In New England, we’ve been gripped by the longest winter EVER (at least that I can remember). I’m desperately wanting to get outside and say spring has officially arrived! I can’t wait to wake up the flower beds and start the veggie garden again. This season, the first thing I’ll do, once the ground thaws, is something that every gardener and farmer ought to do!
is a certified farmgirl at heart. She’s happily married to her beach bum Yankee husband of 20 years. She went from career gal to being a creative homeschooling mom for two of her biggest blessings and hasn’t looked back since. Debbie left her lifelong home in the high desert of Northern Nevada 10 years ago and washed up on the shore of America’s hometown, Plymouth, MA, where she and her family are now firmly planted. They spend part of each summer in a tiny, off–grid beach cottage named “The Sea Horse.”
“I found a piece of my farmgirl heart when I discovered MaryJanesFarm. Suddenly, everything I loved just made more sense! I enjoy unwinding at the beach, writing, gardening, and turning yard-sale furniture into ‘Painted Ladies’ I’m passionate about living a creative life and encouraging others to ‘make each day their masterpiece.’”
is a “MaryJane Farmgirl” who lives in a large metropolitan area. She is a lawyer who has worked in both criminal defense and prosecution. She has been a judge, a business woman and a stay-at-home mom. In addition to her law degree, she has a Masters of Theological Studies.
“Mustering up the courage to do the things you dream about,” she says, “is the essence of being a MaryJane Farmgirl.” Learning to live more organically and closer to nature is Rebekah’s current pursuit. She finds strength and encouragement through MaryJane’s writings, life, and products. And MaryJane’s Farmgirl Connection provides her a wealth of knowledge from true-blue farmgirls.
an old-fashioned farmgirl with a pioneer spirit, lives in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. As a “lifelong learner” in the “Live-Free-or-Die” state, she fiercely values self-reliance, independence, freedom, and fresh mountain air. Married to her childhood sweetheart of 40+ years (a few of them “uphill climbs”), she’s had plenty of time to reinvent herself. From museum curator, restaurant owner, homeschool mom/conference speaker, to post-and-beam house builder and entrepreneur, she’s also a multi-media artist, with an obsession for off-grid living and alternative housing. Cathi owns and operates a 32-room mountain lodge. Her specialty has evolved to include “hermit hospitality” at her rustic cabin in the mountains, where she offers weekend workshops of special interest to women.
“Mountains speak to my soul, and farming is an important part of my heritage. I want to pass on my love of these things to others through my writing. Living in the mountains has its own particular challenges, but I delight in turning them into opportunities from which we can all learn and grow.”
Dori Troutman is the daughter of second generation cattle ranchers in New Mexico. She grew up working and playing on the ranch that her grandparents homesteaded in 1928. That ranch, with the old adobe home, is still in the family today. Dori and her husband always yearned for a ranch of their own. That dream came true when they retired to the beautiful green rolling hills of Tennessee. Truly a cattleman’s paradise!
Dori loves all things farmgirl and actually has known no other life but that. She loves to cook, craft, garden, and help with any and all things on their cattle farm.
describes herself as a goat charmer, chicken whisperer, bee maven, and farmers’ market baker renovating an 1864 farmhouse on an Ohio farm. With a degree in Design, Mary says small-town auctions and country road barn sales "always make my heart skip a beat thinking about what I could create or design out of what I’ve seen.”
Rooted in the countryside, she likes simple things and old ways … gardening, preserving the harvest, cooking, baking, and all things home. While you might find her selling baked goods from the farm’s milkhouse, teaching herself to play the fiddle, or sprucing up a vintage camper named Maizy, you will always find her in an apron!
Mary says, “I’m happiest with the simple country pleasures … an old farmhouse, too many animals, a crackling fire, books to read, and the sound of laughter … these make life just perfect.”
is a budding rural farmgirl living in Palmer, the agricultural seat of Alaska. Alex is a graduate student at Alaska Pacific University pursuing an M.S. in Outdoor and Environmental Education. She lives and works on the university’s 700 acre environmental education center, Spring Creek Farm. When Alex has time outside of school, she loves to rock climb, repurpose found objects, cross-country ski on the hay fields, travel, practice yoga, and cook with new-fangled ingredients.
Alex grew up near the Twin Cities and went to college in Madison, Wisconsin—both places where perfectly painted barns and rolling green farmland are just a short drive away. After college, she taught at a rural middle school in South Korea where she biked past verdant rice paddies and old women selling home-grown produce from sidewalk stoops. She was introduced to MaryJanesFarm after returning, and found in it what she’d been searching for—a group of incredible women living their lives in ways that benefit their families, their communities, and the greater environment. What an amazing group of farmgirls to be a part of!
Suburban Farmgirl Nicole Christensen calls herself a “vintage enthusiast”. Born and raised in Texas, she has lived most of her life in the picturesque New England suburbs of Connecticut, just a stone’s throw from New York State. An Advanced Master Gardener, she has gardened since childhood, in several states and across numerous planting zones. In addition, she teaches knitting classes, loves to preserve, and raises backyard chickens.
Married over thirty years to her Danish-born sweetheart, Nicole has worked in various fields, been a world-traveler, an entrepreneur and a homemaker, but considers being mom to her now-adult daughter her greatest accomplishment. Loving all things creative, Nicole considers her life’s motto to be “Bloom where you are planted”.
Hi Nicole, Thanks for sharing those gorgeous pics with us. That’s going to be a lovely sweater. You’ll be ‘pretty in pink!’
Yesterday we had 60’s and sun all day and we were outside cleaning out the shed and really enjoying it….becaaaause….
by Friday winter is suppose to return to N.E. Ohio. weee….lol…here we go again.
I knew winter wasn’t through with us and that the sun and warm temp was just a tease and a glimpse of things to come, but I really don’t want to see any more snow. hahaha Wishful thinking! Today is high 30’s. BUT the sun has been blazing away. Surely can’t complain about that!
Happy St Patty’s day and just know that your snow will all be gone soon!
Good for you taking classes on something you love! Enjoy and…You Go Girl!
Hi Judy! Thanks so much. I hope to learn a lot of new things with gardening. Happy St. Patty’s to you, too. I remember some St. Patty’s where we were in full spring mode, and others with white out conditions. This one wasn’t too bad – thirties. Still snow and ice everywhere, of course. I learned that I shouldn’t expect spring completely until after St. Patty’s – seems like we always have a cold spell around that day, and like your area, last night the temp dropped again and March winds are fierce! Oh well, more time to knit that sweater! Thanks for “stopping by”! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Hi Nicole! Good for you working towards being a Master Gardener. I’ve looked into it through our University, but haven’t had the courage to take the plunge! I’ll be anxious to hear more about it. Yes that pink will be the most divine color for spring! It makes me smile just looking at it! You’ll have to show us a picture when you finish.
We are in full spring mode here – finally. Daffodils in bloom, birds singing, sun shining, cows happily grazing on fresh green grass. Our excitement about spring arriving is always a little fearful too because that is when our tornado season arrives. It’s a little unsettling for us being here only 4 years and every year in April we’ve had tornadoes very close.
I hope your snow all melts and spring comes bursting through soon!
Hugs – Dori, the Ranch Farmgirl –
Hi Dori! Thank you…I am really enjoying the journey to be a Master Gardener. I’ll keep ya posted! I am working hard on my sweater, too…first warm day I am dressing up! (It’s short sleeves).
Just hearing about your lovely spring with your cows and sunshine and flowers makes me smile. I understand your concern about tornadoes. I guess it is true that no matter where you live, there is a drawback somewhere with the weather…too hot, too cold, tornadoes, hurricanes…we must all appreciate what we have. Can’t control the weather, right? Tornadoes are very frightening, though.
Enjoy your spring weather! Send some of it up our way! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
I can’t wait until spring gets here too. But I expect the best time fir me will be April 13….according to the muskrats, who came out of their holes March 13. As they don’t come up out of their holes to mate unless its going go be nice in 30 days, approximately.I love smelling the musk in the fresh Dean are, fir me that’s the first real sign ,that I will be in my garden soon.
As for testing the soil, I’m sure my soil has plenty of iron, as the previous owner used to bury old nails in it…found plenty of them while digging. But I always add magnesium, for green vegetables love it and grow profusely when I remember to put some, scattered about. And always add a but if fertilizer, want it or not. And I figure if I see a lot of worms, there’s enough goodness in the soil. And full of life. (Not/sure if I want to see my soil under a microscope.) And I always rotate my plants, be year a seed producing plot will become a flower plot the following year.or a strawberry plot.rotating is good because some plants will take the nutrients of e element whereas another pant will leave it behind. For my tomatoes plot of soil I always burn some newspaper, as tomatoes love a little ash in their space. But I sure wish I knew what those slimy snails
hated, as I would put more in the soil to discourage them from hanging around, and those green tomatoes bugs with the horn, saw one east year. Haven’t seen them n ears so I wonder hat I’m doing wrong that they came back after many years.
Yes, I’m ready for my garden. Anxious as anyone else whose tired of winter. Love to enjoy my space…every year I too learn something new.there’s always lessons go be learned from a garden. To get kids interested, I always gave them a jacket of seeds. Got a neighbor kid interested. Such I could get my whose tin interested in growing beautiful gardens. Makes you want to live outside all the time! I love it when I can touch the soil with my bare hands…..did you know people ho do, are healthier than those who don’t garden? I knew this woman whose mother lived to be 103, and the daughter felt it was due to her interesting in gardening. As she didnt like it, but she did grow these beautiful flowers. The daughter only lived to be 98! So working a garden has its blessings….hard work keeps you young! Go garden! Happy gardening!
Hi Sue! I love hearing about the muskrats! Thanks for sharing. Your garden sounds lovely. Don’t be afraid to get soil testing…it won’t scare you! What it will tell you is if you need something or not, and the pH of the soil. For instance, ash makes soil more acidic. Also, it is possible to get too much of a good thing, even fertilizer, so testing tells you the exact needs of the plants you’d be planting. I totally agree with you about gardening – keeps ya young! My grandmother was born on a farm, and I remember her happiest times were in her garden. I still can’t look at a rose and not think of her. Happy gardening, and happy spring, sweet farmsister! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
I grew up in the New Haven area. In 1967, Easter was March 26, and I wore a straw hat, a spring coat, and my winter boots. The following week, my fiance was in Hawaii and sent me a lei. Mom took a picture of me, wearing a dress, no coat, the lei, standing in front of my Skylark convertible with the top down. The only snow was the stuff that had been plowed up on the sides of the roads.
Plowing seems to make the snow denser. Spring has sprung here in Indiana, and even the stuff on the sides of the roads is gone. The huge mountains of snow in the parking lots however, are still with us.
Hi Kristy,
Lucky you, that snow is almost gone there! I love the story you shared. I bet that is a treasured photo, and a great one at that. I grew up in Houston, Texas. Easter there, was of course, warm. Sundresses and sandals. Since I have lived in Connecticut, I find it goes either way. Warm sometimes, or the pendulum swings the other way -and we could get a blizzard. The trick is to be patient, of course, but I can’t wait to see something green! Thanks for commenting, Kristy! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
We didn’t get nearly the snow but our COLD happened and we have to be concerned into late April early May for night freezes – it has been known to freeze late May – so all our new gardening has to be put undercover and the perennials sometimes get nipped – we do feel your pain of not being able to get out there and ‘do dirt’. Congratulations on becoming a Master Gardener – real talent in those people. God bless.
Hi Joan! Thank you. It is not an easy task to become a Master Gardener, and I have a long road ahead, but I am enjoying it. Anything worth doing isn’t always easy, of course.
Nothing is worse than a spring freeze, especially after the gardens and flowers are planted. I feel your woe, and hope that your plants survive. Good luck!
As I hear the March wind blowing today, I am reminding myself that I will not complain about the heat this summer. Not one complaint, and my farmgirl sisters can hold me to it! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Oh, Nicole, I so know where you are at now. Minnesota usually has tons of snow and we have cabin fever. But we got hardly any snow and they are talking drout. We all need a happy medium. Congrats on your master gardener program. It is so worth it. Your sweater and its color left me drooling. Hang in there and think Jubilee
Hi Bonnie! I think we got all of your snow! Another two inches (not much, but I don’t want any now) is expected Friday. And it is so very cold still. I hear ya…think Jubilee! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
Hi Nicole.
I like to read your blog , and I always looking forward to see what you have written this time, and see your pictures.
Hi Mor! Tak! Hugs to all in Denmark! -Nicole
Nicole, I am praying for all of you people in the northeast to have Sping weather and lots and lots of sunshine soon. 🙂 Here in the piedmont area of NC we are experiencing some spring weather, of course we have a few cold days ahead but not bitter cold. Being from La. I appreciate the four seasons here. We get just enough of each season to not be overwhelmed. The next season pretty much starts the day the calendar says it should. 🙂 I also took a Master Gardener’s course at home at LSU Ag Center, it was so much fun and so full of exciting things to learn. We did the soil test as well, only we didnt have to send our off because it was there on the campus. 🙂 I was very surprised to learn how some people really do destroy their soil for many years because of just adding lime and things they it doesnt need. Sort of sad. 🙁 Well here is to wishing you lots of Spring blessings coming your way and that beautiful color will for sure make any day brighter. Be Blessed. Neta
Hi Vivian! Thank you for the wishes of warm weather. Today was sunny but cold, but bundled up it is still nice to walk outside. Tomorrow we have heard reports of two to six inches of snow! Blech!
Awesome that you did the Master Gardener’s class,too! Already, I look at the world and my surroundings differently. I also attended the NOFA (Northeast Organic Farmers Association) Winter Seminar at WestConn a few weeks ago. I took three courses there and spent the day looking at all the vendors offerings…if I can’t get outside and garden yet, I can at least learn about it (and dream)! Hopefully soon. I do enjoy the four seasons here, too, being from Texas originally, but this winter just won’t let go! Thanks for saying hi! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole
I really enjoyed reading the information about the soil we plant our vegetables and flowers in. Never knew any of this! Your pictures are all so pretty. Love the tulips and last summer when I was there in July, I saw and tasted your garden vegetables and herbs. Beautiful and delicious. You fed me well! I am so proud of you becoming a Master Gardener soon, and your pink sweater is lovely and well made. Glad you are using the talents God blessed you with.
Love you,
Mother
WoW…thank you Mama! Love you, Nicole
Hello from snowy Higganum, CT! I’m so happy to have found your blog. I can’t wait to get my hands into the soil this year…if it ever stops snowing.
Good luck with your spring sweater – it’s such a lovely color!
Jennifer
Hi Fellow Frozen Farmgirl! I hear ya! I wonder with all this snow how long it will be before anyone can get outside! Thank you for the compliment – I love the color, too. Thanks for “stopping by’ the blog! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole PS Your soaps look lovely!