I’m finally slowing down enough to take the time to get in that frame of mind where I can rewind and somewhat clearly peer back at 2022, the year in review.

Thankful for 2022

I distinctly remember being so very grateful for the late spring as I was frantically writing/editing/revising so many pages (so many times) along with Stephanie Thurow for our upcoming book, Small-Scale Homesteading.

I felt lucky that the maple sap held off until we got back from our March vacations. We brought home and raised a new brood of chicks into a healthy, happy (and spoiled) backyard flock. I took my local Master Gardener coursework and completed 50+ hours of volunteer hours. I helped grow vegetables and flowers at my son’s elementary school.

New Additions to the Homestead last Spring

We took time up north in Minnesota to walk through and wonder at creation. I taught classes on companion planting, composting, growing garlic, garden planning and preserving the harvest, wrote for magazines new and old. I got to manage our 6th annual Winter Farmers Markets. My family all got Influenza A at the same time and we nursed each other back to health with homegrown remedies. And I grew as much food as ever- including so many new favorites.

We celebrated life as we lived it. What a year both in and out of the garden!

Click HERE to watch some fly-over drone footage of the garden from this summer.

Weather Woes

And while I can truly say that I’ve never experienced weather like we had last season, I am grateful for all it taught me.

From our early season chill that got everything started late, to May’s thunderstorms, June’s record heat and learning what a Derecho was, hail in September and the Dirty rain that followed…only to have the drought conditions put at ease by way too early and way too much SNOW. Then the artic storms of Christmas. Whew.

And yet, our plants persisted! They grew to the best of their abilities, and hopefully we got to grow with them as we helped them along with low tunnels and shade cloths, deep mulching and frequent watering…

Onward

I’ve become even more enamored with our planet. Not taking for granted the simple act that life exists because of photosynthesis. I’m working towards being part of the solution in taking care of this planet in my small ways. Living as simply as I can, eating local, being smart about my energy consumption- and making those choices with humility, because I know it is a luxury to have a choice.

I believe that each of us doing whatever small things that work for us will be the way we turn the tide and in turn are able to gift a healthy planet to future generations. One of my small parts is growing food for our family and sharing how we do that with you all.

Garden in Review

All in all our (roughly) 550 square feet of garden space produced (roughly) 554 pounds of produce (not counting the egg and maple syrup we harvested). Just a few pounds more than last year. Not bad considering that farmers anticipate about 0.5 pounds of produce per square foot.

I’d call that intensive gardening. And it is all made possible by working with nature via taking care of the soil, companion planting, extending our growing seasons, and paying really close attention to what is happening in the gardens. 

One of my Favorite Pics of Bumble Bees from 2022

From welcoming wildlife big and small, to practicing No Till Gardening, from using what we’ve got with leaf mulch and composting what comes out of our chicken coop- this garden cycle never gets old.

There’s always a way to dive deeper into relationship with Mother Nature, more to learn about tending plants or beneficial insects, another recipe to try that means another new seed to start. I am so grateful I get to do these things – I’m blown away by those of you that follow along. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing this journey with me.

I hope I can inspire you in some ways, because I know so many of you have inspired me!

Favorite Blogs from 2022

And I added so many tasty recipes to the blog as well, From Summer Spaghetti to Broccoli Soup on my newly updated Recipe Page

I am looking forward to seeing many of you at book signings (PS- you can still pre-order the book to get our bonus content HERE), or during the Home and Garden Show days and maybe even at some more in-person classes and events… more on that soon, for now; cheers to 2023!

Dig In,

Michelle