Merrell’s Nubian Goats

09/08/2026

Or out by the egg stand. 😫 Why is it still 105! 😩

09/05/2026

These seeds need to freeze before they'll grow.

Sow them in spring and most of them just sit there. Sow them this fall and winter does the work: weeks of cold and wet crack the seed coat and tell it when spring has arrived.

That timing matters more than usual right now.

Monarchs have been losing ground for years, and the reason comes down to plants. Milkw**d and the native flowers that used to line field edges are getting harder for them to find.

A yard can put some of that back. It takes one fall to start.

🦋 Six natives to sow this fall:

- Common milkw**d (Zones 3–9) – The one plant monarch caterpillars can eat. Scatter seed on the surface and let the snow work it in. Plant a patch, not a plant; they find bigger clusters faster.

- New England aster (Zones 3–8) – Blooms September into October, right as monarchs pass through heading south and need fuel to keep going.

- Goldenrod (Zones 3–9) – Fall nectar, and not the sneeze plant. Its pollen is too heavy to float. Ragw**d blooms the same week and goldenrod takes the blame. Stiff or showy goldenrod behave better in a bed than the Canada type.

- Joe-Pye w**d (Zones 4–9) – Six feet of dusty pink from July into September, bridging summer breeding and fall migration. Likes damp ground.

- Blazing star (Zones 3–9) – Purple spikes that bloom from the top down. Given a choice, monarchs tend to head for this one first. Corms or seed, both want the cold.

- Purple coneflower (Zones 3–9) – Summer nectar while eggs are going onto milkw**d nearby. The seed heads feed goldfinches into winter.

Year one is roots and not much to look at. Year two the flowers come, and the monarchs with them.

You're not planting for this spring. You're planting for the summers after it. 🌿

09/05/2026

The bed you were about to put to sleep has one more crop in it.

Maybe two.

Root crops and bulbs don't care that the calendar says fall. They care that the ground is cooling, and cooling ground is where they do their best work.

Some of these harvest before winter. Some sit in the soil through the cold and come out sweeter in March, because frost turns their starch to sugar.

🥕 Nine to plant in September:

- Garlic – Cloves go in pointed end up, about 2 inches deep. They root through fall, sleep through winter, and come up ahead of nearly everything in spring. Harvest in July.

- Shallots – Sets 1 inch deep. Each one splits into a cluster of four to eight by June. The easiest allium to grow, and one of the priciest to buy.

- Onion sets – Pull as scallions in a month or two, or leave them through winter for bulbs. In Zones 3–6, fall sets are for scallions only.

- Winter radishes – Not the spring kind. Daikon, Black Spanish, watermelon radish need cooling soil to size up, and they store for months.

- Beets – Greens at 30 days, roots around 55. A light frost pushes the roots sweeter. Zones 3–6, sow this week and cover.

- Turnips – Cool soil makes them denser and less bitter than spring ones. Pull at golf-ball size, and eat the greens too.

- Rutabaga – Needs a full 90 days, so this is a Zones 6–8 September crop. Keeps in a cold garage for months.

- Carrots – Zones 7–10 can sow now. In colder zones, summer carrots stay in the bed under 6 inches of straw and get dug in March, sweeter than anything pulled in July.

- Parsnips – Already in the ground. The September job is leaving them there. Hard frost is what makes them worth eating.

The season isn't ending. It just moved underground. 🌱

09/05/2026

Beautiful fresh eggs are available in the rust bucket on the hill. I have also restocked 2oz and 4oz jars of homemade skin balm that provides comfort and relief for dry, damaged skin. Come on by for some goodies and say “Hey!” to the goats! You might even be lucky enough to see some other wild life hanging around.

09/04/2026

08/28/2026

Good morning goats. 🥰

08/22/2026

Done! 😁

08/22/2026

August is a great time to begin saving seeds. Continue through the fall, as flowers begin to fade and their seed pods or seed heads dry.
1. Choose Open-Pollinated Flowers. Open-pollinated and heirloom flowers produce seeds that grow true to the parent plant.
2. Let Seeds Fully Mature. Allow flowers to bloom, fade, and form seed heads. Seeds should remain on the plant until they are mature and dry.
3. Harvest at the Right Time. Collect seeds on a dry day after the seed heads have turned brown or tan.
4. Store your Seeds Correctly. Make sure seeds are completely dry and store in a cool, dark and dry environment.

08/22/2026

Baby Sweet Tea. So pretty. So sweet. So uniform. Okay never mind. Scratch that last one.

08/19/2026

What a beautiful sight. Triple digit heat is taking a toll on the girls. They are eking out a few eggs everyday but nothing like what we are used to. We are so ready for cooler fall temperatures and more freshly laid eggs!