be truly delightful. Nancy and Phil also interviewed Paul Christensen, our mayor, for added commentary on rural development in Churchs Ferry.

The rains from this last weekend and the heat this week have the rhubarb growing like mad so we'll be on schedule for rhubarb harvest on Memorial Day weekend and the following week just like previous years. We are happy that our son, Adam, will be able to come home and help again. We really appreciate the time he takes off from work to come home and help us out. Besides, it really great to see him.

If the weather keeps up like this, I am hoping to get the seeding and some transplanting done this week. The lemon verbena was shipped from Ottaway yesterday, the hazelnuts should be on their way within a week or so and the seedlings in the greenhouse are screaming to get out. We've already had plenty of visitors, even though the flowers and herbs are not much to see at this time, and Barry is working hard to finish little projects that help to give us a more polished look.

Last night he finished a new highway sign that is visible for those traveling from the north and today he hopes to finish a new bench that will replace my poor example of a grass bench - that never grew - for the George Christianson memorial bench by the pond. He's been mowing like mad and trying desparately to finish plans for the harvest house which we will be building this spring. Concrete company problems and leveling have delayed this process. By now, we were hoping to have the concrete in place and ready for walls but sometimes things don't always go as planned.

To all of our friends - please be sure to plan your calendars around a stop to visit - we enjoy seeing all of you.
Happy Spring!
Holly

2007-04-17T12:27:00.000-07:00

So many people have asked us if we’re ready to get into the dirt, if we’ve already started to plant, and if we’ve started the seeds yet. What most people don’t realize is that at this time of year I’m busy finishing the marketing for the summer. There are many little details that need tending before I can even think about getting into the field.

We’re finishing the schedule for the Produce Party. That means we’ve lined up most of the demonstrators and started planning the posters, fliers, and advertisements. We’ve even started lining up the prizes for the contests.

We’ve been very busy booking tours and groups to visit the farm and will have an out of state guest hosted by the ND Tourism Division later this month in hopes of booking some additional bus tours. This visit means assembling a package of brochures and fliers with options for visitors.

Speaking of brochures, we’ve just received a shipment of 5000 new brochures that need folding. These brochures will be circulated to the Devils Run and Peace Officer convention participants in hopes of getting more visitors to the FARM.

We’re also very busy working on our contract customers, such as restaurants and this year even a Minot grocery store. The grocery store brings with it a whole new set of challenges – packaging and labeling. It took us a while to find a supplier for the right packages for herbs and now we need to settle the labels. We’ve wanted to design and have printed some custom labels that would include our logo and have a space for the name of the herb. The containers would also have stickers from the North Dakota Farmers Market and Growers Association that advertise our product as North Dakota grown. We’ve even considered a custom sticker for the back that would include a recipe but we’re not sure we can afford that. So far, the only custom label and sticker maker we’ve found is Frontier Label. If anyone has any other ideas, please drop me a note.

Barry has been working on spring clean up – branches and leaves and I’ve been tied to the computer finishing up these details. We do have some seeds started and I was able to get the temporary greenhouse up this weekend. As soon as we can get the temperature regulated we’ll start moving our little seedlings from the bath tub out into the real world.

So for now, it’s type, type, type – order, plan, design and return phone calls. I’ll see you all out in the dirt soon enough I hope. For now, take care and enjoy the sunshine.

2007-03-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Spring?
Seems our Mother Nature is just out to tease us here in the North country. We have been vacillating between 45 degrees Fahrenheit above and 7 inches of snow and blowing wind for several weeks now. I'm ready for gardendwellers season.

We're already gearing up for Rhubarb harvest and my mouth is already watering thinking of rhubarb pie, strawberry rhubarb jam, rhubarb sauce over ice cream, rhubarb bread pudding, rhubarb cookies, and the list goes on. Last year at our Chef's appreciation day, where we treated our customer chef's to a nice lunch and tour, we featured a nice pork loin with rhubarb marinade. It was great. Being the first crop of the season to be harvested, rhubarb is always a signal of the beginning of the gardendwellers year to me.

The Rosemary, Lavender, Chamomile, and several other varieties of seedlings are sprouting in our makeshift greenhouse. Their little bits of green give hints of good things to come this summer. I've also seeded the Artemisia or Sweet Annie we'll use in the herbal wreath class. I love its spicy aroma that blends so well with the other herbs. Each weekend from now until April ends we have more seeds to start early and then as soon as we feel the last frost has come and gone we will begin seeding outdoors. Basil is always one of the last to be seeded as it HATES frost. Dill, Cilantro, the Parsleys - yes three kinds this year - and fennel will be the first ones to go in. Some of the perennial herbs like Winter Savory, Thyme, Lemon Balm, Chives, and Sage will start greening up as soon as the robins are back.

I'm terribly excited this year as we are trying a new herb - Lemon Verbena. We tested it last year and it grew very well so I went ahead and ordered 120 of them, or was it 240? Either way, I'm hoping to have plenty of this amazingly lemon plant to sell for culinary, aromatic, or decorative purposes.

Can't wait to see all of you! Think Spring Thoughts.
Holly Rose

2007-02-26T09:07:00.000-08:00

Hello all of our gardening friends,
As some of you may have heard, we have just received an APUC (Agricultural Products Utilization Commission) grant for $9,000. This is for a research grant that we proposed in cooperation with Lake Region State College. The money will be used to purchase a stainless steel steam distillation unit, to pay student researchers and a head researcher at the college and pay their travel to and from the farm. We will work on finding the best conditions for distilling essential oils from the herbs that we grow. Hopefully this research will benefit many small companies across North Dakota that produce products using essential oils such as soap companies, health and beauty products companies and more. It also means a new demonstration at this years' Produce Party. Watch for more information on that as September draws closer.
It was fun to see the grant results in the paper. After our presentation Barry and I thought that we had blown it and there wasn't a snowballs chance in you know where that we would get the grant - and then WOW - There it was. Every season we throw away many many pounds of Basil, Spearmint, and other herbs that are either not restaurant quality or will not take a freeze in the fall. In this way we can utilize those herbs and turn them into a useful product for either gardendwellers Farm or for other small companies like Aromaprairie in Minot who makes the most delicious smelling body sprays.
In the middle of all of this excitement, we have been very busy dealing with health problems of our parents. My mother had a total knee replacement and Barry's father has had some heart and health problems that have landed him in a nursing home in Minnesota. It's nice that we are able to help but we wish we could do more. We're happy to report that both parents are on the road to recovery.
Spring is definitely close as we have also been very busy on the road with speaking engagements. All of the locals must be sick of hearing from us as this year most of our engagements have been farther away from home. We spoke in Aberdeen SD a few weeks ago and had a great time there. On Wednesday we will be speaking in Mandan at the Farm Credit Services Ag day and we are also booked later this month in New Rockford and LaMoure. Keep checking back to see where we'll be next.
Thanks to all who supported us through the grant process and through our busy times of late.
Holly

2006-12-27T11:47:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Surprise! We've moved our home to the farm. Boy are we looking forward to this summer. No 11:00 PM trips back to Devils Lake only to shower, have a bite to eat and go to bed. We now live directly across from the gardens. Barry is also excited (me too) because we will have air conditioning for the first time in our married lives. That will make the summer heat more bearable.

We moved into our new home on December 10th and closed on the sale of our Devils Lake house on December 15th. Sometimes that fate fairy just swoops down and dings you one the head with her magic wand and you just have to go with it. We had not intended on moving this winter. We did not even have our house for sale. Some things were just meant to be.

We are finding out just how 'small town' rural North Dakota can as we weren't even fully moved in yet and people were saying "well, you must be moved in, I saw the lights on when we drove by". It's nice to know someone is keeping an eye on us!

As usual in the winter, we are also trying to prepare for next year. My speaking engagements are starting to fill and already include a February trip to South Dakota to speak at the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture conference. I hope to have the summer class schedule completed and posted to the web site by the end of February and we are busy updating our customer lists. If you would like to be included on any mailings we may do in the future, please email me your address or email address and we'll add you to the list.

I'm also busy trying to plan the planting schedule. I was excited in November when I special ordered 200 Lemon Verbena. After last years' trial planting - which turned out great - I decided to go whole hog and do a couple rows. Not sure if we will sell it by the bunch or to an aroma therapy company that is interested in it, but either way I'm sure it will be a hit.

Hope this finds all of you in good health and looking forward to a properous new year. Know that we miss all of you over the winter and look forward to the spring when all of us, as little critters do, come out of our burrows and homes to mingle on the prairies.
The gardendwellers

2006-11-02T07:26:00.000-08:00

You can tell it's fall and I'm winding down. It's been a while since I added to this blog. Not that it's an excuse but we have been really busy.

On October 20th they pulled our new home onto its new location in Churchs Ferry. The big question everyone asks is, "When are you moving in" - well, to all of you the answer is "when our house in Devils Lake sells." I really have no desire to heat two places throughout the winter and with a large group of hunters (in size and number) coming in two weeks for deer season - I think our big house in Devils Lake will do for now. I am very anxious to move out to the farm but if you know us at all you know we do things in baby steps, one little step at a time.

Speaking of baby steps - we have a new baby. A baby of the wet nose, long ears, four paws kind. We hope to be introducing you to her at the farm next year. She is a black Cocker Spaniel whose name is Ida. Ida has been a great little baby. She is good at night and sleeps all night long with a dry kennel in the moning - what a relief to us and house training is going extremely well. She is such a good puppy and Mae is SO glad to have another dog in the house. Mae looks and feels better everyday with a companion to look after.

Now some farm news - let's all welcome the "California Kids Farms to Barton ND. They have relocated here from California and will be growing all manner of vegetables and small fruits for sale at regional farmers markets. We wish them the best of luck and welcome another grower to our region.

Also - we are already looking ahead to next year. I'm hoping to plant about 120 lemon verbena next year. A select few of you got to sample the trial plants I had this year and if my wholesaler comes through we'll have plenty more in 07. Also new in 2007 will be the wonderful "self taught" machine! We need a better name for it but that is our vending machine that we will convert to dispense self guided tour sheets, Churchs Ferry history brochures, theme garden plant lists, and kids make and take projects. (You know what I'll be working on all winter) We are also working to write an APUC grant for a distiller. Our new clients in Minot and elsewhere around the state would really be happy if we would get the grant and be able to provide them with custom made essential oils for their bath and body products. We're hoping not to disappoint them. We're also hooking up with a college or two and hoping to find an intern so if you see a new face in a gardendwellers shirt next year don't be surprised.

One last thing I am anxious for - the printing and distribution of the 2007 Prairie Garden book. As a contributing author I have seen a preview of this issue (to be printed in December and released in January of 07). The theme this year is Edible Landscapes. There are great articles on all manner of fruits, veggies, mushrooms, nuts, and other delectible garden items. Be sure to contact me if you want to know how to get on their standing order list.

Enough for now - have lots of work to do. Enjoy!

2006-09-26T13:08:00.000-07:00

Fall is definitely here. We've had our first frost and that touched up most of the basil. With the basil done, that means our days at the Grand Forks farmers market are also done.

Towards the end of the season we were surprised by one of our customers - Chef Holmes of Sanders Restaurant in Grand Forks - with a gift certificate to come and have dinner. Barry and I enjoyed that dinner recently and I have to tell you how wonderful it was! We enjoyed every little flavor and as an added touch Chef Holmes himself makes regular visits through the dining room to ensure you are having a good time. It's great to have such wonderful customers.
WANTED - A HOME FOR PUMPKINS
Lately I've been wondering what to do with the HUGE pumpkins that developed in the pumpkin patch. I grow them mostly to keep down the weeds and usually have no intention of selling them. Last year we were approached by the Mothers of Preschoolers program and we sold them the whole lot for a small price that fit their tight budet. They were truly shocked when we delivered them and they were much larger than they were expecting. This year the pumpkins are even bigger. If you know of any group, organization, or business looking for some extra large pumpkins at a great price, please email us. I'd love to see them go to a great home.

We're almost done with visitors to the farm for the year as well. We will have a group of young people from the Devils Lake Middle School coming for exploratory day on October 6th. We'll learn all about labyrinths and then do a labyrinth walk. I love having young people in the labyrinth, they fill it with energy. After this group I think we're done at the farm although that doesn't mean done for the year. I am booked to speak in Rugby in October at a Women's Agriculture day and I'm sure my other dates will start to book soon as well.

Fall is also the time some of us try to stock up for winter. This year at our house that has meant grape, black currant, and nanking cherry jelly, spaghetti sauce and salsa from the tomatoes and the yet to be created apple pies. I usually make up and freeze at least 12 pies to get us through the winter. This year I think I will make Barry run the peeler/slicer. Many hands make light work. It is very rewarding to make things you can enjoy for the whole winter from the 'fruits' of your labor.

So to go into fall, here's a piece by one of my favorite authors, stay warm, relax, and enjoy the ride:
“She had only to stand in the orchard, to put her hand on a little
crab tree and look up at the apples, to make you feel the
goodness of planting and tending and harvesting at last.”
- Willa Cather

2006-09-07T06:05:00.000-07:00

Produce Party a Big Success, Now Off To WomanSong!

It's Thursday and the Produce Party last Saturday was a big success. We had over 350 people in attendance and a good time was had by all. Several vendors sold out early and were so pleased with sales they said "sign us up for next year right away!"

Many people participated in our contests which makes me really happy. I love to find ways to engage people in the activity. In the largest tomato contest Marliss Platz was the big first place winner with a one pound and 12 ounce tomato totally organically grown. She won a weather radio. Second place was Bonnie Himle with a one pound 7.5 ounce tomato - by the way Bonnie won second place last year too let's wish her luck for a first place winner next year. Connie Nelson came in third in this contest.

In the Ugly vegetable contest we had a REALLY ugly blue hubbard squash that looked like a yawning cyclops. I mean this thing was UGLY. This squash was grown by Jim Bennington of Churchs Ferry. Jim won a gift pack with a bird feeder filled with seed, a rain guage, and a thermometer. Second place was a tie between a potato growing out of a potato brought in by Amy Anderson of Leeds and a striped, gnarled, split tomato brought in by Joy Norman of Maddock (her husband really but he didn't even want his name on the thing it was so ugly). Third place went to Judy Sabbe of Leeds with a pair of contorted potatoes.

The Grand door prize of a basket filled to the brim with goodies from our vendors went to Gay Carlson. Yvette Paulson won a handmade handbag from Maddy Zing Designs, Madeline Brennon of Northfield MN. Crystal Meier of Minnewauken won the herbal wreath made during the demonstration by Cindy Behlolavek of Summer's Memories in Sabin MN.

A big Thanks goes out to Alex Gronas and Kaycee Scott for helping us with our booth and clean up afterward. These two kids are the hardest working kids I know (with the exception of our son) and we are so fortunate to know them. Besides being hard working they are polite and respectful to our customers. Thanks guys!

The big day is over and now I've been concentrating on WomanSong this weekend in LaMoure/Oakes. You can check out the schedule online at www.DakotaWomanSong.org. I'm doing to workshops on herb cooking down there and doing a reading of the 2006 Prairie Garden book - which I will also be selling. I do have copies of this book for sale so please contact me if you would like to buy one - they are $9.00. They make a great Christmas gift and of course, winter is coming - what a good book to curl up with on a cold day.

Take Care for now - we'll write more next week and tell you how it went at WomanSong.
Holly

2006-08-30T13:14:00.000-07:00

Two Days To Go!

Well, it's two days to the big event and I can't wait. This year we feel more ready than ever to receive all of the guests, both at home and the farm, than ever before.

We're all mowed and spiffed up at the farm and with the exception of one small weed patch, we're pretty weed free too. The straw bales for seating in the demonstration tent will be delivered on Friday evening courtesy of Ron Rodenbiker. The alumni worked hard last night and got the Alumni building all sparkling clean. It's fun to hear the old school bell ring and know that there is activity there again. The bathrooms are clean and few new 'pretty' items added for a homey touch. The mini motor home has a new mattress cover and the sheets are ready as one of our vendors will be spending the night there Friday night. Last night I mowed the labyrinth and the theme gardens and pulled the last of the weeds so now I think we're ready. As ready as we get anyway.

We're very glad to be hosting some friends who will come to town from Minnesota for the event. My dear friend from the college in Minnesota is coming with her family as are our best friends and ex-neighbors from Minnesota with their four kids. Our house will ring with laughter this weekend and as usual it will be one of the two times per year when our large house is actually filled and all the beds are used. The 'lodge' as we affectionately call it, is usually way too big for Barry and I by ourselves but twice a year (during the Produce Party and Deer Season) it fills to the brim with family and friends. That's when I like the house the best.

We hope to see you all at the Produce Party. We've ordered the weather especially for the day and have been promised party sunny with 72 degrees - Perfect!
Holly

2006-08-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

Every day - one day closer to the Produce Party!

We are still looking for more veggie and produce vendors for the Produce Party so anyone who has a few extra tomatoes, potatoes, or whatever - please call to reserve your spot today.

We're going to have a ball this year. So far we have over 20 vendors with food, produce, books, and art that will fill the day with fun. I also truly believe they are some of the most interesting people I've ever met. Be sure to check out the schedule to get in on the fun.

The rain we had sure helped things green up and we actually mowed the grass last night. That's the first time in months that we have had to mow. Things were bright green and even some of the perennials are giving it a second try at blooming. Everything seems to want to look good for the Produce Party.

Barry and I picked the grapes off of the arbor on Sunday and yesterday my mother, Delores, came to get them. She'll make us some great grape jelly to help get us through the winter. Jelly is always better with home grown fruits and this year's crops of nanking cherries, black currants, and now grapes have filled our pantry to over flowing.

We look forward to seeing you - and remember, call if you want a booth space to get rid of those extra veggies, be a part of the fun!

2006-07-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

Grand Forks Farmers Market

This last Saturday we were back at the Grand Forks Farmers Market for the first time this season. It was wonderful to see some of our regular customers again. We will continue to be in Grand Forks on Saturdays from now until the end of August.

Speaking of our regular customers - one of them requested our Herb Cheddar Loaf recipe and unfortunately I did not have one in the recipe box. I told her I would post it here so everyone could access it - so here it is:
Herb Cheddar Loaf
1 pkg. active dry yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, 1/2 cup milk, 1/3 cup butter, 1 Tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 3 eggs, 1 Tablespoon Each fresh chopped Oregano, marjoram and thyme (or you may substitute 1 teaspoon dried), 3 1/4 cups all purpose flour, 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, and 1 egg white.

Sprinkle yeast into warm water and let stand until dissolved. Heat milk and butter until butter melts; pour into a mixing bowl. Add sugar and salt and let cool to lukewarm. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until smooth. Mix in the yeast mixture and the herbs. Gradually add 2 cups of the flour and beat until smooth. Add remaining flour and cheese and beat with a heavy duty electric mixer or wooden spoon. Turn out on a lightly floured board and knead until smooth and satiny. Place in a bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. Turn out dough on a board and knead lightly. Place in a greased 2 quart round casserole or souffle' dish. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk. Brush the top with lightly beaten egg white. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 35 minutes, or until the loaf sounds hollow when thumped. Place on rack and let cool slightly. Turn out of dish. Makes 1 large loaf.

Enjoy!!!

2006-07-17T14:35:00.000-07:00

This past weekend was the annual meeting of the North Dakota State Horticulture Society. As usual, I attended the meeting sans my favorite sidekick (Barry) and substituted my mother and friend Donna. It was held in Grand Forks where community parks abound and many wonderful home gardens as well. The heat was stifling and at one point during the trip I was virtually wilted but overall I learned a few things and saw some great home gardens. The best part was seeing people I only get a chance to visit with once a year. Members come from all over the state to the meeting and we all have a great time. Connie Laugerquist from the International Peace Gardens and I had ourselves in tears several times by telling humorous stories. It was really fun.

The other fun part was the silent auction and shopping at local greenhouses afterward. I came home with a few additions for the night gardens, another crabapple (what I need another crabapple for is beyond me and well beyond Barry) and some great rocks. Yes, rocks. There is a member from the Surrey area that makes great rock mobiles. It will be hung in the gardens as soon as possible for everyone to enjoy. Of course it will take a healthy branch to hold it but it is really cool. Can't wait to get it hanging. Another piece of ND garden art to add to the growing collection.
There are no public classes scheduled this week and only one private group. We will harvest for the first time later this week and be available at the Grand Forks farmers market this coming Saturday. Hooray! The sweet smell of Basil is on its way. Barry will also go to Minot this week and pick up the chopper for the second round of rhubarb harvest.

Monday July 24th is the Savory Sage class. We have plenty of room left in this class so please call and register so I can plan supplies. We'll look at the different sages and talk about their uses. We'll cook with sage, make a facial astringent, and a small sage wreath for decoration. It will be great fun so send us an email or call to reserve your spot.
Stay Cool
Holly

2006-07-07T06:29:00.000-07:00

What a fun evening!

Last night I traveled to Cando for the 4-H achievement day where I was to put on a demonstration of 'my choice'. I chose, of course, weeds. My demonstration was entitled, 'Eat Your Weedies'. I brought along some freshly 'harvested' purslane, chickweed, plantain, and lambsquarters. I had handouts with the nutritional value of the weeds, their wholesale value in California ($9.00-$22.00 per pound!) and recipe's for making delicious summer salads with the weeds. I even brought along some of my own. I served up a wonderful summer salad with fresh garden lettuce and lambsquarters, some egg salad with chickweed, and creamed cucumbers with purslane. It was great fun. The people were wonderful and most of them at least wanted to try a bite. It is amazing how many people you can get to eat weeds - wonder if they'd come out to the gardens to graze?

Of course, 4-H is my favorite youth organization. I was a 4-H'er. My son was a 4-H'er and just attended the Youth conference where he was an outgoing ambassador for North Dakota (outgoing - as in he is now too old to be in 4-H and must at some point become a leader to stay involved). Doing my demonstration last night made me feel as though I was back in 4-H, talking about my project, receiving awards and meeting new people. I guess even way back then I enjoyed teaching people new things. It's still that way today as people come to the gardens and take classes and tours. Here's a hefty congratulations to all of the hard working 4-H'ers and best of luck at the state fair. Thanks for the great time.
Holly

2006-07-03T06:02:00.000-07:00

A new addition

This past weekend we were lucky enough to complete one of ourgoals for the farm. Since the beginning we've had an "on demand learning center" in our marketing plan. We never thought we would truly accomplish this as it had been 4 years and everything we saw to complete the project was too expensive.

On Friday after work I stopped at a yard sale across from our house in Devils Lake and there she was - what a beauty! A manual vending machine! It had belonged to a church and the woman assured me that it still worked. It had all of the keys and spare parts we would need and for a very nice price I purchased it (after calling Barry to confirm that this was something we still wanted to do). Saturday Barry and the neighbor worked to get it in good running order and to make sure all of the slots worked. It is in place and functioning - holding soda right now, but boy do we have plans for it.

The idea is to have a place where visitors can receive information if Barry and I are not there. The machine would be able to have plant lists for the theme gardens in one slot, a self guided walking tour in another, maybe a copy of the history of Churchs Ferry as written by G.C. Chamberes in 1894, and also some small and simple projects for children to do while at the farm. All of the items will need to be under $1.00, very affordable, but would be a nice touch for times when Barry and I cannot be at the farm to greet or tour guests. (helps to cover photocopying costs too) Now I just have some typing and formating work to do before this will be up and running. Be sure to stop by and check it out.

While Barry worked on the new 'learning center' I weeded. Right now the weeds are both a blessing and a curse. We are so dry that the weeds are the only thing holding the moisture in the soil but also because of the heat they are already setting seed which will mean more weeds as summer progresses. I hate to remove them and expose that beautiful black dirt to the drying sun and heat but if I don't - weeds, weeds, weeds will have to be a class added to this year's schedule!
Enjoy your Independance Day,
Holly and Barry

2006-06-22T06:16:00.000-07:00

WANTED: Rain

Yestereday was a beautiful day at the farm. We had a great giggling group of gals from the Lawton Lutheran Church - yes, Lutheran Ladies are a lot of fun. After their visit Deanna from the ND Division of Tourism showed up for a quick scout of the place before she brings the tour operators in August and finally we rounded out the day with our summer solstice laybyrinth walk. Lloyd and Bonnie Himle were with us in the class, what a great way to celebrate your anniversary. During our walk, the moose that have moved into town (two yearlings) were giving 'call' and it made a kind of eerie but fun sounds to contemplate as we walked the labyrinth.

Seems like all around the farm (Penn, Leeds, Towner, Devils Lake) has received some rain but as of 11:00 PM last night Churchs Ferry was still dry. Let's all pray for rain, we only have so many hoses and so much time. Things are powder dry out there and to be at their freshest the rhubarb and the herbs could use some moisture. My friend Christie knows how to do a rain dance that has worked in the past, I'm almost ready to give her a call.

Churchs Ferry day is this Saturday and the village will be filled with alumni and previous residents. Be sure to stop by and see what is going on. There is always good food, good door prizes, a great silent auction and at the end of the day some of the best small town fireworks I've ever seen. Barry and I will be there right away in the morning as WDAZ is coming to interview us and the I will be taking off for Minot where my nephew Brian is marrying his high school sweetheart after 10 years of dating - congrats Brian and Amy! Barry will give the tour at Churchs Ferry at 10 and then buzz to Minot to spend the rest of the day at the wedding and with family. Remember, if you're thinking of visiting the farm and need a guided tour, drop us a quick note or give a call to be sure we are there.

2006-06-05T11:05:00.000-07:00

Rhubarb Harvest is Finally Done!

Yesterday, Sunday June 4th we finally finished the last of the rhubarb from this harvest. A lot of thanks to Alex and Casey for their hard work and help in finishing this monumental task. We'll deliver to the winery on June 15th and find out then how much we really have. I know there is at least 2,000 pounds but we'll see if there is any more than that.

Now on to the rest of the chores. There's weeding galore to do, cleaning the pond, and even some planting left. These are the good chores though - the ones I like doing. Soon we'll be into class season. Our first class - Hypertuffa planters - is already full.

Barry hung some great lanterns on the arbor this weekend. As the days grow shorter they will make great evening/night accents in the theme gardens. This last winter I wrote a grant to the ND Historical society for an interpretive sign. We received the grant with help and administration from the Devils Lake Basin Joint Water Resource Board. The sign arrived the other day and I have been busy collecting information to fill it. We hope to have it up within a week or two. Stay tuned for more information...

2006-05-31T07:27:00.000-07:00

Rhubarb Harvest

Memorial Day weekend is typically when we begin rhubarb harvest at the farm. Rhubarb, called pie plant in other parts of the United States, is a great plant with many uses. It is also an unusual plant to be harvesting in an area where harvest usually involves wheat, corn, or soybeans. Many people do not understand the amount of time and labor involved in the harvest of 500 rhubarb plants. This year we will remove about 2,000 pounds of rhubarb from our patch in the first harvest. The product goes to Burlington, North Dakota to the Pointe of View Winery for making rhubarb wine.

During harvest we cut (not pull) whole plants then we remove the leaves, wash it, chop it with a chopping machine rented from the winery, bag it, and then ship it off to a local freezer until the winery is ready for delivery. We'll put in about 200 man hours to complete the task.

This last weekend we had some fine workers helping us, however we still have three double rows left to harvest. We hope to complete the harvest this upcoming weekend and we are hoping some of the great young people who helped last weekend will return to finish the project. Feel free to stop by and see this interesting process. We also sell rhubarb direct to consumers so if you are looking for a few stalks to make pie, cake, or sauce - come on out. Currently rhubarb goes for $1.50 per pound.

See you there,
Barry and Holly

2006-05-31T07:15:00.000-07:00

Welcome to gardendwellers Farm blog! Here, we will try to keep you posted about what's going on at the farm and the status of the flowers and herbs. We look forward to keeping you up to date with everything we are doing so you can best plan your visit. Barry and I would like you to know that we view the Farm as a public place, so even if we are not available when you visit, please feel free to wander around, have a picnic, or even pick a few weeds. We look forward to meeting all of you and sharing with you our passion for flowers, herbs, and the great North Dakota outdoors.