Second Acre Farm

05/23/2026

It's one of my favorite times of the year. Mulberry Harvest!
The berries are a bit smaller this year due to the drought, but they still taste amazing!
A few things I love to make with them:
- Mulberry Syrup
- Mulberry Jam
- Mulberry Kombucha
- Mulberry Crunch
Do you use mulberries? What do you like to make with them?

05/22/2026

It's amazing what a difference moisture makes. I planted a row of black walnut trees along the southern edge of the property near the road about 5 years ago.
Some of these continue to struggle despite my efforts to keep them watered. (Hungry deer are also a factor.)

However, I haven't given up hope.
As you can see in the last picture - there are two that I planted near the septic system leach field. With constant access to water and nutrients, these are now about 8 feet high!

05/21/2026

Experiments!
Planted a patch of 20 elderberries from cuttings in this new space a couple months ago. It's just been a patch of poison hemlock that didn't serve much purpose. So, I'm seeing if I can put it to fruit production.
Some of the plants are thriving and some are not, but I am not sure why. I know, with elderberries, if I can just get a few to take off, I'll be set.

05/20/2026

Such a beautiful view. Yet its drenched in poison (RoundUp). One of the challenges of being surrounded by fields you don't manage yourself!

05/20/2026

Getting the goats into a new paddock loaded with food.
When the goats were young, I built tons of little paddocks around the property so I could regularly rotate them to fresh food sources. Little did I realize, my 4 ft high fences were so easy for them to simply hop over. Now I am slowly rebuilding these with much higher fence using 8ft. T-Posts to hold them up.

05/04/2026

Another customer transplant success!
Thank you Amanda Sloup for sharing!
This is the essence of the "Second Acre" idea. The ever-expanding growth of raising our own high quality foods. A pay-it-forward movement of one person planting the "first acre" and it expanding into a "second acre" via the next person's own patch of tended soil

05/03/2026

Feeding poison ivy to the goats!

04/28/2026

Why so many wood chips?
You've probably seen wood chips in nearly every post. Why? Keeping a layer of wood chips over your garden soil is about copying how nature grows plants—by keeping the soil covered. The wood chips act like a forest floor.
- A wood chip layer locks in moisture → less watering
- It breaks down slowly → feeds soil life (which feeds your plants)
- It blocks sunlight → fewer weeds (and those that come up are really easy to pull)
- It protects soil → better structure, less erosion
Wood chips also feed the mycorrhizal layer in the soil boosting the soil food web.
You can accomplish similar results with straw or fallen leaves (which I've also used).
How does one get untreated wood chips? Check with your local municipality to see if they have a local dump site for arborists.
If you live in my area Newton has a HUGE pile of wood chips free to the public.
GetChipDrop.com is another great way to sign up for tree companies to drop their chips off at your house.

04/27/2026

Lima Beans are planted. I try to rotate my crops whenever possible. This bed was brand new last year and grew burley to***co. These legumes should help fix some nitrogen back into the soil this season.
They are climbers, so tomato cages work great for giving them a support structure. Not only does growing them vertically maximize space, but it makes them easy to pick in fall!
Put your tips and tricks for growing your climbing/vining plants below.

04/13/2026