Terra Cotta Farms

08/21/2026

Took a little field trip today to Hoffman Organic Farm and what a great experience it was!
Paul is a master of his trade and his approach to farming just goes to show that we don’t need heavy amounts of chemicals to grow food.
The impressive part is that he does it on a large scale.
Minimal tillage (if any at all), cover crops, intercropping , double cropping and crop rotation is the key to his operation.
Very impressive work to say the least!
Thanks Paul for hosting today
And props to The Land Connection for putting it all together!
They are a great organization with great purpose, I highly recommend you check them out!

08/01/2026

HBD Captain Trips!
Music has a huge impact on our farm, especially this guys!
It’s what keeps us motivated and moving.
It fuels the soul through the heat, the w**d pulling, the bee stings.

Today marks the beginning of the days between.
A time where we celebrate the life of Jerry and everything he stood for and created musically, which is still very much alive and thriving today.

So shine some light
Jam some tunes
And bee good to each other

Thanks Jerry

Always a hoot

⚡️💀✌️

07/25/2026

Now that garlic harvest has concluded on the farm we have a lot of empty space but the soil still wants to work.
So now is a good time to consider planting a short season crop or a cover crop.
Beans, radishes, and leafy greens are all good choices that will mature within 60 days.
For larger beds a cover crop is a great choice for multiple reasons.
Rebuilding soil, w**d suppression, and erosion control just to name a few.
Garlic is a heavy feeder so we like to choose a cover crop that replenishes nutrients to the soil. Legumes (such as clover ) and buckwheat are great for this situation.
Legumes are great for replenishing nitrogen which garlic desperately needs.
The buckwheat we’ll let grow and terminate it before it goes to seed which will add a good amount of organic matter back to the soil.
Oh yeah and our bees love it too!

Most importantly planting cover crop year after year has a huge regenerative impact on our land.
So with our future of clean food and the next generations of farmers in mind, cover crop is a must!

Healthy soil doesn’t happen by accident it is built season by season.

🐝🧄🌎✌️

07/09/2026

It’s our favorite time of year on the farm!
Raspberries are fruiting, the field is baled,
the bee hives are bursting with honey , and after 255 days it’s time to harvest our garlic!
The heavy rains forced a little bit of an early harvest so in and out of the garden we go.

We’ve been at it sun up to sun down these last three days and the hard work has paid off.
All 3,700 bulbs are pulled and on their drying/curing racks.
2-3 weeks from now they’ll be ready to use or store long term.
We’ll be giving updates on our varieties and availability as we draw closer to the bulbs being fully cured.

Bee humble people
🐝🧄✌️

06/22/2026

We just got back from Puerto Rico.

A week of beaches, rainforest, and bioluminescent bay where we paddled through water that literally glowed around our kayaks at night. It was incredible. And honestly, exactly what we needed. No work, no drama, just saltwater and sunshine.

But then we came home.

I walked out into the garden the next day after we got back and just stopped. Everything had exploded while we were gone. Green everywhere, things shooting up like they couldn’t wait for us to return. I grabbed my phone and just wandered around for a while, not really doing anything useful, just looking and taking photos. And then that evening the lightning bugs came out. Our whole field was twinkling. Like someone had scattered little sparks across the grass as far as I could see.

We just watched bioluminescent water glow in a Caribbean bay 48 hours earlier and here was our backyard doing its own version of magic, and honestly our yard was prettier.

I’ve always loved this place. The farm, the garden, the way this land looks in summer, I’ve always known how lucky we are. But there’s something about stepping away for a while that strips everything back down to what it actually is. You stop seeing it as your to do list or your next season’s work. You just see it.
🌿✨

06/01/2026

It’s scape season on the farm!
Scapes are the flowering stalk of the garlic plant, they are milder than the cloves, and only grow on hardneck garlic.
 It’s best to remove the scapes from the plant, that way it can direct its energy back to the bulb.
If scapes are left they will produce a flower and then bulbils (seeds) are formed, which can be used to start new garlic.
Leaving them on will result in smaller bulbs at harvest time.

This is the home stretch for our garlic, in about a month or so we will be harvesting.
So now is the time to stop fertilizing and keep w**d pressure down.
And even though mother nature had the job of watering under control for a while, now conditions seem to be leaning more to the dry side.
So make sure your garlic gets at least an inch of water per week.
The care we give our plants now will pay off at harvest time.

If you plant ice, you’re gonna harvest wind

Bee humble ✌️

05/21/2026

05/21/2026

Happy world bee day!
Bees are responsible for 1/3 of the food we consume.
So don’t forget to thank them for all their hard work.
Bee humble people ✌️🐝

04/27/2026

It was a Bee-utiful weekend to work the hives!
Our spring maintenance is in full swing.
All of our colonies made it through the winter which is a first and quite uncommon in the beekeeping world.
Varroa mite management and ample food stores play huge role in over wintering.

The first picture is a poster child of what a bee hive is made up of.
Pollen stores on the right side
Nectar and worker cells in the center
Capped worker brood cells on the left
On the lower left you can see cells that protrude from the comb surface. Those are drone cells (male bees).
And in the lower center of the frame there is a long peanut looking cell.
That is a queen cell and a beauty if I do say so myself!

In the next picture there is the queen of the hive herself making her rounds.
See if you can spot her.

Enjoy! ✌️ 🐝

04/15/2026

Without question Spring has sprung here on the farm!
Lilacs are in bloom, mushrooms are popping up, bees are bringing in pollen, and after a 4 year long wait our first plot of asparagus has reached maturity where it can be harvested.
Our Asparagus is the Mary Washington variety, which is a heirloom variety, and is organically grown right here in Ottawa, IL.
It’s just starting to take to off so our supplies will be very limited but if you are looking to purchase you can find it at Open Space Art galley on Madison street in Ottawa.
We hope you all enjoy it as much as we do!
✌️🐝🍄