Sam Potter

Its nice to hear that Im not the only one that has troubles with carrots. From what I see I'm planting them a little to late in the spring and they are most likely drying out in our clay soil. I think Il try three beds this year in different styles and see if I cant crack the code. Can you sow them in winter like I do with spinach and lettuce seeds? The melting snow keeps them moist and happy so around February on a relatively warm day I plant them on the north side of the house and get a good crop that way come spring. It wouldn't be to hard to prep a bed in fall and throw in the seeds then. Or maybe around the same time I get potatoes in...  

I have been gardening on my own now for 10 years. My mother for 20 years and my Grandma for longer then time. I had realized a few years back that none of us grow carrots. I thought well why are we buying them from the store when we grow everything else? Mom says there just cheaper to buy then to grow for her and that's valid. Grandma just grows daisy's these days.  But I still want to grow rather then buy so I add them to the list for seeds and stuff to plant thinking nothing much of it.
For the FORTH year in a row now I have tried and failed to grow the little buggers. I just harvested 4 carrots from LAST years bed!!! Apparently the seeds decided to finally germinate. I will mention just to sooth my own ego they were picture perfect carrots but a year to late and only 4. Iv grown tomatoes, squash, potatoes, dragon fruit, beets, radishes, onions and so on no problem!!! They seem to be the only thing I cant grow and now we really want carrots cause they were really good!!! I've tried presprouting them, seeding them under burlap to keep them moist, changing locations, seed and soil. But They normally never even germinate!  We live in zone 4 of Iowa with good soil and I dont think its the garden or seeds at this point I think its me lol. Please tell me your carrot growing ways!

So electric has a good chance but not a 100 percent chance of keeping them in. Il take your advice and run electric on the inside but not as my main on the outside. I had to go take a proper look to see what it currently is. It is 4 foot woven cattle fencing with some loose barb wire that will need removed. I plan on getting the sheep in the spring. And the grass has all gone to seed. Is it better if I mow that now in the fall or in the spring? I did goats as a way to clear brush so the pasture care is new to me.

Nice to know, the pasture has been empty for quite a few years and is mostly filled with tall grass. No brush or I'd do goats personally. I have no clue how to tell the quality of the pasture but it's been mowed probably about once a year at least. Its a grid like fence, they used to use it to house bulls is my understanding so it's going to need some repairs. I think il start with 4 to 5 sheep just to keep it hopfuly understocked. Anyone have hands on experience with the milk and wool of the Icelandics?

Any tips for starting out with Icelandic? Iv had goats but never sheep. Are they hard on fences? We have 2 acres available to pasture and I'm not sure if 6 for milking and wool would be under or over stocking it and if the cattle fencing that's currently up would be enough to keep them in safely. Google says we are good but I like hearing confirmation from people who have had on the ground experience  

We just had them for dinner last night as our main. In replacing our stove there was a snag and all we had was limited time and a hot plate to make dinner and I think it might be a meal more often now. I think everyone had about 3 to five eggs worth a piece.

I clean, grind, mix and freeze my own cat food. Comes to about 30 lbs a week. All of it is human grade if it wasn't for the gritty bones here and there. Would this possibly count anywhere here or would this possibly be a odd ball?

We are definitely going to give this challenge a good try. Thou I have a feeling there is going to be a few hiccups! We are mostly vegan but the pets are obligated carnivores and of course all meat comes in plastic. The feed for the chickens only seems to come in plastic. We did find a source with paper feed bags but it's over a hour away. And milk, finding glass jars is nonexistent. We do have a lady when we visit some folks in Missouri who refills our gallon mason jars! Happy shout out to the Amish Galaxy Store in Missouri. Everything else I believe will be a fun challenge. We will have to get creative for the packaging on our farmers market items. Glass is and paper bags are obvious. But what about the stickers? The backings are all this plastic film! 🤨

We use strawberries as one of our ground cover plants. I knew the berries were useful but had no idea the leaves could be used to until now.

Rosemary harvest and storing. I pick alot of rosemary to hang for good smells but it doesn't normally make it to a jar before its used!