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I have a client who has several acres of land who wants to add some farm animals that will basically be treated as pets. I know she isn't planning to slaughter them, so they'll either need to be spayed or neutered or all of one gender. I don't raise livestock so I have nothing to go on. Which...

I'm not much for decorating, but I enjoy landscaping the yard for the first time when it's full of possibilities. I hope you enjoy your cottage.

That looks more an apple tree that's been trained to grow like a low horizontal cordon, but it doesn't really matter. You can train dwarf fruit trees either way. I suspect you're searching for the wrong thing. Instead of a tree, look for dwarf rootstock that is easy to train. Don't forget...

Have you guys seen this news? https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/09/farm-workers-coronavirus-309897 Yikes! That's troubling news and quite shocking considering how much space rural areas have which is where most farms are located. Plus rural areas tend to have much smaller populations...

Has anyone else noticed a rise in the number of customers who are asking for discounts due to the coronavirus and its effects on the economy? Are you bending to their request? So far, I've had three clients request a discount. That usually never happens. I haven't given a discount so far...

Lawn patterns were insanely popular last season in my neck of the woods. It went far beyond cutting "Hi" in the grass. At first, I enjoyed it because it was another form of creativity, but it quickly became a labor intensive nightmare. Luckily, that trend only lasted a season and everyone's...

If this culvert is near the road it might be maintained by the city. I'd give them a call first before performing unnecessary labor. They probably have one of those culvert-cleaning tools which is easier to use. If the culvert is just stopped up, then blasting water through the culvert with a...

I have a medical POA to make decisions for my care if I'm not able to. As far as a will goes, I think my biggest issue is that neither of my children want to inherit and run the business. I was hoping to keep it in the family, so that's a disappointment. Maybe one of them will have a change...

Unfortunately, plenty of rain means that the conditions are great for growing corn and wheat, so corn futures and wheat futures have seen a decline. The belief that there will be high demand for soybeans overseas once the global economy starts going again has driven the futures value of...

If I was going to raise trees commercially I'd go with pine trees. They are great for making wreaths and other decor. Christmas trees are ready rather quickly and if you don't have much competition, you can make quite a bit with those. The cones are great for crafts and wildlife feeders. All...

What are some of your tips and tricks for getting rid of Japanese beetles and their grubs that don't involve heavy pesticides? Introducing beneficial nematodes didn't make a noticeable difference last time. Picking them off the plants in the morning works, but it's a tedious process. Are...

Some veggies and fruits grow well in a container like spinach, onions, and strawberries. However, growing larger vegetables like tomatoes and peppers in a container never turns out that great. They'll produce some vegetables for the table, but they aren't as productive as they would be if...

Thanks for the tips, Birdie. I'm hoping I'll be more successful this year since we love salsa verde and the homemade stuff is so much better than what you can find in the store.

What is the easiest way to remove rust from tractor parts and keep it from coming back? Does anything stop rust better than WD-40?

I've seen people buy something based on the name brand alone. To be honest, I've fallen into that trap as well a time or two.

I tried to grow tomatillos last year and my efforts lead to nothing. I think pollination was the problem and I just didn't have enough plants. I understand tomatillos require another plant to pollinate, so does that mean I should plant them in rows of two? Should the plants be pretty close...

You can harvest your cabbage more than once though, if you leave a few lower leaves behind you'll be rewarded with some, uh, well my wife calls them baby cabbages and I don't know the technical term, so we'll go with that. Each cabbage head that you harvest should net you four to six baby...

I know they aren't for everyone, but I use a reel mower in the course of business because it produces a healthier, more beautiful turf. Well, a client of mine was very excited to show me the reel mower that she purchased from the Martha Stewart Living Collection. I took one look at it and knew...

Schools have closed and all of my kids' usual activities have been cancelled, so I have a house with four children who are climbing the walls. They do their chores around here, but it wasn't enough to burn off that energy. Well, this morning I decided to make them an obstacle course inside the...

I've planted many dogwood trees over the years and eventually, they all seem to fall to a twig borer or anthracnose. I just can't keep them alive and trying is getting expensive. So I've decided to plant different trees instead. Is there another tree that is similar? What I like about the...