You probably know that before the advent of modern chemical dyes we relied upon plants for making dyes. These dyes came in a surprising array of colors, though they tended to be more earth toned and less bright than our modern dyes. Nonetheless, plants can produce an amazing array natural dyes in highly versatile colors….
Comparing the Growth Rates and Performance of Your Sheep
Last time when we were discussing culling, we mentioned that there is a right way and a wrong way to compare the growth rates and performance of your sheep. We said you couldn’t just pick out the biggest, nicest looking lambs in the field and expect your flocks performance to improve. Those lambs are actually…
How To Successfully Overwinter Passion Flowers
Today we are going to give you some tips to help you succeed with overwintering passion flowers. How easy and how much success you have is based upon a lot of variables. Some cultivars are easier to overwinter than others. Also some climates and environments make overwintering easier than others. As a rule, passion flowers…
Culling, An Uncomfortable But Necessary Part Of Breeding
Last year we spent some time discussing topics like selecting breeding stock and using terminal sires to make your flock more productive and profitable. Today we are going to be discussing another important part of improving your flock: culling. Culling is something that makes many people uncomfortable, and for good reason. Its not a pleasant…
Protect Your Plants With Functional DIY Hose Corners
Today we are going to share with you one of our favorite garden hacks. Hose corners. Unless you are one of the lucky few who has water lines or drip irrigation to literally anything you could possibly want to water or irrigate, you probably deal with hoses at some point. They are frustrating! If you…
Flushing Sheep To Maximize Reproductive Performance
Today we are going to talk about the concept of flushing sheep. Maybe you’ve heard of it. Maybe you haven’t. If you haven’t, flushing is strategically feeding your sheep extra feed at certain times to increase productivity of your flock (this also applies directly to goats!). It is something we have done for 2 seasons…
Help! Something Is Eating My Passion Flower
Every summer we receive questions from people wanting to know “what is eating my passion flower?”. While there are many things that can eat passion flowers, the quick answer is most likely fritillary caterpillars. Often passion flower plants will go from looking perfect to full of holes seemingly overnight. While the damage can seem alarming,…
Copper and Sheep. Is Copper Going To Kill My Sheep?
Copper and sheep. Is copper going to kill my sheep? The title says it all. There isn’t a more misunderstood, maligned nutrient in sheep. You’ve probably heard that copper is evil. Sheep can’t have any copper. If sheep have copper in their diet they will die. Unfortunately, while sheep can and do die of copper…
Our Favorite Long Blooming Plants
As per reader’s request, today’s article is a list of our favorite long blooming plants. There are certainly many uses and a place for short blooming plants in your garden. These short-lived blooms like lilies, peonies and iris are often the focal points and showy stars of the garden. However, it is the less showy…
How To Trim Sheep Hooves
Today we are going to show you how to trim sheep hooves. Depending on your soil and the activity level of your sheep, you will likely need to trim their hooves at some point. For some people it’s a 2x a year task, for some its more or less frequently than that, and for the…