Many of the plants I thought were dead are pushing through new growth from the soil. I must have the healthiest grasshoppers in all the world after all the medicinal plants they ate. In the end, plants want to grow and if given support, Mother Earth will succeed.

I planted fall crops this week because I am nothing if not an optimist. Will the grasshoppers eat them all during a lunch hour? We will see. I move ahead on our first season here on this farm as if nothing could go wrong. That is how we should live our life as well, I guess! Within days the fall crops (everything one would plant in spring) germinated. Radishes, cauliflower, kale, spinach, potatoes, and peas…oh please survive!

When planting, never till the soil! This is important because all of the bioorganisms in the soil get slaughtered if you do. We do not kill our friends! You can read about how to farm and plant without any tilling or chemicals in my new book, Whiskey and Hoes; Successful Gardening in the Wild West which you can find on Amazon or in my shop. (I will also be doing a book signing and talk at the Canon City Library, August 9th at 3:30!)

Leave hedgerows or tufts of grass for all the creepy crawlies to hide. Lizards, snakes, spiders, and toads are all great lovers of grasshopper buffets. Welcome birds into your yard. I put up feeders around the garden last week and I believe our grasshopper population has been halved. Shoutout to the Kingbirds who are voracious grasshopper eaters!

Build the soil! Keep adding compost, coffee, worm castings, banana peel water, but never under any circumstances, Miracle Grow or any other fertilizer. Sometimes things with great marketing are actually poisons in disguise.

Mulch! I put straw around all of my plants and across beds to help keep moisture in. Mother Earth does not like to be naked.

It has been a productive week on Lost & Found farm (I love that name.) How are your gardens doing? We are half way through the season. I adore summer and spending time outdoors. I start every day at 5:30 with my journal and a cup of coffee outdoors looking out across the expanse of mountains and rockfaces with rose colored clouds strung across the dawn sky like a fine oil painting. The birds wake with me, my beloved dog by my side, and I enjoy the beautiful world we live in.