The Powwow Guy

The Farmer's Almanac.

The Farmer's Almanac offers a lot of helpful astrological information so that you know the best planting/harvesting times based on the moon's phase and the astrological sign the moon is in. 

Click on the picture to the left to go to the Farmer's Almanac website!

When is the best time to fertilize my lawn? 

We have some grass-covered areas on our property, but we have largely converted our land into various gardens. Still, green grass is nice to see and the dogs love to roll around in it! 

If your grass is like mine, it grows spotty and there are bare spots everywhere. We also have a large white birch tree that sucks up ALL of the water and nutrients from our soil!

The best time here in the northeast to fertilize is the first time the temps hit 55' after winter is coming to an end. This is when we put down not just fertilizer but also hardy shade-growing grass seed. It's important for us to have some nice ground cover so our son can play, the dogs can relax in the grass, and it just looks a lot nicer. Last year was very harsh for our grass and now, as I type this (early January 2023) our grass is pretty much the worst grass in the neighborhood! But no worries, we will fix it up with fertilizer once the temp hits 55 and it should come back to green life soon enough!

When fertilizing, make sure to use a good spreader so it distributes the fertilizer evenly over the area. Don't put too much in one spot or it will likely kill the grass!! I speak from experience on this, trust me....

Make sure your lawn gets plenty of water afterward. The normal weather of Spring should help that fertilizer nourish your soil and give you beautiful green grass for the onset of summer! The next time to fertilize is fall, about the time the temps drop to 55'. That magic number of 55 works for both fertilizing optimal times of the year! Some like to fertilize up to four times a year, but this seems excessive to me, especially considering we have such small grassy areas. Twice is plenty, believe me!

Amish farming tips and techniques!

When we think of the Pennsylvania Dutch, we think of the Amish. And when we think of the Amish, we think of farms! The Amish have developed very successful farming techniques that give them an edge over the commercial farmers! 

For example:

• April: The Amish growing season begins with the sowing of oats and early-harvest corn, the planting of tomato seedlings raised in greenhouses, and increasingly, hemp.
• May: The livestock start feeding on pasture grass. An early sweet corn harvest is perhaps one of the greatest tricks of the Amish farming trade and Pennsylvania residents make annual visits to Lancaster County to buy Amish sweet corn a full 30 days before it typically appears in local markets.
• June: A second field of corn is planted for a fall harvest, but this corn is grown to feed livestock over the winter. Planting crops at intervals allows for multiple harvests in one growing season. Following the second planting of corn, hay is made and strawberries preserved.
• July: This is the busiest month for Amish farmers as more hay is cut, threshing is done, berries are picked, apple starts are transplanted, and honey is harvested.
• August: The farm silos are filled with grain and autumn wheat is planted.
• September/October: The second planting of corn is harvested and apple cider is made.