Sweetgrass Farm

09/12/2026

How about those storms?! We got a couple dozen plugs planted just in time for the rain and the light show was amazing!

08/23/2026

08/23/2026

Making a trail through grass is easy. Scout for rocks and holes then bring the mower through.

Making a trail in the forest takes a little more time.

Our woods’ understory is horribly full of invasive buckthorn. We’ve been cutting and re cutting for many years now but there’s only so much time so we focus on the fruit producing females to mitigate spread.

Now that we have scouted good paths and laid down walking planks, we can work towards elimination. Section by section.

Cutting now in the growing season helps us to identify native seedlings of ash,elm, hackberry, and chokecherry. Building brush piles on top of the buckthorn stumps limits regrowth and makes great wildlife habitat.

The second picture shows one side of the new trail, choked with buckthorn and honeysuckle. The third picture shows the efforts of our labor on the other side. It might look sparse but the extra sunlight will encourage our native trees and ground covers to start coming back stronger.

It will take many more years of attention and the work will never be done but this is a landmark step in our progress.

08/15/2026

The video doesn’t do justice to the magic.

I’m standing in my yard between purple giant hyssop and late figwort. Two dynamite prairie plants that get up to seven feet tall!

I’m literally surrounded by hundreds of bees and wasps. Bouncing off me as I push my way through the foliage.

Every one them has a stinger. Not one has ever used it on me. They’ve got better things to do.

Don’t be afraid to invite the pointy pollinators to your yard!

08/07/2026

I love strawberries but it’s been a few years since we’ve kept any in the garden. They’re a lot of work to keep w**ded.

This year I planted some native wild strawberries in a shady spot. They’ll grow slowly but won’t have too much w**d pressure.

As you can see, I’ve already been awarded with a bountiful harvest!

I think I’ll make a strawberry shortcake, some jam, a couple smoothies, and a batch of w**e if there’s any left over.

What’s your favorite way to use strawberries?

07/31/2026

This has been the most unpleasant summer I can remember. The heat and drought are unbearable.

Old trees are dying and new transplants are revived from flatline with every watering.

I’m thankful I don’t have a big market garden anymore.

If this old high tunnel still had the plastic on, it would surely be a widow maker. Instead it has become the starting point of our prairie makeover and is lush and green despite the weather.

Nature has taught me a couple lessons this year. Whether I learn from them is yet to be seen.

Lesson 1: Grow things that are easy to grow in the changing climate. We can expect more of this weather and some of our old crops just aren’t going to be worth the effort anymore.

Lesson 2: Take it easy. If you spend all your energy fighting the heat of the day, you won’t have any time to enjoy the magic sunset and the tiny window of comfortable temperature. I’m having a hard time learning this one.

07/03/2026

Who needs fireworks when you can have fireflies?

Despite this horrible drought, we are seeing huge displays from this species that requires moist soil.

Did you know fireflies spend two years as larvae, digging around eating worms, slugs and other soft bodied critters? They have a paralyzing venom that’s injected into prey much larger than themselves. Researchers have even witnessed some species that appear to hunt in packs.

This year’s light show is a culmination of past rains and lots of work building habitat. For us that means growing lots of trees to insulate ourselves from pesticide and herbicide drift, building brush piles and placing logs to create microclimates and simply leaving the lights off at night. And of course, planting native plants to feed the ecosystem as a whole.

06/16/2026

Get outside and watch this sunset!

06/13/2026

It’s mulberry season! We will have purple hands for the next month!

06/05/2026

When you grow plants native to your area, the wildlife show up.

This cool little wasp doesn’t even wait for my plants to get in the ground.

The nursery is full of Rudbeckia laciniata. Also known as Cut Leaf Coneflower and most commonly by its Cherokee name of Sochan.

Along with multiple medicinal uses, this plant is a forager’s favorite. The young shoots in spring are the best greens you can eat.