About
high hopes gardens
logan township
marshall county
iowa
Mark – Technical writer by day, Dad and farmer for all the rest.
Linda – Biology teacher and Program Coordinator for diversified and entrepreneurial agriculture program by day, Mom and farmer for all the rest.
15 Responses to “About”
Joel Taylor says:
July 24, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Stumbled upon your blog while doing a google search. I grew up in State Center and Grinnell, went to college at ISU and work in Ames when I’m not on active duty with the National Guard.
I’ve been reading up on your blog- I miss being out on the farms.
Keep up the good posts!
~Joel
Wayne Bannert Jr says:
August 17, 2007 at 1:17 am
I came across your blog looking for sites about sustainable agriculture. I think I found the best one. I bought 16 acres with the hopes of raising my 5 kids in a better place and teaching them about nature, hardwork, and the rewards they offer. I am not a farmer by any means, just a 26 year old railroader. I could not explain the type of life I wanted at the new home. I have got my wife reading your site from start to finish, and have even started using some of your methods and plan to start using more of them as time and money permit. I think you have done a great job with the site and hope to continue reading for years to come and maybe some day soon join you with a small sustainable farm.
Again great job with the site, and thank you for giving me something to start my own with.
michelle says:
November 19, 2007 at 8:23 pm
Hello Family High Hopes,
I have been checking in on your blog for a little under a year now and I thought it important to let you know that your efforts are admired and make a difference. There is a great value in an active observance of daily life and the gifts and challenges it presents to us.
Keep up the good work, good health to all and I wish you the best for the future.
A happy follower.
Michelle
Deniese says:
January 21, 2008 at 8:29 am
Wow, what a website. We have 35 acres and would love to get back to raising things like
when I was a kid. I have tried starting apple trees, rasberries and strawberries. I
could use some help if you don’t mind me asking questions. I have all the equipment for
canning as my mom use to do this, but I have not much experience canning. I use to do
alot of cutting corn off the cob, picking tomatoes for canning and lots of peas and green
beans. Our biggest crop when the six kids were together was over 200 tomato plants. That
highhopesgardens says:
January 21, 2008 at 8:39 pm
Deniese,
I’ll try to answer your questions! To get started, I highly recommend the USDA home canning guide. We have it in a tattered three-ring binder and use it continuously in the summer/fall. it provides safe recipes, provides some logic when deciding to pressure vs boiling water canning. I found a free online copy at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html
Amanda says:
January 29, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Hello!
I wanted to let y’all know that I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading the wonderful information available on your site. We recently purchased a home with a few acres and we’re looking forward to having chickens and a few Barbados sheep. Your site has been a wonderful source of information and encouragement.
Paige says:
March 2, 2008 at 9:47 am
Hi Linda,
I’m getting married in Marshall County in September and I’m hoping to do an All-Iowa Meal. Can you help?
Mark Sannes says:
May 31, 2008 at 1:34 pm
You might enjoy the site of Wisconsin’s favorite
cheesehead, Michael Perry. sneezingcow.com is where he
shares snippets of his life much as you all do. Check
out his book ‘Population 485 – Meeting your
neighbors one siren at a time’.
Be well.
Yes, I’m that Mark who’s dating Julie.
Mark from Kasson.
Carl Chappell says:
June 24, 2008 at 6:28 pm
Great blog! Will check in now and then. I was searching for a picture of that goose who hangs out with goats in news that’s strange when I came upon High Hopes. Love the pictures and cheerful attitude. Keep it up.
Carl in St. Pete, FL
Barbi says:
July 14, 2008 at 7:15 am
Mark & Linda,
The July 7 & 14 New Yorker has an article “Island in the Wind” by Elizabeth Kolbert. Samso Island in Denmark is populated by 4300 people and they converted to sustainable energy use, including wind turbines.
I’ll send you the web address for a slide show showing their innovations.
We enjoyed your pic of Reggie playing his dulcimer at the art show!
Barbi
Sara says:
August 31, 2008 at 6:53 am
Hello High Hope Gardens,
Just stumpled upon your blog while searching for goat milk’s soap. Just love seeing all the pretty goats, kid and all. They are in good hands! Thanks for sharing a part of your lives with all of us. Keep up the great job!
Susan Waughtal says:
February 17, 2009 at 11:35 am
Hello,
A friend with Iowa connections sent me a link to your site. We have just embarked on a similar small farm journey. It is exciting and inspiring to read about all your accomplishments and adventures–gives us High Hopes for our own little farmstead!
Ahmet Korkmaz says:
April 9, 2009 at 3:28 am
Good Day,
I am Ahmet Korkmaz, co-owner of the website agricultureguide.org and a green enthusiast.
We are trying to spread organic farming / gardening in order to create a more self-sufficient world by writing guides about these issues.
Our point is not to be as academic as possible, our belief is that too much information only scares the aspiring gardeners so we try to remain understandable while being accurate.
As of now, our website is really new but we’re trying to upload content as much as we can, this is usually an article of about 400 words every 24 hours because of our situation as students.
I only as that you visit and take a look, tell us how to improve ourselves and perhaps if you’re willing; give a link to us so we can get some recognition. Granted, we’ll probably never be able to become as popular as some other websites on this subject, but I think we deserve a bit more traffic with the work we’re putting into this.
I am looking forward to hearing your advice and impression for our humble beginning. I’m sure you won’t miss the opportunity to help youngsters out. ..
Katie Pierce says:
August 7, 2009 at 12:29 am
Hello, I don’t know how I ended up on your “blog”, but it looks great! I actually was looking for combination stock panels and where to buy them- you spoke of them and how they were at the bottom of the pile furthest back at some store- can you tell me some retailers that carry these?
Thank you and I hope to read your on going story- It has my heart!
highhopesgardens says:
August 8, 2009 at 5:12 pm
Katie,
Any farm store should carry them – like Theisen’s, Orschlen’s, Farm and Home, Tractor Supply, depending on what’s in your area.