By Kerry Audisho. As you probably already know, I am a huge advocate for growing your own and especially for buying food from local growers. With a network of small local growers, we will be able to build a sustainable, local food ecosystem right in our own backyards. But, it can only work if there are enough food growers.

By Anne-Marie Miller. Nothing says spring like getting baby chicks! Our wee puffs of fluff are chirping happily in the garage, toasty warm under a heat lamp. There is just nothing like that sweet sound they make. I am excited to report that I was able to get one of breeds I have been wanting for years: Silver Laced Wyandotte. New chicks mean more fresh eggs in our future.

My “farm” consists of 170 square feet of raised beds. We designed the space to have beds arranged in a U-shape with a center raised bed and walkways that make it easy to access all corners of the garden without stepping inside a bed. I affectionately call our garden Honey Hill Farm because my husband and I live at the top of a hill and Honey our beloved dog oversees all activity in and out of the garden.

By Anne-Marie Miller. I love having chickens and raising rabbits. In the beautiful weather of spring and fall we turn off the TV and tune into the chicken channel. There is something so relaxing about sitting, sipping a glass of wine with chickens scratching and pecking around you making their little chicken noises.

By Anne-Marie Miller. Every year I try to add some newcomers (things I have never grown before) to the garden. In 2016, some were a boom and some were a bust. Find out which ones you might like to add to your garden this spring. I always like to disclose my location up front when I write an article like this because I have often been so excited about something after reading an article, just to find out that the author gardens in Oregon or California.