Runamuk Acres Conservation Farm
Soil-first farming, building health from the ground up!
My farmers’ tan is a testament to the amount of time I’ve been spending in the market garden lately, working long hours in the sun and in drizzling rain to get crops in the ground. It’s an on-going process, and there’s also successive sowings to think about–and the fall crops to keep in mind. So…
Things are not going exactly how I’d hoped. The meager savings Keith and I had managed to set aside have been spent–already invested into the farm. Despite the fact that I ran an 11-family CSA 2 years ago, we were not able to attract the number of CSA subscribers we’d hoped for–having to skip a…
Is it strange to be so excited–so ecstatic–over the establishment of new garden plots? Perhaps this is something that only fellow gardeners, homesteaders, and farmers can understand–and if that is the the case–then I imagine that I am in good company. The lingering winter delayed our farm expansion quite a bit, but now that the…
Sunday was the first market of the season for our local Madison Farmers’ Market–Runamuk was there with 4 other vendors, and also the local boy scout group was there with us. It was a big improvement from last year when it was just myself and 85 year-old Thelma Lawrence of Hawley’s Little Acre in Madison. …
Hooray for spring! Let beekeepers everywhere rejoice! The sun is shining, and the trees are beginning to bud, it’s warming up and the bees are flying again! How did your bees fare during the long cold winter? With diligence, and perhaps a little bit of luck–your hives came through the winter, and if you’re anything…
Thanks to the lingering winter-weather, we’re experiencing some frustrating delays in production. New livestock shelters and gardens cannot be constructed until the snow has melted, and the mud has firmed up at least some. However, despite the delay–I have managed to bring a few new critters to the farm. Willow I’m sure you all remember…
Until recently, native and feral bee populations met all of a farmers’ pollination needs. Farms were smaller, and closer to natural areas where native bee populations could easily recolonize a farm should an insecticide application kill resident bees. But with the advent of the industrial farm, habitat for pollinators has been drastically reduced─today, many of…
Because I love bees and because the act of pollination fascinates me so–it saddens me to think that all too often this crucial event and the animals that make it happen–are overlooked. It really is amazing to think about how the actions of one animal can affect an entire ecosystem. While honeybees are the most…
It wasn’t long after I got into beekeeping that I began to see pollinators everywhere…the insects that carried out this seemingly sacred ritual with the plants all around me–even the act itself–became the most beautiful and fascinating thing I had ever seen. And it remains so to this day. The act of pollination fills me…
My first attempt at making video for the internet is–well–not great, but it’s not completely horrible either. Honestly, I’m just not comfortable in front of a camera. But I did it, and I added it to our Indiegogo campaign page and with a deep breath I went live with our fundraising campaign. I’ve got all…