Happy Fall Equinox! Ancient religions (many that pre-date Christianity) were in-tune with the changing of the seasons, and they took time to celebrate those seasons. It is only in our modern age where we have divorced ourselves from nature that we ignore the changing seasons until….shazaaam….the first snow is falling. We only notice this because it is wet outside, and cars are skidding all over the road and making our commute stink!
If you are paying attention, you can feel the change, and you can see it. The nights are getting shorter, and the sun is actually lower in our sky. Gardens are producing vegetables and herbs as fast as they can. Animals like deer are changing colors, and birds are starting to migrate southward.
Winter is coming (quickly), but before it gets here, we must celebrate the harvest! We are going to celebrate the harvest on Monday, which is the Fall Equinox. I am planning to smoke some more meat, and I am planning to use some of the potatoes harvested from the wicking beds. I have green beans coming, and I grew some lettuce in seed trays that is ready to be harvested. I will make this part of our Fall Equinox meal on Monday, where we will be celebrating a good garden season and another of Danny’s races!
In the meantime, we have plenty of canning and preservation to do. I have been fermenting and canning pickles and beans this week, and this weekend I am going to make some award-winning salsa. We have my extended family coming here next weekend, and I want to make sure the food is top notch and delicious. That, my dear Lifers, is a topic for next week’s News from Around the Bend.
Let’s celebrate the Fall Equinox together by gathering content from fellow content creators from Around the Bend!
How to Grow 1 Million Meals with Drew Demler
Drew Demler and I discuss Hydroponic Systems and Wicking Beds in this great podcast!
I posted a podcast episode on the Small Scale Life Podcast feed (iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, etc), and it is all about great people doing REALLY good things in their community. Drew Demler and his crew at Big Tex Urban Farms are using hyroponic systems and raised beds to feed a food desert in the Dallas community.
In this episode, Drew and I talk a ton about hydroponic systems (pros and cons of each), Wicking Beds, pest control, fertilizers and connecting with other producers and the community. If you want to know about hyrdroponic systems, this is a great place to get a start! Listen to this podcast today on the Small Scale Life Network! I will be posting this article on Small Scale Life this weekend.
I am pretty proud of this podcast, and it was great talking with Drew. He is a knowledgeable and charismatic individual, and I can’t wait to meet him someday soon.
Happy Labor Day 2019 – Wicking Bed Update
Small Scale Gardening
In this video, I show you what is happening in my Small Scale Garden. The Wicking Beds and Self-Watering Planters are doing really well, and the plants are producing fruit and veggies like crazy. I take a garden walk and show you how the plants in each planter is doing. I am really happy with these planters this year!
Picks of the Week
As we prepare to celebrate the Fall Equinox, here are some content creators that you just might want to tune into while you are making some great tasting food or harvesting/preserving vegetables and herbs from your garden.
Regenerative Roadtrip – Suminagashi – Simple But Awesome Art Project for Kids or Adults – Japanese Paper Marbling (TFO #2)
Jason, Travis and Ainsley Gray
Special shout out to my friend Jason Gray from the Regenerative Roadtrip. We had a great conversation today about blogging, podcasting and our platforms. He helped me noodle through some struggles I was having (the 404 overwhelmed blue screen of death in my brain) and helped me set the new course. Thanks, man!
In this “Travis Finds Out” video, Travis discusses Japanese Suminagashi Art. Translated to English, this means “floating ink.” Travis and Ainsley show us how to create this kind of art, including the materials needed. As a “drawing guy” who struggled with water colors, this actually appeals to me! Ainsley does a great job with her Suminagashi artwork as well.
Really nice work, Travis, Ainsley and Jason!
The Contrary Farmstead – Live Show Pigs, Bees, House Update and New Tractor
Greg and Susan Burns
Greg and Susan had a live show that they converted into a podcast! In this episode, our Ohio friends talk about pigs, bees, their forever house project and the new tractor. It is a fun episode, especially since it is live. That adds a whole new element to the podcast, and it is something I have kicked around with Small Scale Life. We’ll see.
The Bog – Harvest Episode
Hrafnvolk Network – Big Dave Martel
https://youtu.be/EZLzpW-clWA
To round out our Happy Equinox Episode, I wanted to include something that touches on the meaning of the Equinox and the importance of The Harvest from an ancient religion perspective. Big Dave Martel on the Hrafnvolk Network had a livestream titled “Harvest Episode.” Dave and the network are dedicated to Asatru religion, which is a native European religion that pre-dates Christianity.
In this episode, he discusses the meaning of the Equinox, how he and his kin celebrate the harvest, and the celebration of European god Frey. According to the Asatru religion, Frey is a god that gives life and fertility to all plants (along with Jord, Nerthus and many others). The celebration of the harvest is known as Freyfaxi, which is a celebration around August 23.
I had no idea about any of this, but if you want to dig into some ancient religions, you might want to take a listen. I find it very interesting from a historical context and am curious to learn more.
Celebrate the Harvest on the Fall Equinox Together!
Happy Fall Equinox! Celebrate the harvest and the year with family and friends as you prepare for winter.
Whatever you belief system and religion, feel free to celebrate another good year in the garden with your family and friends. Build your community where you are. Share your harvest and good fortune with others.
Strive to simplify your life and prepare for winter. Winter is coming, and we need to be prepared for the cold winds and snows that will soon descend here in the north.
Happy Fall Equinox, everyone!
Skol (as the Vikings say here in Minnesota)!