Woodland Urban Farm, LLC

09/08/2024

09/10/2023

Nifty. Ever since I first learned of the existence of spicebush and its prevalence throughout southern Ohio, I wanted to find an example, but thought I never did. Turns out I've seen it most of my life and just didn't know what I was looking at.

Today I saw a bush I couldn't identify, so I ran it through Picturethis, and it said it was spicebush. A second picture from a different angle brought the same result. I sampled a berry. It wasn't horrible, and it was very flavorful. The best way I could describe the flavor is that it's similar to ginger.

Sources online compare it to allspice and say that it used to be used as a substitute for allspice back when it was expensive and hard to get. I found that, just in that spot, we have several bushes loaded with ripe berries.

Honestly, though, now about 20 minutes after having sampled that berry, I find it's left an aftertaste I don't really care for. It probably wouldn't bother everyone, but it kind of reminds me a little of green bell peppers, which I despise. There's also the linger of general "spiciness" that you'd have with mint or ginger or black pepper, and that's not unpleasant.

So, what I'm wondering is, is this stuff worth picking? Is there a market locally for the fresh berries? I'm sure the ODA wouldn't let me dry berries to sell, unless maybe they were sun-dried. I couldn't legally grind them into a powder to sell. They used to be used for tea. I doubt my family would be interested in them for that. They're also used medicinally, but the use is to make you sweat, which I've never needed any help with.

So do I bother picking this stuff? I like the idea of getting into selling spices and teas (though the ODA doesn't like it). I already grow garlic and onion and hot peppers. I've dried and powdered all but the onions. I just don't want to bother picking it and packing it if nobody's interested.

09/08/2023

Pawpaw canopy

07/19/2023

I brought this pretty girl home from Immaculata Farms today. What do you think I should I name her?

04/01/2023

April

06/27/2022

A blog post in which I discuss the importance of increasing your food security, and how to do so.

https://woodlandurbanfarm.com/2022/06/start-planting/

06/13/2022

A bag of corn that cost $7.89 two years ago now costs $12.49. I see stores now selling feed in 40-lb. bags instead of 50-lb. bags to reduce the sticker shock. I saw a news report that said that, nationwide, the price of chicken has risen over 17% since last year.

But I'm selling eggs for the same price I've been selling them for since 2016: $5.00/dozen. Scrambled eggs or omelets for the whole family for the price of a gallon of gas.

https://woodlandurbanfarm.com/product/eggs-2/

Ungraded, mixed-sizes. Hens are presently cage-free, sheltered indoors to protect against predators and bird flu. Will later be free-ranged in a protected, outdoor run. Fed mostly vegetables and artisanal bread from local businesses, supplemented with commercial layer feed and weeds from our gardens...

05/12/2022

Egg prices nationwide have tripled since November as bird flu has wiped out many American egg farms, according to an article in the Washington Post. Food prices overall increased about 6% last year, and the USDA predicts they'll go up another 5% or so this year. Inflation is up, and a lot of industries are using it as cover to conceal price gouging. But my price for a dozen eggs hasn't increased since I started raising chickens again six years ago. Feed prices have increased dramatically and are expected to continue climbing, so I'm growing my own.

https://woodlandurbanfarm.com/product/eggs-2/

Ungraded, mixed-sizes. Hens are presently cage-free, sheltered indoors to protect against predators and bird flu. Will later be free-ranged in a protected, outdoor run. Fed mostly vegetables and artisanal bread from local businesses, supplemented with commercial layer feed and weeds from our gardens...

05/12/2022

We have eggs again! Free delivery to select zip codes near the farm.
https://woodlandurbanfarm.com/product/eggs-2/

Ungraded, mixed-sizes. Hens are presently cage-free, sheltered indoors to protect against predators and bird flu. Will later be free-ranged in a protected, outdoor run. Fed mostly vegetables and artisanal bread from local businesses, supplemented with commercial layer feed and weeds from our gardens...

03/07/2022

My goose doesn't wear a bonnet or dress up for the holidays, either.

01/31/2022

Results of a germination test on some old corn seed:

All of these were wrapped in wet paper towels, placed in ziploc sandwich bags, put in a coffee can with the lid on, and put in a warm spot just after midnight on 1/26. So this is 131 hours later (5.5 days).