Old Paths Farm
We live on a little hobby farm in Missouri just west of St. Louis on a little over 12 acres. Here we have goats, chickens, ducks, geese, white pigeons, cats, a dog, tropical birds and fish, and many beatiful flower gardens where I tuck in medicinal and culinary herbs, fruits and vegetables using companion planting and Back to Eden gardening methods. It's so wonderful getting this opportunity to be out in the country where we get to explore all our interests. Some times we succeed, sometimes we fail, (like when we tried doing bees -- very challenging) but the joy of getting to try so many fun Country Living things is so rewarding!
What's Up at Old Paths Farm?
Adventures at the Farmer's Market
We spent a little time at the Farmer's Market this year. It was pretty slow but I had fun sharing my freshly made herbal tea mixes, vegetables from the garden, some baked goods, crafts, wild flower arrangements and essential oil blends.
Expanding my interests...
In 2020, with nothing else to do, I opened my medicinal herb garden back up again after having closed it down for a couple years. I just needed time in my life to deal with things and the garden was low on my list, so it had to go. Now, I'm passed those things and so I opened my garden back up again with a new design, some new herbs, a strawberry patch, a couple of benches, two trellises and a new centerpiece with some solar lights for night time visits.
My new goals for 2021-2022 are my fruit tree guilds! Beneath my apple, pear and peach trees, I have planted raspberries, garlic, onions, daffodils, comfrey and lots of others plants and flowers to create a symbiotic relationship between the trees and the neighboring plant life and bugs, ensuring healthier trees and more fruit yeild with less damage from disease and pests. Being that it's fall, it will be interesting to see how it all looks come spring! I've also added blueberry bushes, elderberries and blackberries!
I want to look into mushroom logs and forest plants as well, so I will be very busy this winter!
My new goals for 2021-2022 are my fruit tree guilds! Beneath my apple, pear and peach trees, I have planted raspberries, garlic, onions, daffodils, comfrey and lots of others plants and flowers to create a symbiotic relationship between the trees and the neighboring plant life and bugs, ensuring healthier trees and more fruit yeild with less damage from disease and pests. Being that it's fall, it will be interesting to see how it all looks come spring! I've also added blueberry bushes, elderberries and blackberries!
I want to look into mushroom logs and forest plants as well, so I will be very busy this winter!
Companion Planting
Keeping my plants healthy without any kind of chemicals is important to me so I practice companion planting. Garden plants carefully placed among their leafy companions help each other thrive, ward off pests and diseases, and may even enhance their flavor! When I began gardening, I followed a simple rule: If it tastes good together in a dish, it will grow together well in the garden. While that may not be true for every plant, it's certainly true for tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil and cilantro. Every year I plant this combination along with some marigolds and voila, I have a disease and pest free section of my garden!
Where I've neglected to plant companions, I've had disease and severe pest trouble.
Roses and Garlic: Gardeners have been planting garlic with roses for eons, because garlic is said to repel rose pests.
Tomatoes and cabbage, basil, cilantro: Tomatoes are repellent to certain types of moth larvae, which are caterpillars that chew large holes in cabbage leaves. With tomatoes nearby, the insects can't find your cabbage! Basil and cilantro are excellent for protecting the tomatoes! Isn't it interesting that the herbs that taste good with tomatoes are the ones that protect them! Don't forget to plant onions nearby...they seem to protect nearly everything in the garden!
Cucumbers and nasturtiums: The nasturtium's vining stems make them a great companion for cucumbers and squash plants. They are reputed to repel cucumber beetles and act as a habitat for predatory insects such as spiders and ground beetles.
Sally Jean Cunningham, master gardener and author of Great Garden Companions, is my inspiration for using the companion planting method. Check out her website by clicking on her name.
Keeping my plants healthy without any kind of chemicals is important to me so I practice companion planting. Garden plants carefully placed among their leafy companions help each other thrive, ward off pests and diseases, and may even enhance their flavor! When I began gardening, I followed a simple rule: If it tastes good together in a dish, it will grow together well in the garden. While that may not be true for every plant, it's certainly true for tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil and cilantro. Every year I plant this combination along with some marigolds and voila, I have a disease and pest free section of my garden!
Where I've neglected to plant companions, I've had disease and severe pest trouble.
- Companions help each other grow—Tall plants, for example, provide shade for sun-sensitive shorter plants.
- Companions use garden space efficiently—Vining plants cover the ground, upright plants grow up. Two plants in one patch.
- Companions prevent pest problems—Plants like onions repel some pests. Other plants can lure pests away from more desirable plants.
- Companions attract beneficial insects—Every successful garden needs plants that attract the predators of pests.
Roses and Garlic: Gardeners have been planting garlic with roses for eons, because garlic is said to repel rose pests.
Tomatoes and cabbage, basil, cilantro: Tomatoes are repellent to certain types of moth larvae, which are caterpillars that chew large holes in cabbage leaves. With tomatoes nearby, the insects can't find your cabbage! Basil and cilantro are excellent for protecting the tomatoes! Isn't it interesting that the herbs that taste good with tomatoes are the ones that protect them! Don't forget to plant onions nearby...they seem to protect nearly everything in the garden!
Cucumbers and nasturtiums: The nasturtium's vining stems make them a great companion for cucumbers and squash plants. They are reputed to repel cucumber beetles and act as a habitat for predatory insects such as spiders and ground beetles.
Sally Jean Cunningham, master gardener and author of Great Garden Companions, is my inspiration for using the companion planting method. Check out her website by clicking on her name.
What Is Back To Eden Gardening?
BACK TO EDEN shares the story of one man’s lifelong journey, walking with God and learning how to get back to the simple, productive methods of sustainable provision that were given to man in the garden of Eden. This website shares a free, must watch, two hour video that describes every wonderful detail of the Back to Eden Gardening method. Here you will discover the easiest and I believe the most God-honoring method of gardening you have ever seen!
The main idea is layering good quality compost on the soil and then topping that with a layer of untreated wood chips. The key is *not* to till the garden in the Spring and/or Fall, but to continue to add a layer of compost and a layer of wood chips at the end of the growing season. By maintaining a "cover" on the soil, it becomes soft (without tilling), nutrient rich, keeps weeds down, and maintains its moisture (thus having to be watered far less).
We are in our second year of using this method. Although we haven't quite perfected it, we did get an abundance of tomatoes, lettuce, watermelons, herbs, and flowers during the horrible 2012 drought. I watered the garden a few times during the hot, incredibly dry summer and we still had more watery rich fruits and veggies than we knew what to do with.
I've found, too, that you really have to stay on top of the mulching or the weeds WILL get through. I've had to weed out there more than I'd like to admit but they come out super easy. Next time, I need to be sure to add at least 6 inches of mulch over my compost!
Watch the video here http://backtoedenfilm.com/
BACK TO EDEN shares the story of one man’s lifelong journey, walking with God and learning how to get back to the simple, productive methods of sustainable provision that were given to man in the garden of Eden. This website shares a free, must watch, two hour video that describes every wonderful detail of the Back to Eden Gardening method. Here you will discover the easiest and I believe the most God-honoring method of gardening you have ever seen!
The main idea is layering good quality compost on the soil and then topping that with a layer of untreated wood chips. The key is *not* to till the garden in the Spring and/or Fall, but to continue to add a layer of compost and a layer of wood chips at the end of the growing season. By maintaining a "cover" on the soil, it becomes soft (without tilling), nutrient rich, keeps weeds down, and maintains its moisture (thus having to be watered far less).
We are in our second year of using this method. Although we haven't quite perfected it, we did get an abundance of tomatoes, lettuce, watermelons, herbs, and flowers during the horrible 2012 drought. I watered the garden a few times during the hot, incredibly dry summer and we still had more watery rich fruits and veggies than we knew what to do with.
I've found, too, that you really have to stay on top of the mulching or the weeds WILL get through. I've had to weed out there more than I'd like to admit but they come out super easy. Next time, I need to be sure to add at least 6 inches of mulch over my compost!
Watch the video here http://backtoedenfilm.com/