Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Amazing Diversity of Cereal Grains

Posted on June 13, 2015 by John Sherck

It has been a while since I have posted anything, chiefly because I have been swamped with work this spring and early summer. Another challenging year as I expected, with weather extremes to boot. I stopped a little early today … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Spring Tomato and Pepper Plants

Posted on May 12, 2015 by John Sherck

I am ready to begin offering my heirloom tomato and pepper plants at our roadside stand starting this upcoming weekend. I have 70 varieties of tomatoes and about 30 different pepper varieties, both sweet and hot. I have added a … Continue reading →

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Regional Seed Bank Proposal

Posted on March 20, 2015 by John Sherck

I have created a group on Facebook called Michiana Community Seed Bank. If you live local and would like to be apart of the discussion go ahead and join. This is just a starting point. It is not “my” project, … Continue reading →

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Regional Seed Bank for Northern Indiana?

Posted on March 16, 2015 by John Sherck

I put the feelers out yesterday on facebook about the idea of some type of regional seed bank for our area here in Northern Indiana. There was some definite enthusiastic interest. I would not necessarily want to limit folks interested … Continue reading →

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Spring Plant Lists Available Online

Posted on March 13, 2015 by John Sherck

  I have completed updating the lists of plants I will have available this spring starting around the end of April and running through until the end of May. I will be selling from my roadside stand at 56549 State … Continue reading →

Posted in Heirloom Tomatoes, Perennial Vegetables, Spring Plants, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Some thoughts about growing ALL your own food.

Posted on February 17, 2015 by John Sherck

    I have spent a lot of time over the past 20 years pondering the idea of growing all my own food. Within the last couple of growing seasons, I have attacked this idea with a new fervor, having … Continue reading →

Posted in Grains, Legumes, Peanuts, Perennial Vegetables, Rice, Root Crops, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Ancient Wheat and Heritage Barley

Posted on January 24, 2015 by John Sherck

This last season I trialed out a number of spring-planted wheat and barley varieties. I want to compliment my existing winter wheat varieties with one or two spring-planted varieties. The logic being, if you lose the winter crop, you still … Continue reading →

Posted in Grains, Methods, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 23 Comments

Multi-Purpose Crops

Posted on January 12, 2015 by John Sherck

  When I consider my favorite crops to grow, I always judge this question through various criteria. The obvious considerations being: flavor, yield, disease-resistance, etc. There are, however, many other qualifiers that sometimes get overlooked. The idea of dual or … Continue reading →

Posted in Grains, Methods, Uncategorized, Useful Garden Plant | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Millets and Multi-Cropping

Posted on December 31, 2014 by John Sherck

I watched a short video the other day about traditional millet production in India. (You can watch it at the end of this post, it is about 25 min long)  I was saddened with this video’s portrayal of millet as a “shunned … Continue reading →

Posted in Equipment, Grains, Methods, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Growing Amaranth In The North

Posted on December 16, 2014 by John Sherck

Now that my seed has all been dealt with, securely stored away in my seed-room in the bacement. The gardens have been put to bed for the winter, and all the firewood has been chopped and stacked. Finally I can … Continue reading →

Posted in Grains, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments