“The most wholesome nutriment for man is plain food.” Pliny, Natural History…
One Shovel at a Time
When most families think about gardening and farming, they are tormented by two errors in their thinking. First, they start with ideas about farm life from movies, books and tourist attractions that are not realistic. Tourist attractions present images that are made possible by artificial funding. Historical farms and gardens, including stories in movies and…
The Home Vegetable Garden
The following publication was made available by the US Dept. of Agriculture in 1906. These old “farmers’ bulletins” that were published at the turn of the century were written before the heavy equipment arrived after the World Wars and gave families very good advice for farming and gardening….
Hand-Digging Fall Gardens
In North Carolina, we can continue to grow greens through the winter to make the bulk of our daily salads. I use the winter months to turn the gardens over by hand and mix in the compost that has been sitting all summer at the back of our gardens, which was collected last fall. I…
Recommended: The New Laurel’s Kitchen
For over 20 years, our family has enjoyed healthy living. Our children are never sick, we have no need of doctor visits or medicines. We eat temperately and take as much from the farm and gardens as we can. Most importantly, we enjoy freshly baked whole-wheat breads that form the basis of our diet. My…
The Goal of Catholic Self-Sufficiency (It’s Not Hobby Farming)
St. Martin de Porres
St. Benedict on Daily Diet
Before any talk can begin about farming or gardening, we have to ask, “What shall we eat?” This question was answered by St. Benedict (Rule of St. Benedict, ch. 39): “We think it sufficient for the daily dinner,whether at the sixth (midday) or the ninth (midafternoon) hour,that every table have two cooked disheson account of…