Author Archives: c ben-iesau

April 17th: Love the Boot Week

This is Love the Boot Week here in Louisiana and people are engaged in beautification and cleanup projects statewide. Big Branch Apiary got to do our part and helped out at the Rivertown Butterfly Garden. We donated about 40 perennial flowers and spent the day weeding, planting, and mulching alongside like-minded volunteers. The LSU AGContinue reading “April 17th: Love the Boot Week”

April 7th: Orchard

Yesterday I put the disc on the tractor to work a patch of ground in preparation to plant a small apple orchard. I’ve been preparing this spot for a year. First there was seeding with clover to break up the clay and add nitrogen. Then I mulched the entire area with cardboard, added 13 yardsContinue reading “April 7th: Orchard”

Weed Control: no One-Size-Fits-All

This article on alternatives to glyphosate-based weed killers was recently shared with me and is a timely follow-up to my recent post on organic weed control. I thought it may be of interest to some of you. Particularly helpful to me were the pros-and-cons given for the different methods. Now, where did I put myContinue reading “Weed Control: no One-Size-Fits-All”

March 16th: “Lilly Pulitzer” themed sauerkraut

For me, gardening often inspires me to try new ways to prepare and store the excess of nature. Right now, if you stayed on schedule and listened to Dan Gill and the LSU Ag Center, you likely have cabbage, broccoli, kale and their cruciferous cousins in your garden. And one of my favorite things toContinue reading “March 16th: “Lilly Pulitzer” themed sauerkraut”

March 11: Organic weed control

“Control” is a strong word when talking about a weed in the sub-tropic Gulf South. Is there really any such thing as controlling the weeds, especially if you’re all organic? I mean, really? It’s more of a constant battle with a moving line of scrimmage. Between the part-time help and elbow grease of the WWOOFers,Continue reading “March 11: Organic weed control”

March 6th: From seed bench to soil

I’ve gardened for many years and this obvious point escaped me: many garden plants are perennials in warmer, non-frost zones. Indeterminate tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and okra are some of the varieties that will continue to grow if not killed back by frost. I got a link to a story about overwintering veggies and found aContinue reading “March 6th: From seed bench to soil”

February 24: Will You Rear Good Bees (and hens)

We have about 70 laying hens at the apiary. This past week we marked all the younger birds, those born in 2022, with leg bands so you can tell at a glance how old they are. There’s an international coding system for marking queen bees that keeps track of their age and makes them easierContinue reading “February 24: Will You Rear Good Bees (and hens)”