The Patch Post

Prairie stories, growing tips, and reflections from our Kansas garden. Follow the seasons with Autumn Prairie Pumpkins.

Diverse heirloom pumpkin and squash seeds on rustic wood table - Autumn Prairie Pumpkins

Heirloom Seeds and Biodiversity: A Small Act for Earth Day

Five days before Earth Day, standing in the seed room with a packet of seeds that trace back through more hands than any of us...

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Lyrid meteor shower over Kansas prairie garden at twilight - Autumn Prairie Pumpkins

The Lyrids Begin Tonight, and So Does the Real Spring Garden

The Lyrids open up tonight, the first meteor shower since January. The garden is restless, same as you. A good time to step outside, look...

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Moon rising over Kansas garden rows with young squash seedlings - Autumn Prairie Pumpkins

Planting by the Moon the Week Artemis Came Home

The week Artemis II carried four astronauts around the far side of the Moon, we were out here planting by lunar phase the same way...

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Bumblebee on orange pumpkin blossom with morning dew - Autumn Prairie Pumpkins

The Garden You Already Have Is a Pollinator Garden

A bumblebee shows up at our squash blossoms every morning around seven, more punctual than most of us. She was here before the garden was...

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Seeds floating above open palm under moonlight - Autumn Prairie Pumpkins

Seeds Came Back from the Moon This Week

Native tree seeds flew to the Moon and back this week. Down here, a seed packet sat on the potting bench waiting for the soil...

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Basket of heirloom pumpkins on Kansas farmhouse porch - Autumn Prairie Pumpkins

Why Grow Your Own Food? A National Gardening Day Reflection

National Gardening Day falls on April 14, and on the Kansas plains, the soil is just warm enough to think about. A reflection on why...

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Hands holding heirloom seeds passing down heritage - Autumn Prairie Pumpkins

The Oldest Gift in the Garden

The cherry trees along the Tidal Basin bloomed and scattered in about ten days. The garden is the same, each thing arriving on its own...

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Seedling emerging from rich Kansas soil in morning light - Autumn Prairie Pumpkins

A Seed in the Ground Is the Best Earth Month Promise You Can Make

April is here. The tomato starts are leaning hard toward the window, and the soil is loose again outside. The best Earth Month promise you...

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Young pumpkin seedling with cotyledon leaves in garden soil - Autumn Prairie Pumpkins

Growing Your Own Food Is an Act of Faith in the Earth

It's the last evening of March, and the seed packets are on the kitchen table again. The soil in the raised beds smells like it's...

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Community garden with raised beds and squash plants - Autumn Prairie Pumpkins

Why So Many People Are Planting Gardens This Year

Grocery receipts keep climbing. The fields are still bare. Something shifts in a person when they start doing the math and decide to grow instead....

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Backyard victory garden with pumpkins and American flag - Autumn Prairie Pumpkins

Growing a Victory Garden in Uncertain Times

In 1943, a woman in a house dress knelt in a narrow backyard plot and planted in straight careful rows while the whole street did...

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Kansas homestead garden with pumpkin rows and windmill at golden hour - Autumn Prairie Pumpkins

Growing Prosperity: A Practical Guide to Homestead Gardening and Sustainable Living

A quiet shift is happening in a lot of households. Less anxiety, more action. Gardens, fruit trees, seed orders, rain barrels. A practical guide to...

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