A True January Day!

This week we have had tons of rain, winds that will take you off the ground and some of that beautiful white gold...Snow!

Nothing more beautiful than a tree covered in snow and colorful birds nestled in the branches. We have an abundance of Cardinals, Bluejays, Finches and a few Buntings.

I try to get up close photo's, but as soon as I go outside they all take flight.

Yes, ladies I have been spending a bit of time with my seed and plant books. It's that time of year!

I am also planning to try some new types of Basil, and yes, there are so many.
Of all the ones I have grown so far, the "Genovese" is my favorite. It's just an all around easy variety to use. Very hardy and just makes a beautiful plant.

AS you can see here: This was after it had gone to seed. It just did not want to stop growing!

I am starting to get the planting itch.....and it is toooo early!
Have to find more books!

See you soon,
Bea K.

Magical January-New Beginning's-2006.

January is a lovely month in my eyes; I love the cold and the snow. I love the trees with no leaves. I love the promise you can find if you look under the dead and dying
plants, little lives in the making just waiting to be warmed and nourished and given permission to grow.

Most of the year in middle Tennessee, I see green rolling hills when I look out my windows, and that's a lovely picture always, but to see those rolling hills covered in snow and grey low-hanging sky--it sends a message to slow down and re-group for the coming months. I like that reminder!

The herb garden in January, where you are located, has a major impact on what you can do now. Here in the middle south, we just kinda relax, read good books(mostly about growing things, enjoy the things we stored from last year's harvest, and wait for spring.

If you were going to plant garlic for a crop this coming summer, it should already be in the ground.

Remember also that if you're growing herbs inside, they need to be in a location that gives them at least a half-day of sun and or light. I'm not a real supporter of growing inside, just too many problems, requires a lot of tending to have good, strong, healthy plants. But if you're willing to put in the time and the interest is strong enough to push you to gain the knowledge, it can be rewarding.

I love doing things as naturally and with the least amount of resistance as possible.
So, I'll stick to the outside growing.

For those of you who have asked, yes, I will be growing garlic, lavender, chamomile, bay, fennel, and more dill.

Have a request? Send it along...always room for one more thing!

Remember your feathered friends during these cold months. Keep plenty of fresh water, bird seed, and suet out, and you'll be blessed with beautiful birds all winter.

Sending each and all the most prosperous wishes for the coming year.

Be Well in 2006.

Bea K./SageHillFarms

Decembers Promise.

I love the month of December, I love the cold, the wind and most of all the snow, when and if we happen to get it.

The farm is all covered in a blanket of straw and mulch and all things are sleeping peacefully.

This is a great time to think about how closely we are connected to the earth.

We work all year and at a certain point we must stop, take a break, maybe even a vacation, re-group and get a new outlook on things for the new year.

Mother Earth does the same thing. If you have ever tried to force something to grow and stay green past a certain point, you've discovered that it's almost impossible.
It may survive, but it will be spindly, sickly and in most cases just droop and die.

December is no doubt the most important month for preperations....whether it be doing or thinking.

So get yourself a cup of egg-nog, hot tea, coffee, or whatever makes your insides feel good. Find a comfy spot and relax until you doze, while your dozing, dream, if your thoughts are really concentrated, you will dream. May they be beautiful and peaceful.

Have a very happy and safe holiday season.

Merry Christmas! Whatever it means to you.

Bea Kunz
http://www.sagehillfarmsandvintagestore.com

"TIS THE SEASON"

Not much is going on in the gardens this month. Winter's arms have reached out and pulled everything close to her breast for a snug and safe sleep.

We have had a light freeze already, and my Rosemary and Thyme are still beautiful and green, so I believe they are going to be ok. I have them mulched really well around the base and covered lightly with hay.

This is the ugly time of year, at first glance simply because we are so accustomed to seeing the gardens green and in bloom, but if you look closely, you will find beauty in the dead and drooping plants and flowers.
After a close examination of the California poppies, I discovered they all close up in the same manner. They look as if they have their heads bowed in prayer.

I find great beauty in the colorful pumpkins among the dead grasses, straw, and hay.
The Japanese maple is so bare you can see right through it......but, every morning it is full of activity with cardinals, blue-jays, house-wrens, and a few buntings, oh, they are so beautiful....
The colors are just breathtaking!

Sage Hill Farms has a lot of evergreen trees, so we never have a shortage of green to admire during the coldest months. Plus, the awesome holly tree at the end of the porch is always covered in bright red berries.

This is the beginning of my really down time......I can sit for a while and read a good book, browse those seed catalogs to my heart's content, sip my own blend of organic herb tea, ahhh..all is right with my world.

Please come and visit us at: http://www.sagehillfarmsandvintagestore.com

November Is For Reflecting.

November Is For Reflecting.........


Most of the year this tree is a lovely shade of green and filled with birds and makes a lovely little shade over the side yard.

Come November it turns to daring shades of red, yellow and orange. It greets me each time I look out my office window from the upstairs of my home.

Every time I look at it I'm taken back to some point of the past year.......so many events that changed life for so many of my family and friends...and for me.

I'm so very thankful for this lovely tree that gives me hours of pleasure during the year. The green, green, spring when it's so lush and full you can't see the center.
Hot blazing summer when it's filled with Cardinal's and wren's looking for a cool place to build a home.
Shocking, colorful fall, when it's changing from day to day. Then of course the stark cold winter when it's bare and the limbs are heavy with snow and ice.

I think it has to be a very wise old tree.......It's helped me to accept changes during this last year.

Another reflection is from my gardens........well, actually from my compost pile.
This beautiful, perfect, white pumpkin grew from a seed that was tossed into the compost last year. At first I thought it was a squash, then a wild gourd, then a mellon of some sort...proof of what good things will grow from our trash. Not only one, but three of these beauties graced the compost the latter part of the summer.

Oh, and let me not forget to share this lovely little clump of California Poppy's, they just keep smiling for me every day.

This is my favorite season for so many reasons, but mostly because it just confirms and validates the collection of event's through-out the year.

Embrace your November and spend time reflecting.......It will make you smile, even through your tears.

Be Well,
See you in December.

Bea Kunz/Sage Hill Farms

http://www.sagehillfarmsandvintagestore.com

Octobers Ending....

Ah, the bats are coming in for a landing!

I don't think of bats in the context of a frightening flying creature to run and hide from.To me they are a big part of pest control on the farm. Do you know they eat thousands of mosquitos in a very short period of time. They like their own space up very high, so bat houses should be as common as bird houses. They are like any other wild bird or animal, they may carry some form of mites or disease, so never ever try catching one.

Now it is getting close to the spookiest night of the year, so watch out for the little black visitors . perched on your pumpkins and in your hay-stacks. More than likely they are the friendly sort, just flying in for a closer look!

I know a lot of you do the "Trick-or-Treat" so please be very careful, take heed of all the pre-cautions and be safe.

We opted many years ago not to do the Trick-or-Treat , instead we have a back yard party, we all dress up in costume, cook chicken wings and marshmallows outside. Bob for apples and play hide&seek. Very fun in costume!

Anyone in the neighbor-hood is invited.

The only requirement is you must bring a bag of non-perishable food for the local food bank.

Enjoy your holiday, make a tradition.......pass it on.

Whoooooooo..........

Bea Kunz/Sage Hill Farms (aka/herb witch) Just a little farm humor!!

October Loves

October is the month for cleaning up, cleaning out and pre-preparations for next spring.
Does it ever slow down? Just a wee bit for a very short period of time, that happens here in Tennessee about the last of November.

We here at Sage Hill are a little ahead of the game in some things and a bit behind in others.
I suppose most farmers are in the same position. You do what you can when the elements are working with you and fill in where you must.

I was suprised this past week with a cold front, we were lucky it wasn't the first frost, so things are still fine. But it got me on the move with cleaning out beds, and adding mulch and cover for the things I want to protect from the harshness of winter.

My main focus this time of year is of course getting the things I wish to overwinter inside and protected. But aside from that is the preparation of the soil for next years gardens.

Be really careful about what you compost back into your soil. Any plants that look sick or diseased in the slightest way should be pulled up and discarded. (do not put into your compost pile) All others I allow to die back on their own and rot back into the soil.

If your like me you still have beautiful oregano, it just doesn't want to die. But I have allowed mine to flower and go to seed. It really isn't very tasty after that. I will cut it back severely in about another week or so to stop it from spreading. The flowers dry beautifully or you can toss them into a salad.

One of the ways I enjoy the very last pluckings from my gardens is to cut all the flowers and heads that do dry well and hang them upside down for about a week or two in the basement.
They dry enough to put into a vase for a few weeks as a special fall arrangement.
When your finished with them just toss into the compost pile.

Thyme should be mulched for winter protection. But you can continue to use it all year, in fact you should continue to pinch it back so it doesn't get leggy.
I like to spread a little sand around the base of my thyme for the winter, just to make sure the stems dont get root rot. This is especially good to do if you have a very wet winter.

If you wish to have an extra early spring crop of dill, you should plant it by mid November.

Bringing in your mint plants for the winter? This is the time to pot them up. Be aware that they
need at least 5 hours of sunlight a day and very little water.

Please practice being a good land steward.....don't use dangerous chemicals, instead look for and learn about the natural ways to care for your soil, it will thank you with rich and bountiful offerings. You and your family will be healthier and future generations will have a fighting chance to enjoy mother earth too.

Wishing you and yours a most wonderful autumn season.

Bea Kunz/Sage Hill Farms.