The Gothic Homesteader

I am just so delighted to have discovered this book: Black Plants by Paul Bonine!  He has complied an engaging book with 75 Black Plant choices for the garden.  Easy are stunningly photographed for the readers pleasure, giving this book a coffee table quality not just one for the Gothic Homesteader's bookshelf. While there are many other black plants out there, Paul Bonine has chosen some of the most majestic and offered them to us in full color splendor!  I persoanly am thrilled to learn a few plants  I grew up with made the list.  Among them: Black Hollyhock, Purple Leaf Elderberry, and "Ace of Spades" Ornamental Sweet  Potato.  All in all a wonderful book, and a must have for any Gothic Homesteader or Gothic Gardener! ~ Morria

 After a lot of research personally and for our urban start and future rural homestead, I have decided to try to do as much of it "tribal" or the old school methods as possible, for our Gothic Homestead.  This means hand or hose watering, heirloom seeds, and natural fertilizers among other things.  This will be a challenge, as Robby and I well know from our first trial run, back in 2012 in Thoreau, NM. So, I have gotten my first flowers, seeings as this year we are just getting up and going, I am buying mostly annuals.  We are not sure how long we will be in Farmington, but at least the next few months.  I wonder if there is any where in town that sells black plants? ~ Morria

In honor of this fine Halloween Season, I felt it only fitting to share with my fellow Gothic Homesteaders the delightful list of pumpkins and squash I have found while hunting for Black Plants and other Gothic Plants.  While the traditional orange pumpkins and normal squash are wonderful, I felt these deserved a nod and some attention as well! Blue Moon Pumpkins Silver Moon Pumpkins Full Moon Pumpkins Jack-O-Lantern Pumpkins Blue Banana Squash Table Queen Acorn Squash Butter Nut Squash ( It has a rich orange flesh inside! ) Navajo Gray Hubbard Squash ~ Morria

I have seen in my day alot of " You might be Goth if... " and " You might be a Homesteader if... " lists, but nothing like this.  So for the fun of it, I sat down and wrote out this list.  You most likely ARE a Gothic Homesteader if even a few of these are true... 1) You're a Goth who invested all your time and money into a piece of property most people wouldn't want. 2) You dont care about career or success, and are mostly interested in the size of your black carrots or the health of the bats in your bat houses. 3) You want your children ( if have any ) to learn to feed and milk the goats, and feel it is important skills to learn as they teach the value of hard work. 4) You know nearly every type of edible food that grows in black or purple, and you have tried/are going to try/are growing them. 5) You know all about the moon cycles and when is the best time to plant, harvest, and the likes. 6) You have very little money, but you know if...