Soil Testing in Dream To Farm

I am loving every minute of my Dream to Farm class at IWCC. I can’t believe how informative and useful it is.

Every class I walk away with several new ideas on how to utilize the land I have (be it large or small portions) and how to be a better farmer. I can’t say enough positive things about this class and our instructors.

And it’s fun meeting new people with similar interests. I forgot about that bonus of going to school!

This week we visited a high tunnel and learned about soils, how to test your soil, and how to make needed improvements. All useful items for a small backyard garden or a full scale farming operation!

Beautiful and Noxious

So many wildflowers are, at least in my eyes, beautiful and pretty. Worthy of cutting and placing in vases for enjoyment at home.

However, I also realize they are quite noxious and spread like wildfires. Not good for farm and the land.

Thistles in their mature state are quite pretty and I love the colors.

But their thorns and ability to reproduce times a thousand are not so pleasant.

*On a side note I learned in my Dream to Farm Class last night that Thistles are biannual plants that spend their first year sucking up energy so they can produce these gorgeous yet overbearing flowers the second year. And that no amount of weed killer will rid these thistles once they have flowered, the best option is to bag all flowers and burn to prevent spread. Loving class and learning new things!