100 Facebook Likes Giveaway!

In celebration of reaching 100 likes on our facebook page we are giving away a prize package of some of our all natural handmade body care products. The package includes a variety pack of lip balm in four flavors; vanilla lime, lavender grapefruit, refreshing mint, and cinnamon orange, an herbal salve tube, and a jar of vanilla lime sugar scrub. Use the rafflecopter below to enter! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hybrid, GMO, Open Pollinated and Heirloom

There is much confusion going around about these terms, what they mean and what difference it makes. Often you will hear that heirloom produce is healthier, that hybrids are GMO, that hybrids are sterile and unable to reproduce or that hybrids are bad just because they are bred by man. I hope to clear up some of the misconceptions here.

Open Pollinated- any seed variety that will reproduce true to type. This means that if you were to plant an open pollinated variety of zucchini you could then save seed from those zucchinis, replant them the next season and harvest zucchinis very similar to what you started with. Although you would have to take precautions not to let the zucchini cross with your pumpkins or any other zucchini or you would end up with hybrid seeds which may or may not have desirable traits. You see, open pollinated seeds have a gene pool that has been limited through selective breeding to the point where the resulting offspring are very similar to each other in much the same way animals such as dogs are bred to create specific breeds that will have offspring with characteristics like the parents, these dogs are selectively bred until the gene pool is limited to the point that genetic variability will allow very few options for the offspring. The advantage of open pollinated seeds (and heirloom as all heirlooms are also open pollinated) is they are often more affordable, and if you wish to save seeds rather than buy them it is a lot easier to produce your own open pollinated seeds. The disadvantage of open pollinated plants is that often they will not yield as well as hybrids, or produce the consistency and uniformity that most people have come to expect of vegetables. All seeds Hybrid and Open Pollinated require a certain amount of human effort in their breeding and selection.

Heirloom- there is not a hard and fast definition of this but heirlooms are basically seed varieties that have been around a while and often have been passed down through generations. Heirlooms are also always open pollinated (but all open pollinated varieties are not heirlooms). One advantage of using heirlooms is that of pushing back against seed company monopolies as heirloom seeds are unable to be owned or controlled.

Hybrid- The result of a cross between two different varieties of the same species by means of sexual reproduction. Hybrids happen naturally all the time in the wild as well as in most gardens. There is nothing inherently unnatural about hybrids. That said it is more work to produce hybrid seeds (which is why they cost more), they are carefully bred in a manner that ensures that they are all crossed the same so the seeds will be uniform in genetic makeup. You can save seed from hybrid varieties but they won’t be true to type and you would get a wide variety of plants because while the first cross gives a specific genetic balance subsequent breedings will produce variations in the genetics of the offspring and the fruit from such plants could be excellent or terrible. For this reason most people buy hybrid seeds every year rather than save their own, if you are gardening on a smaller scale and high yields and perfect fruits are not the priority heirlooms or open pollinated seeds may well be your main focus. Hybrids are bred in a way that give the best of two different varieties, they can be bred for various characteristics such as size, uniformity, flavor, shipping quality or storability, depending on what a specific hybrid was bred for tells a lot about it. For example if a plant was bred for storability it may not have the flavor of an heirloom. But hybrid does not always mean less flavor, it all depends on the particular hybrid variety.

GMO- GMO seeds have been manipulated in a laboratory in a way that would never happen in nature. Often DNA of unrelated species has been combined to produce GMO seeds, for example inserting genes from the bacteria BT into corn seed so the plant becomes a poison to corn earworms and other caterpillars. Natural BT is a very safe bacterium used to kill caterpillar type worms as it only will survive a day or two under normal conditions and is completely harmless to mammals and most other animals. But it is somewhat concerning when the BT genes are inserted into a plant where the BT toxin is able to persist and kill in a way it was never intended to in nature. GMO seeds are not allowed in Organic production.

So to recap

Open Pollinated- the product of two plants of the same variety and species. The result will be nearly identical to both its’ parents. Think of a Golden Retriever bred with another Golden Retriever.

Heirloom- an Open Pollinated variety that has been around for a good length of time

Hybrid- the product of two different varieties of the same species, the result will be different from either of its’ parents hopefully carrying the best of each. Think of a Golden Retriever bred to a Poodle.

GMO- usually the product of two different species. Think of a Golden Retriever engineered to have some characteristics of a Persian cat.

 article copyright by Andrew Engell 2013

The Seed Order

It begins in December as the seeds begin arriving in the mail. We start poring over the pages; admiring the gorgeous pictures and studying the variety descriptions. We begin by circling or highlighting the ones that catch our interest. We get excited about the coming season as we discuss new varieties we want to try and ones we know we need to grow again. After the first of the year we seriously get down to the business of figuring out our seed order. It takes quite a bit of planning and thought. We decide how much area we have to plant and how much of it will be used for each crop. Next Andrew does the calculations for how much of each type of seed we will need. Soon we are back in the catalogs, making our lists. Usually it is a shock when we add up the total cost of everything we want which leads to cutting a few items out and narrowing down the varieties. We have to ask ourselves questions like "Do we really need three varieties of pickling cucumbers or can we just grow one?" "Is this variety available for less in another catalog?" or "Would a cheaper variety do just as well?" Sometimes the answer to these questions will be no and sometimes yes. Since we are certified organic we also have to buy organically grown seed when it is available and may not use treated seed. Usually it takes much refining before we are satisfied with our final orders. We usually order from 3-4 different seed companies each year. This year we are ordering from Johnny's Selected Seeds, High Mowing Organic Seeds, Osborne Seeds, and Fedco Seeds. Deciding our seed order for the year  is an enjoyable job, but it is always a relief to get it finished. We have finally completed our seed order this year and now get to look forward to their arrival. Soon we will be starting the first of them in flats!

Winter on the Farm

Winter has come to the farm. The garden is sleeping under a blanket of snow. The pace has slowed down quite a bit. We are indoors a lot more now staying cozy by the fire and doing indoor projects, crafts and baking. We are enjoying the rest, the break while at the same time beginning to plan and look forward to next season with anticipation. The seed catalogs are starting to appear and we can't resist flipping through them and dreaming of spring. But for now we are content to wait, to plan, to work on the projects that need to be done in preparation. Spring will come soon enough with all the busyness that comes with it. For now I am grateful for the quite and the peace of this seson.

Honey Cough Syrup

Cold and cough season is fully upon us now, the days have become chillier and everyone at our house has caught a bit of a cold. Time to make some healthy, natural cough syrup. It is so easy to make, too! I made two different kinds; one is elderberry and the other is lemon ginger. I use honey as the base for both, it is naturally antibacterial and also feels soothing on the throat. Elderberries are great for your immune system and are excellent for coughs and colds. Ginger is also good for your throat and lemon has antibacterial properties as well. I also added a dash of cayenne to the lemon ginger syrup. Cayenne is good for your immune system and improves circulation. So here are the simple recipes.


Lemon-Ginger Cough Syrup

1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup water
juice and zest of one lemon
1 inch piece of fresh ginger grated
dash or two of cayenne

Elderberry Cough Syrup

1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup elderberries(mine were frozen, we have elderberries growing wild abundantly around here, so I harvested some this past summer and froze them)


To make your syrup combine all ingredients from your chosen recipe in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and allow to simmer gently for about 5 minutes. Strain through a wire strainer into jars. Store in the refrigerator for several weeks, it should last for quite a long time. To use simply take a teaspoon at a time. Your kids will love it! Warning: do not give this to babies under 1 year old, the honey can contain botulism spores.

Simmer gently for about five minutes

Strain into a small jar

David Learns to Plant Garlic

As the season ends and winter approaches there is always a mad rush to get everything done before snow comes. One of the big projects to get done is planting the garlic. This year David was so interested in helping with the whole process. He helped us break the cloves apart in preparation for planting. Then Andrew gave him a lesson on how to plant garlic out in the garden. He explained to him which end of the clove goes down and which end goes up, he showed him how to find the marks in the soil from the bed marker, and how to plant each clove where the lines cross. David caught on really fast and enjoyed planting garlic so much. Every time we were ready to plant another bed he was ready to help.

Andrew cleans the garlic.

Garlic for planting.

Separated cloves, ready to plant.

Garlic cloves waiting to be pushed into the ground.

A clove in the ground.

David carrying the box of seed garlic up the bed.

Last of the Harvest

 Andrew bringing in the last of the cabbages.

 Some of the last leeks.

Andrew harvesting the last beets.