Rusted Plow Farm

04/19/2026

Shearing day is my favorite day, it's better than lambing in my book and this guy is the reason why. Ian Wuscher is meticulous and keeps my sheep relaxed while making them look amazing. He makes sure their faces are clean and their legs are all perfectly trimmed all while offering tips on improving my shepherding skills. I appreciate him more than I can say and will enjoy my beautiful flock while looking forward to next spring.

03/23/2026

When we moved back to the mountains the realtor selling our property offered repeatedly to have our farm cleaned up before we took possession. We were insistent that we would clean it up ourselves and it's been so worth the time it is taking going through the pieces of history.

03/18/2026

Berry bushes are the most under-companioned food plants in any home garden. Most people plant blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries in a row with bare mulch between them and wonder why pollination is poor, birds eat half the crop, pests establish easily, and the soil needs constant amending.

A berry guild works differently from a fruit tree guild because berry bushes have specific requirements that most companion lists ignore. Blueberries need acidic soil. Raspberries spread by underground suckers and need perimeter management. Blackberries need pollinator volume during a narrow bloom window. The companions that solve these problems are not the same ones that work around apple trees.

These nine plants form a functioning community around berry bushes that handles pollination, pest control, soil health, and w**d suppression — matched specifically to what berries need.

Comfrey — deep taproots mine potassium and calcium from subsoil that berry roots cannot reach. Chop the large leaves three to four times per season and drop them at the bush base as free mineral-rich mulch. Comfrey leaves break down fast and release nutrients directly into the root zone. Zones 3-9.

White Clover — living ground cover that fixes atmospheric nitrogen into the soil, suppresses w**ds between bushes, and keeps soil cool and moist during the fruit-filling weeks when consistent moisture determines berry size. Zones 3-10.

Borage — one of the strongest bee attractors in any garden and a critical companion during the narrow two to three week window when berry blossoms need pollination. Every unpollinated flower is a berry that never forms. Borage self-seeds so it returns without replanting. Zones 3-10.

Chives — sulfur-rich foliage deters aphids that colonize new raspberry and blackberry growth in spring. The early purple flowers attract pollinators into the berry zone before the bushes even bloom, establishing a flight path bees remember. Zones 3-9.

Marigold (French) — root exudates suppress root-knot nematodes that can damage berry root systems, particularly in sandy soils where nematode pressure is highest. Annual.

Sweet Alyssum — low spreading blooms that attract hoverflies and parasitic wasps in numbers that visibly reduce aphid populations within weeks of planting. Tuck it at the base of each bush where it carpets bare soil and creates a beneficial insect station at ground level. Annual, self-seeds.

Nasturtium — aphids prefer nasturtium over berry foliage by a wide margin. A few nasturtium plants at each end of a berry row pull aphid pressure away from the bushes and concentrate the pests on a trap crop you can monitor and manage. Annual.

Lupine — fixes nitrogen even more aggressively than clover and produces deep roots that break up compacted subsoil. The tall flower spikes attract bumblebees — the most effective pollinators for blueberries specifically because their buzz-pollination technique shakes pollen loose from blueberry flowers more efficiently than honeybees can. Zones 4-8.

Strawberry — a productive ground cover that fills the space between berry bushes with a harvestable crop instead of bare mulch. Strawberry runners spread to cover soil, suppress w**ds, and produce fruit at ground level while the berry bushes produce overhead. The two crops share the same bed without competing because they occupy different vertical zones. Zones 3-10.

The guild starts working in its first season. Clover and alyssum establish within weeks. Borage and nasturtium bloom within two months of sowing. By the second year the perennial companions are fully established and the berry bushes are producing in a system that feeds itself, pollinates itself, and defends itself.

A berry bush that has to do everything alone produces half of what one with the right community can

03/18/2026

Most gardeners know about compost — but some of the best fertilizers are already in your kitchen, hiding in plain sight.

🌱 Six household sources and what they feed:

- Wood ash — rich in potassium and calcium. A light dusting around the base feeds garlic, carrots, lavender, and clematis. Avoid using it near acid-loving plants like blueberries — it raises soil pH

- Epsom salt — magnesium sulfate that supports chlorophyll production. A tablespoon per gallon of water can help roses, tomatoes, peppers, and strawberries — especially in soils that tend to run low in magnesium

- Cooking water — the starchy mineral-rich water left from boiling pasta or vegetables is a gentle liquid feed. Let it cool completely, then pour it over basil, ferns, lettuce, or houseplants

- Seaw**d — fresh or dried, it delivers trace minerals that most garden soils lack. Lay it around potatoes, corn, fruit trees, or dahlias as mulch, or steep it into a liquid tea for a concentrated feed

- Fish scraps — heads, bones, and skin break down into a nitrogen-rich feast. Bury them about twelve inches deep near heavy feeders like cabbage, sunflowers, squash, and sweet corn. Deep burial keeps animals from digging them up

- Spent mushroom compost — growing medium from mushroom farms is loaded with slow-release nutrients and improves soil structure. Spread it around asparagus, rhubarb, herbs, and perennial flower beds for steady feeding all season

Every kitchen already produces plant food. It just takes knowing which source feeds which root 🌿

03/18/2026

Homemade plant feeding ideas can sound helpful, but most plants do best with healthy soil first and gentle feeding second. 🌿
What I’ve learned:
☕ coffee grounds are better composted than dumped straight around roots
🥚 eggshells break down slowly, so they’re not a fast calcium fix
🍌 banana peels add organic matter over time, but they are not a complete fertilizer
🧪 for hungry vegetables, compost plus a balanced fertilizer usually works better than random kitchen scraps
Simple and consistent usually beats complicated every time.

03/18/2026

The "Bee Boat" Hack: Save Thirsty Pollinators in Your Garden
Bees desperately need water but are terrible swimmers—a standard birdbath is a drowning trap. This floating "bee boat" gives them a safe, dry landing zone right at water level. Five minutes to build, used all season long.

WHY BEES DROWN IN BIRDBATHS:
- Surface tension traps them
- No safe landing zone at water level
- Deep water = exhaustion and drowning
- They need shallow puddles, not pools

THE BEE BOAT SOLUTION:
- Floating wood = safe landing platform
- Porous wood wicks moisture to surface
- Drilled holes create tiny drinking pools
- Bees drink from damp wood, never touch deep water

MATERIALS NEEDED:
- Galvanized tub or shallow waterproof container
- Scrap untreated lumber (cedar or pine)
- Drill with small bit

CRITICAL: Use ONLY untreated wood—pressure-treated lumber contains chemicals that harm pollinators

THE DRILL HOLE SECRET:
- Bore shallow holes across top surface (don't drill through)
- Holes fill with water as board floats
- Creates dozens of tiny drinking pools
- Mimics natural shallow puddles bees prefer

PLACEMENT:
- Nestle directly in garden beds among flowers
- Near pollinator favorites: lavender, catmint, salvia
- Bees find it while foraging—no searching needed

MAINTENANCE:
- Refresh water every 2-3 days
- Prevents mosquito breeding
- Quick hose spray keeps it clean

01/27/2023

03/08/2022

Candleing Pekin duck eggs. Day 6-7, you can see the formation of the heart and eyes.

01/07/2022

The girls are getting back to business after being off their laying came for a few weeks, you really can't beat fresh eggs♡🥚🥚