When Mark created our caterpillar tunnels, they had one purpose --- keeping cabbage moths away from my broccoli and brussels sprouts without laborious hand squishing. But they've since proven themselves valuable for much more than that.

After moving to Ohio, I've had trouble getting peas, beans, and cucumbers from the seedling to early adult stage due to bug damage and rabbit nibbles. Popping a caterpillar tunnel on top for a few weeks seems to circumvent those troubles, giving the babies a safe environment in which to thrive. If you follow suit, just make sure to uncover by bloom time or you won't get any fruits!

Then, this spring, I discovered yet another use for caterpillar tunnels. I left a caterpillar tunnel on two-thirds of a newly seeded carrot bed because I didn't need the structure anywhere else that early in the spring. To my surprise, the covered section germinated at many times the rate of the uncovered section. (In my photo, from two weeks ago, the covered section is the right side of the bed...and that picture was taken after I thinned the plants!) My best guess is that the caterpillar tunnel mitigated the ground-level microclimate, keeping it just a hair warmer and damper. Whatever the reason, I'll clearly need to start using Mark's tunnels as germination aids as well.

Other news

In other news, those of you reading this directly on our blog will notice the new cover photo. Cool huh? Mark cleverly chose to catch the light just before sunset when it shone straight through the tunnels to us.

Also on the blog, you'll now see an email signup form at the bottom of every page. I'm giving away a free ebook (and promising behind-the-scenes info) to those of you who join, so I hope you'll sign up!

And, finally, Mark has a slew of video ideas buzzing around in his head right now. I'll be straight with you --- we haven't posted here much in recent years because after we shut down our chicken waterer business, it just didn't make sense to sink so much time into a project that didn't help pay the bills. But Youtube recently told us that we'd hit the 1,000 subscriber threshold needed to put ads there (wow!), and all we need is to boost our viewership by about a third to be eligible. Ads would make it worth Mark's while to share some of the projects he's created but hasn't posted about, so I hope you'll help him reach his goal by checking out our channel. Thanks in advance for giving him a reason to scratch his filmmaking itch!

We built a deck recently and needed a handrail.

I decided a planter box was more fun and functional.

Learn much more about the project in our DIY Garden Projects video course.

Do you have a rusted-out wheelbarrow waiting to be hauled to the dump? If you've been homesteading for at least a decade, I'll bet you do.

Well don't haul off that wheelbarrow! Prop it up on cinder blocks and turn it into a fire circle.

I ran into this fire circle at a friend's house yesterday evening and was highly impressed. Its owner told me the wheelbarrow not only contains the fire, it raises the flames up for easier management. During the winter, she finds it especially nice to have the heat closer to body level. Sounds like a win/win!