Finally, but better late than never, I get to give a litte impression of our garden. I hope the audio on that cell phone vid is okay. Many greetings from the other side of the Atlantic where many are closely observing what is happening in the U.S. and how they are going to look like after four years under the current administration. I was lucky to be a teaching assistant for the small German Department at Whitman College in Walla Walla back in 2004/5. Filled with great experiences and encounters with lovely folks I returned to Germany hoping to return to the U.S. one day. Unfortunately my memories don't quite match up with what I see on the news these days. So yeah, as Taylor pointed out, gardening is not only a question of subsistence, resilience, self-reliance, health and climate protection but, at times, also a good distraction from the crude attempts of undermining democracies not just in the U.S. but in Germany as well.

Like Taylor mentioned in his post, we’re launching our farm this next season. We bought our house back in 2019, but at the time we weren’t gardeners or farmers at all. I had a few potted plants—that was it. During COVID, with all the extra time at home, we finally started exploring our yard. It’s funny now to think about how unaware we were of the space around us. That first season, I started seeds and Taylor dug out one garden bed and built two raised beds. We grew some great tomatoes, and that was the spark. Around that same time we discovered JADAM and Floret, and a dream started forming—to combine natural farming with flower farming. In 2022, we had to move away for work and rented out the house (the pictures are from that 2022 season). Since then, we’ve been gardening as renters while also running our YouTube channel. But now we’re finally moving back home in November, and I couldn’t be more excited to restore the soil and start growing again. Before we left, we applied JMS, JLF, and cover crops, so I’m really curious to see what shape the soil is in after three years of rest. I also have so many questions about sustainable flower farming that I’m looking forward to exploring this coming year. Flower farmers often rely heavily on bleach and chemicals to keep blooms fresh. I’m eager to experiment with natural alternatives like LAB, OHN, and FPJ. This past season, I started all our seeds using a soak solution of LAB, OHN, FPJ, and BRV—and the germination rates were incredible. From now on, that’s the only way I’ll be starting seeds. Excited for this group!

I also spent all last summer laying down cardboard and mulch (horse manure, chicken manure, chopped leaves) in a much larger area between a few mature apple trees and pear trees. This summer I've added Lapin cherry, some cornelian cherries, another pear tree, a grape vine, gooseberries, currants, some asparagus, lots of pollinators (including borage, comfrey, figwort, sweet alyssum, violets). I've also ordered some more asparagus, garlic and honey berries that I will plan in October. It's been a ton of work! But it's all very exciting.

A few years ago we purchased land with about 30 blueberry bushes in an enclosed, screened structure. It collapsed under exceptionally heavy wet snow the following winter (Ha!) but the next spring we rebuilt it with the neighbor who sold us the land. The blueberries are generally healthy and we get lots of berries to enjoy and share with friends. I have since added some currants, a few honey berries and blackberries within the structure. A current challenge is this area is deciding how and whether to remove the black plastic that was originally put down under all the bushes. I'd like more direct access the soil, but am worried that I'll damage the blueberry roots (which apparently don't like to be disturbed).

These pictures are from a few years ago so the place looks pretty different now—we’re about to start working on restoring it and building out our micro-farm for the 2026 growing season.