Today on the Urban Farmstead we experienced both highs and lows of growing hydroponically. With Hydro growing you have most of the woes of soil growing combined with the woes of plumbing. Anyone who has ever done plumbing will tell you that when you fix one leak you will create two more. That’s what happened to us the last couple days, I found one of the Bato buckets overflowing, a clear sign that those adventurous roots had clogged one of the drains. Leaking blood red nutrie

While Farmer Mike and I are not posting as much video content as we would like, the Homestead is anything but quiet! Tomatoes are ripening. Hydroponics are humming. Flowers are buzzing... quite literally! I walked by some squash flowers today and they had 3 happy little bumblebees drunk on pollen wallowing around in there. I think if you listened closely enough you could even hear the pumpkins growing! Harvest season is in full swing and Farmer Mike and I are at our busiest m

​We just returned from an unplanned trip to my parent's house (or for our pups, Nana and Papa Bear's house). Leaving this time of year when all the plants are growing in full swing is not a simple task. Even with the large tanks the Hydroponics need water refills every couple of days, plus we are starting Fall seedlings which need daily attention, and don't even get Farmer Mike started on weeding! It's not really "over the river and through the woods," but tallying 12 hours e

What is it? Kohlrabi is a vegetable in the Brassica family and comes in 2 colors purple and white (green). If you've seen this vegetable available at the local farmer's markets it looks a bit like an alien vegetable with a bulb on the bottom and large leaves protruding up. Most of this deliciousness is edible, but I do make a few exceptions for the actual stalk and the rind. The taste of this vegetable is like that of a mild cabbage. The texture of the bulb is like that of r

Everyone who has ever tried to grow even the smallest garden has had to deal with them, the dreaded menace known as weeds. The little green devils shoot up seemingly overnight and like a magician seem to vanish themselves while you are trying to pull them, only for you to spot another as you walk away. Recently my wife and I went on a cruise to Alaska. We experienced the highs of seeing Bald Eagles soaring over majestic glacier capped mountains, Brown Bears with cubs frolicki