What's Happening at Sow and Tare?

October 2023

Welcome to the first Sow and Tare newsletter ever! I want to give a special thank you shout out to everyone who joined the email list, and ask for patience as I learn the website and email list process. The below newsletter shares a little bit of inspiration, what happened in September, what's going to happen in October, and what Sow and Tare is currently offering for workshops/consulting, merchandise, and local products. Enjoy, and I hope to see you at our Monday Live Chats every Monday at 6 PM Pacific Time on YouTube!

A Little Bit of Inspiration:

As the summer starts to come to a close, quickly ushering in winter, we can relax and become a little bit lazy. This is ok, it's been a long summer, and you deserve a break! Have that hot apple cider or hot chocolate and enjoy it! While relaxation is definitely important, remember to check your calendar and start seeds when they should be started--oops, too late? It's ok, start them anyway. If you have a hard winter and still want to garden through the winter, you're always on time when starting sprouts and/or microgreens, and you can do it inside on top of your refrigerator if you want to! Fall and winter planting often gets forgotten about or overlooked...believe me I know... It is also the time of year a lot of success can be had. the insects are slowing down, disease pressure is slowing down, and as long as you keep your plants from freezing, they will provide you with a bountiful crop to enjoy fresh throughout winter. If you're a newbie to winter gardening, try some lettuce and chard, and if outdoor winter gardening is not for you, start with sprouts--they are super easy to grow and delicious!

Now is also the time to start thinking about potential power outages and what you need to get everyone through winter. I highly recommend keeping handwarmers at home so you can crack them to keep an incubator warm through a power outage, have a plan and know how you can heat water, have a secondary heat source in case of a power outage if you live in a cold area, and have enough food in the pantry so you don't have to go out if the roads are bad. Do these things now and you can remain calm this winter knowing you've got it covered.

Winter is a time for planning. It's never too early to start thinking about what you're planting in the spring... Winter is also a good time to take stock of the previous year and to design ways to make next year more efficient and an even better year.

What happened in September (and 1st half of October):

Quail Con! The Third Annual Quail Con at Myshire Farm in Miamisburg, Ohio happened in early September and was an absolute blast! Speaking at Quail Con about raising quail in aviaries was such an awesome experience and it was so nice to meet so many of you! You can watch parts of my aviary talk by clicking here!

The National Heirloom Expo! The 10th Annual Heirloom Expo was in Ventura, California this year (it's usually in Santa Rosa, CA). I have been to this wonderful event hosted by Baker Creek many times; this was my first time being an exhibitor and it was so much fun! We had daily topics on an easel which so many people participated in! I will be doing videos about each topic--if you didn't get to see each topic at the end of the day, I'll show you what people wrote! I will also be sharing recipes for the squashes I picked up there! Click here to watch the intro to the playlist!

Broody Quail Mama Hatched 9 Chicks! During my trips to Quail Con and The National Heirloom Expo, the main aviary was left alone (automatic waterer and long-term feeder). During this time, a quail went broody! She hatched 9 chicks (5 of which are still alive and doing well). I will have a video out about this in next couple weeks.

Katrina's Kits! I started a membership program in YouTube called Katrina's Kits, which can be joined at 3 different levels: Garden Nibbler, Growing Wiser, and Homestead Warrior! At this time, al three levels get the same benefit, and I reserve the right to add benefits to the other levels later. The benefit is a monthly Cook With Me Live event on YouTube! This month's event is scheduled for Sunday, October 22 at 11 AM Pacific Time and we'll be making Potage Bon Valet (super yummy a navy bean soup) and will prep our pumpkin glop for next month's event when we'll be making the best home-made pumpkin pie! Click here to join us (and get your beans soaking Saturday night!).

What's coming up for the rest of October:

Cook With Me Live! This is a members-only event. If you are a member of Katrina's Kits, this Sunday, October 22nd at 11 AM Pacific Time, we are getting together Live on YouTube to cook something together! We will be cooking a super yummy filling, stick-to-your-bones soup called Potage Bon Valet (navy bean soup--can also use great northern beans. If you're late to join, you'll want to check out the community page for instructions...and soak a pound of navy beans or great northern beans overnight on Saturday to join us on Sunday! We will also prep for next month (see above)! If you would like to become one of Katrina's Kits, click here to join.

Special Guest for the Live Chat on October 30th! Conal Rosanbalm with Ousia Labs will join me on the Live Chat at 6 PM Pacific Time on Monday, October 30th to talk about a new at-home method for essential oil extraction! My interview with him will be posted on Tuesday, October 24th so you have some background going into the Live Chat. If you put your questions in the comments of that video, this will help him to prepare some answers for you and he will be available to answer questions Live on the 30th!

Roots & Refuge Collaboration! Jess with Roots & Refuge put out a call for channels to participate in a collaboration with must-have self-sufficiency, gardening, etc. hard-copy (non-electronic) book recommendations. I will be making a video as a part of this collaboration, so keep your eyes out for that video and check out the rest of the videos in the collaboration...I believe she'll be putting them together into a playlist in a couple weeks.

Baby Bunnies! If Ravioli and Rigatoni are pregnant they will have their first kindling at the end of October! Wish them luck on their first time having babies and being Mamas!

Workshops and Consulting:

I offer workshops and consultation as requested.

Click here for workshop details.

Click here for consulting details.

What Products are Available Locally:

As always, you can find products for sale (both shipped and local pick up) on the website here.

Eggs: I only have light on the Raviary (rabbits and quail) right now, so we are getting a limited amount of quail eggs (no supplemental light in winter=no eggs), so I am not taking large orders at this time. Let me know if you would like some eggs and I will save some back for you. I will be turning on the light to the main aviary in a couple weeks, so they will start laying 2-3 weeks after that.

Herbs: Many of my herbs have gone to flower or seed and many of them have not. Fresh herbs currently available include French sorrel, winter savory, culinary sage, spearmint, and lemon verbena--until frost comes.

Bearded Iris: Now is the season for separating irises, and I have some amazing dark purple bearded irises available.

More! I likely have more than I can think of right now, and can make crafts to order. If you want to see if I have something else available, email me here.

Sow and Tare Online Store:

As always, you can find products for sale on the website here. We have merchandise including T-shirts and sturdy canvas bags in addition to our farm products.

Discount Codes and Affiliate Links:

For your easy access to quick discounts on fun things and to access affiliate links, visit my website here. There's tons to choose from and worth looking into.