As always, the end of the year is a time of reflection. This year is no different. It’s one of the few times of the year where I feel some space to reflect not only on the growing season, but on the bigger picture vision of what I am trying to do in my life. This was a year that tested us; it gave us a pandemic, wildfires in the west, an extremely divided country, and calls for racial and social justice.

I can’t begin to describe the loss, grief, sadness and frustration that has hit us all in 2020. For some, it has been almost unbearable. For others, it's been an opportunity to take stock of what’s important and to evaluate how we want to contribute to a better world.

Regardless of where you’ve fallen on the spectrum, as we near the end of a very challenging and unprecedented year, I wanted to share a few things with you:

First, I wanted to thank you for your support of my business over the past year. Whether it’s been watching my videos, reading my blog posts, participating in work parties, doing 1:1 consultations with me, or joining my new Resilient Homestead Program, I have been heartened by the increasing interest in growing food and becoming more self-reliant. As you’ve heard me say before, I think it’s one of the most important acts we can be taking during these times.

Second, I wanted to share my video with you today. In it, I reflect on the Top 5 Takeaways from this Growing Season. Like I mention in the video, it’s always good to take stock of your previous growing season as a way of planning for the year ahead. Some of my takeaways are things you’ll want to keep in mind as you plan your spring 2021 garden. Click below to watch it. Then, I’d love it if you shared lessons from your gardening season by sharing them in the comments below.

Lastly, the new year is a time for renewal.

I’ve been hearing the expression, “when things get back to normal” a lot. But in our rush to get back to “normal”, let’s remember that normal wasn’t that great. “Normal” gave us soil degradation, water pollution, ecosystem collapse, species extinction, and a nation where 42% of the population is obese but over 11 million children live in food insecure homes.

Instead, what if we didn’t go back to normal? What if 2021 were truly a renewal, the beginning of a better way to live in this world?

Even before 2020, I’ve asked myself this question, “how do we change from a culture of consumption and scarcity to a culture of reciprocity, abundance, food-growing, and community-building?”

I don’t think there are any easy answers and there’s definitely no quick fix.

But I keep coming back to a quote by Terry Tempest Williams that has inspired me for years,

“Finding beauty in a broken world is creating beauty in the world that we find.”

As we move into 2021, I invite you to unapologetically create beauty in this broken world.

May we plant gardens and food forests, create pollinator habitat, build birdhouses, bake bread, paint pictures, write poetry, and build community. May we find ways in which to consume less and share more; compare less and collaborate more; argue less and connect more; talk less and listen more.

​Let’s take this opportunity to reinvent a better way to exist on this planet and forge a different path forward.

My very best to you and your family in 2021.

​Sincerely,
Kareen

I’ve been spending way more time indoors the past few weeks (and it’s not just because we’re in a pandemic :-). Even though my kale, chard and lettuce have made it through these frigid temperatures and are still growing outside (check out my short video here), I’ve definitely felt the urge to snuggle up on the couch, sip tea, and read a good book or watch a good movie.

I’ve also spent quite a bit of time in the kitchen, not only preserving the harvest but making delicious soups, roasted veggies, fresh salsa, and baked goods.

November also means that we’ve moved into hunting season. In our household, this usually involves 4am wake-ups with my husband going off to wander the woods, looking to restock our freezer. Our garage turns into a temporary butcher shop and time is spent processing and wrapping the meat we eat for the entire year.

Admittedly, I’m not the biggest fan of this season, preferring instead to commune with plants, but it’s a pattern on our homestead that I respect, honor and participate in with intention. It’s another thread of connection to our food and an acknowledgement of the time, energy and commitment it takes to put it on the table.

I’m writing today because as we move into winter and COVID cases in our community increase, I’ve been thinking a lot about Permaculture’s 2nd ethic of People Care.

If you know a little about permaculture, you know that it is a philosophy and design framework that is guided by three ethics, Earth Care, People Care and Fair Share.

Fall has arrived in Montana and even though we’re still enjoying warm days, the evenings are getting cooler, the leaves are changing color and harvest season is upon us. We’ve already had our first hard frost but luckily, with frost cloth and blankets, most of my garden survived!
 
This past weekend, I processed all of our grapes into juice and jam. I’ve picked the apples from one of our trees but am still waiting on the pears and the rest of our apples to mature. The pumpkins are starting to turn orange and I’m crossing my fingers that the rest of my winter squash will mature before our next hard frost. Homemade salsa, apple and beet salad, basil pesto, zucchini muffins, garden stir-fries, roasted beets, and veggie soup have all been on the menu lately. This is a time of abundance in the garden and I’m so grateful.
 
Though I’m enjoying the garden bounty, the backdrop of these times has left my heart heavy. I feel like every time I’ve sat down to write a newsletter over the past few months, we’re marking an unprecedented moment in history. And this time, it’s the wildfires raging in the west.
 
For those of us in the Bozeman area, we had our own experience with wildfire just a couple of weeks ago. During the weekend of September 4th, the Bridger Foothills Fire burned 8,200 acres and 28 homes were lost. As I watched the fire from our backyard on Friday and Saturday, my heart sank. Though I understand that fire is an integral part of a forest ecosystem, it doesn’t make it any easier to experience the loss that comes with it. And, of course, the scale of the fires along the west coast is not normal. A warming climate and years of drought have led to an unprecedented fire season.
 
My heart and thoughts are with the families, the firefighters, and the forest ecosystem of plants and animals that are suffering through this crisis. To say that we are living through uncertain times is an understatement.
 
If there was ever a time to plant more trees, grow more food, and become more self-reliant, it is now. I am feeling this urgency more and more every day.

​It’s time for action. Taking what small steps you can to build your resilience, to increase your skills, to connect with your community, and to grow our local food system is what is needed at this moment in history.
 
And don’t get me wrong, this call to action doesn’t come from a place of fear, it comes from one of hope, renewal, and a belief in a regenerative future.
 
That’s why I’m excited to share my video with you today. In it, I not only give you a tour of our 7 year-old food forest, but I offer some design advice if you want to plant one of your own.
 
If you have the land and the space, planting a food forest is an act of resilience. As I describe in the video, food forests have several yields: food and medicine for your family, pollinator habitat, soil-building, and the opportunity for connection and community. And as the forest matures, the yields only increase, creating a web of relationships that is strengthened year after year.
 
As always, if you have any questions or comments about planting a food forest, please share them in the comments below.

Here's a link to the earlier food forest tour that I refer to in the video. And if you haven't seen my Kitchen Garden Tour, here's a link to that video as well. 

I can't believe it's already mid-August! Summers in Montana are always short but this one seems to have flown by. I hope you're having a good growing season and are enjoying delicious meals outside during these warm summer evenings. 

I wanted to share a short video I made giving you a tour of my greenhouse in July.

I meant to get this out sooner but if there is one thing I know about the growing season, it's that your best laid plans are consistently derailed. Weeding, watering, harvesting and preservation always take precedence during these few short months. 

Last Saturday, my friend Mary and I spent about 9 hours harvesting, pitting and dehydrating sour cherries, and that was just from one tree! This morning, I made zucchini muffins and bread, am now deliberating about how I want to preserve beets, and wonder why I let so much volunteer kale take over my kitchen garden! Harvesting gooseberries and currants is on the list for this weekend. Despite the frenzy of this time of year and the tiredness of my body, I continue to be so grateful for the bounty. 

So check out my video below and let me know if you have any questions by placing them in the comments below!

​Resilience. If I were to choose a word for 2020, that would be it. In these challenging times, we are constantly being reminded about the need for resilience, on a personal, community-wide, and global scale. Our current reality has exposed the fragility of our systems. Whether it’s our food system, our economic system, or our healthcare or justice system, cracks are appearing.
 
Now is the time to reimagine another world. Now is the time to cultivate the practices that will get us through this transition. 
 
That’s why I’m so thankful to Lorca Smetana for agreeing to do this interview with me a couple of months ago. In the midst of our stay at home order, Lorca and I discussed the intersection of permaculture with her experience in teaching resilient life practices. As always, natural systems become our teacher, time and time again.

Here's a link to the podcast episode that Lorca mentions in our interview. 

I hope your gardens are growing well. It’s the height of the season and that sweet time of year. I thought I'd take this opportunity to give you a little glimpse of my kitchen garden. As you’ll see from the video below, my kitchen garden is chugging along. I’m harvesting kale, lettuce, chard, peas, kohlrabi, garlic scapes and broccoli right now and my first ripe tomatoes and beets will be coming out of the greenhouse very soon! 

I absolutely love this part of the growing season. The frenzy of the planting season is over and the garden starts to grow itself. My mornings are usually spent wandering the garden, doing a little weeding, a little foraging, sometimes watering, and obviously harvesting. It has become a refuge for me during these uncertain and tumultuous times. The constant birdsong, the bees buzzing, and the butterflies and dragonflies flitting about the garden bring me back to the present moment and remind me that natural systems are always here to support us.

Before diving into the video, check out this overhead shot of the kitchen garden. What a difference two months can make! 

As always, let me know if you have any questions in the comments below! 

I’ve been thinking a lot about composting over the past couple of weeks. Probably because turning my compost pile is on my list of tasks but also because planting season is winding down and I’m beginning to turn my attention to other aspects of the garden.  Hands-down, how to compost is one of the questions I get most often in my consultations with clients.
 
Getting good at composting is all about taking the time to understand the science of decomposition, mixing the right ingredients together, letting natural systems do the work and, ultimately, ushering in a pretty incredible transformation. This transformation helps build your soil, which is a key aspect of your garden, the foundation upon which healthy food and a resilient life are built.  
 
And as with so many processes in the garden, composting becomes a teacher for other aspects of our lives.
 
Despite the long list of garden tasks over the past few weeks, I’ve naturally been preoccupied, saddened, and angered with what is happening in our country and in the world. I’ve been reflecting on how we can take this moment in time – with the pandemic, the civil unrest, the injustice against communities of color, the divisiveness in our national politics, and transform it into something regenerative, something that helps build a more just and equitable future for all.
 
And that’s why I’ve been thinking a lot about composting. In composting, we understand and appreciate that decomposition does not happen right away. Transformation is a process and a balancing act. If we don’t have enough moisture in a compost pile, it’s static; if we add too many kitchen scraps, it will putrefy; if we don’t aerate the pile, it will start to smell.   
 
We can’t transform kitchen scraps into nutrient-rich soil overnight, just like we can’t transform our society overnight. Both processes need our participation and take time, observation, attention, and understanding.
 
Like everything that I’ve attached myself to, whether it’s gardening or social justice, this is a marathon, not a sprint. We are playing a long game, one that demands patience, care, and community building. From observing patterns in natural systems, we also know that disruption can lead to regeneration.
 
So though my video is about composting, I hope that it also gets you to think about the promise and possibility of transformation. In it, I take you through the ins and outs of building a hot compost pile. This video is taken from the Building Healthy Soil Module of my Online Edible Backyards Series.
 
On a practical level, my intent is to clear up any questions you may have with regards to composting. In a broader sense, my hope is that as you build your compost pile, you are reminded of that process of transformation and the part you need to play in it, both in your garden and in your community.
 
I’ve accepted that I may never see the change I want to see in the world, but I take solace in the fact that I’ll play a small part in its transformation to a more resilient future.

Enjoy the video and let me know if you have any additional questions in the comments below!

If your weekend was anything like mine, then your body, especially your back, may be feeling a little sore.  I spent Saturday prepping garden beds, shoveling compost, pulling weeds, pushing a wheelbarrow, digging out grass, and watering plants. In other words, a lot of repetitive bending, pulling, stretching, and twisting. As I get back into gardening shape after a long winter, I'm reminded of how important it is for me to pay attention to my body, especially if I still want to be able to move at the end of the day!  

That's why I'm excited to share my video with you today. In it, massage therapist and yoga instructor Rachel Esbjornson from REintegrative Massage takes us through several simple yoga poses that are intended to keep our backs healthy and strong during the growing season. 

Rachel is a skilled massage therapist and her gentle way of teaching makes these poses accessible to anyone, even if you don't have any experience with yoga. As we discuss in the video, the consistency of your practice is way more important than its duration. So choose a few of these poses to do every day and I promise that your back will thank you!

As you can see, we filmed this video back when social distancing wasn't an issue. Because of COVID-19, Rachel is unable to work with clients at the moment. As Montana continues to open up, she is currently putting strategies in place so she can see clients in the near future. Like any small business owner during this time, I'm sure she'd welcome new clients once she does. So check out her practice and if you're inspired, send a little love her way when she opens up! 

If you have any questions for Rachel, please share them in the comments below!

We know that food, especially grown in our backyard gardens, is medicine. Eating fresh vegetables and fruit every day is fundamental to a healthy body and mind. 
 
Yet there are, of course, additional plants that have medicinal values beyond just being super nutritious. They help boost our immunity, soothe our throats, calm a fever, heal our skin, aid with insomnia and much more.  Just as growing our own food allows us to become more self-reliant, growing our own medicine gives us that same sense of agency.
 
If you’ve ever wanted to grow and make your own medicine, then my video today is for you. I’m very excited because this is the first video that I’ve made where I bring on a special guest! This past June, I had the pleasure of teaching a permaculture workshop at the Green Path Herb School in Missoula, Montana. While I was there, the co-director of the school, Elaine Sheff, kindly agreed to be interviewed.
 
As I explain in the video, Elaine is an herbalist extraordinaire, with thirty years of experience in the field.  Needless to say, I knew she was the one to ask about the top five medicinal plants to grow in cold climates. Not only does Elaine share and explain the uses of these plants, if you stick around for the entire video, you’ll also learn about 4 additional ‘weeds’ that have so many beneficial properties. These are weeds that are most likely already growing in your yard.
 
I do have to apologize in advance for the audio in this video. Unfortunately, it’s not the greatest quality as we were having some issues. It was also related to the fact that Elaine’s beehives were buzzing like crazy! But I promise that if you stick with it, you'll learn a ton!
 
Then, I’d love to hear from you. What medicinal plants are you growing in your garden and which ones will you plant next growing season? Please share those in the comments below!