Teachable Moments


Boondocking has two main components: Undeveloped campgrounds (no water, electrical or sewage connections).  You generally don’t find a designated spot to setup camp, just find a spot away from the road you came on. Our first experience doing this was in during the summer of 2020 at the height of […]

Boondocking and Quick Overnight Stays


When contemplating how to attach your bird feeders, birdhouses and/or wind chimes do not attach them with nails, screws or anything that will penetrate the outer bark.  Texas A&M Forest Service has a great explanation on why one shouldn’t: Penetrating the outer bark can damage the cambium, the area just […]

Don’t Harm That Tree



Camping is one of our family’s favorite activities, but it requires some preparation. Camping with two kids and three dogs requires the ability to plan a camping trip. As with anything planning ahead will make your life easier. Book your reservations well in advance of your trip, plan your menu for the […]

Learning From Our Mistakes


Over the weekend we’ve completed our planting and set out our irrigation plans. In the previous years I watered our containers and beds the old fashioned way, standing over the garden with hose in hand fending off mosquitos and other biting pests. With the expansion of our plots we decided […]

Our Irrigation Plans



According to our planting instructions and everything on the internet, corn is supposed to be ready to harvest between 71 and 91 days (depending on the type of corn you plant).  We harvested this crop at 94 days old, so looking at the stalks and the calendar we figured it […]

A Harvest Too Soon???


I loath these small sap-sucking insects. Aphids are among the most destructive pests a gardener can face. They do have a fair amount of natural enemies which include but not limited to predatory ladybugs, hoverfly larvae, parasitic wasps, crab spiders, lacewings. Many aphid species are monphagous, they feed only on […]

Pesky Little Aphids



As most newbie gardeners, I am always trying to get the “right” amount of water, erroring on the caution side. Our plants especially the tomatoes are just popping out everywhere. So I’ve been really worried about over irrigating during the this period which may reduce fruit quality. Ample water during […]

The Fine Balance Of Watering Your Garden..


The last couple of weeks Amanda and I noticed that our bell peppers and tomatoes were turning brown and rotting only at the bottom. Being a newbie farmer, I thought we had sometype of fungus or another pest attacking our vegetables again. After talking with one of her friends about […]

Calcium Deficiency In Our Plants…