an Iowa life | bees and local food
I got a new to me food dehydrator. I didn’t know a thing about dehydrators, so called my SIL to ask about her experience with drying food. The previous owner (who is one cool mama) told me that she had used it for the pear tree in her yard —…
This is my front yard. Remember my bulbs? Before I can plant them, I had to clear everything but my butterfly bush. The monarda, sedum, tulipa, achillea, rudbeckia, and whatever I forgot to name, plus any rocks I found, all had to be moved before Mr. TellBlast could till. He…
This weekend is Bulb Mart at the Botanical Center. The Botanical Center is a government-run organization, and the Friends group that supports it is a small, non-profit volunteer group. When I saw that my fall-flowering crocuses (colchicum) were sending out leaves, I knew that I should start looking at dates…
I saw a pallet garden on Pinterest — where else? (original post here) I have wanted pole beans in my garden again, but rabbits — the bane of my existence — have prevented me in recent years from having them. RABBITS EAT EVERYTHING I PLANT!!! I came upon a HUGE pallet from…
I just realized that I never wrote about my lasagna garden plans. In 2010, I laid down the lasagna layers (the idea came in hardcopy form through Suddenly Frugal by Leah Ingram). In 2011, I planted carrots in the lasagna. The neighborhood rabbits LOVE carrot tops, so we ended up putting…