The Barefoot Farmer (Jeff Poppen) uses his farm (Long Hungry Creek Farm) as an example in demonstrating good farming principles. The landscape and atmosphere of the 21st century is leaning away from a small farm economy, bucolic scenery, sustainable agriculture and homegrown meals. The health of ourselves and our environment can only be enhanced by a reliance on local small farms for our needs. To learn more about these principle join Jeff Poppen with his weekly column - Barefoot Farmer.

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The world is an onion. We peel off layers and shed tears. Something good for us makes us cry. There’s a lot of sadness in the world, but nothing that an onion-filled meal can’t make a little better. At the first dry spell in March, we are planting onions. Six boxes, with 30 bunches in…

If you love digging in your garden, you’ll have twice as much fun double-digging. When we dig into the earth, a change n color and texture can be noticed. Somewhere between six inches and a foot deep, the top soil ends and the subsoil begins. Topsoil is darker, looser and where the life is. The…

May flies by for gardeners. Between planting summer vegetables and hoeing what’s already growing, there is hardly time to pick a salad. But our tiny plants from early May become thousands of lettuce heads by Memorial Day, and everyone must do their part and eat their greens. We only hoed them once. Dry weather kept…

We talk about the weather often. A recurring spring question for gardeners is, “Has the weather settled?” We want to plant frost tender crops, but we do not know when the last frost will occur. As of May 1st, it is not likely going to frost, but there is still a possibility. About 20 years…

Human nature has the interesting characteristic of an inevitable ability to overcomplicate simple issues.  For example, I could have just said “people make things too complex.” Working with mother nature is so easy that it baffles our minds. I see this often as I consult with other gardeners. In an urban backyard, a lady has…

Spring brings beautiful things, flowers and bees and a bird that sings. Gardeners are busier than bees, blooming in their exuberance and humming right along with mother nature’s display. We’ve added necessary minerals, gently tilled the soil, and livened things up with plenty of compost and biodynamic preparations. Let’s go! If the ground is damp…

I frequently give lectures as part of my business. It can be to youngsters at Head Start, to an elderly garden club, or to anything in between. I’ve slowly gotten over stage fright and give speeches fairly easily. Although our county executive said my talk to the commissioners fourteen months ago was respectful, he refuses…

Variety is the spice of life, and gardeners love to try new things. Here is a list of the vegetable varieties we will be growing this year, most of which I have grown before: Arugula- standard; Bush beans- Blue Lake, Roma II, Cherokee Yellow Wax; Climbing beans- Purple Flat, Kentucky Wonder; Ghelly beans- Dwarf Horticulture,…

Variety is the spice of life, and gardeners love to try new things.

Recent discoveries in quantum physics, microbiology, and ecology verify something gardeners have long known.  Everything in nature is related.  There are no solid lines between the plants’ roots, the soil, and the bacteria and fungi tying it all together.  To help understand why garden crops do or do not thrive, we are led into the…