West garden, new articles, and the book is out

September 2026 · Kevin & Thea Wallace

Dear friends of Mindful Living Sanctuary,

Fall is here in Oswego County. The light is shorter. The seed heads are ready to drop if we let them. We have been outside as much as the body and the weather allow — not because every day is a big project, but because this place only stays ahead if somebody keeps after the edges.

The workshop rebuild is not finished yet. The structure is up, but wiring and finish work still have to be done before we can call it complete. We are doing as much as we can — we are not youngsters anymore — so the pace is steady rather than frantic. The land work that got skipped during the rebuild is what you have been seeing on the channel: soil moved, roads shaped, dead ash coming down, another hugelkultur pit started at Base Camp. We also had to slow down for a week after a hit on the machine. We are back at it. Just not at full speed every day.

Here is what else is new.

ON THE LAND

The west garden plot is a different place than it was in early August. The kennel-panel enclosure is gone. Posts and gates are out. A lot of that soil went into the first food forest, where it can do some good. The soil conditioner has been knocking down high spots and bringing old sod roots up so the grade is easier to keep.

At Base Camp we have been taking down dead ash before it becomes a winter hazard. The better logs go to firewood. The rest goes into hugelkultur. Elon cleared the edges of the pond we dug in 2024. Hulk has been building and smoothing the roads toward Base Camp so they are usable when the ground freezes.

Two Lymow One Plus units are now doing daily mowing on mapped zones. That is not fancy. It is how we keep dozens of acres from turning into a second full-time job.

We harvested peaches — and learned again what happens when you skip thinning. Garlic is processed and in the dehydrators. Clover went in on the east plot earlier in the season. None of that is glamorous. It is the work that shows up next spring.

NEW ON THE WEBSITE

I have been getting questions lately on some really old videos and topics I covered years ago. Rather than leave the answers scattered in comments, I have started posting more complete articles on the site — written in the same plain voice as the channel, with the sources and caveats laid out so you can read them once and use them.

Two recent examples:

• Are Carbohydrates Essential? The Gut Microbiome Says Yes
  What the human studies actually say about fiber, not the internet argument about “carbs.”

• Chlorine, Chloramine, and Disinfection Byproducts
  Why we disinfect water, what byproducts form, and what a household can do about them without the scare stories.

We have also been rewriting older farm articles so they are easier to find and read the way we actually talk:

• Weeding and Gardening
  What we do in zone 5 when time is short: cut, smother, chip. Not heroic pulling.

• Ponds for Homesteads
  Location, New York permits, and why the planning matters more than the excavator day.

• Soil Succession
  Why a vegetable bed and a food forest want different soil.

• Hugelkultur
  What we do with storm wood and orchard prunings instead of burning it.

More growing guides are up for plants we actually sell and grow here: currants, gooseberries, thornless blackberries, American persimmon, pawpaw, chestnuts, and hazelnuts. All of that lives under Articles.

VIDEOS THIS MONTH

If you would rather watch than read:

• Getting Back at It | 3 Days of Soil Work After the Hit

• A Big Day of Progress | Elon Clears the Pond, Hulk Builds the Roads

• The West Garden Plot Is Taking Shape

Channel: Growing a Better Tomorrow / Kevin Wallace.

SONGS ON THE CHANNEL

A few of you have commented on the songs we post with the videos. I will try to keep our YouTube playlist updated as I get time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ_JcQ4E4L8&list=PL9H2-UfB2kYAW5tYhuwnjXEN0FyFmGMdg

STAYING ACTIVE

Thea and I are also trying hard to get on the MeetOne Tour 2.0 electric tricycles we bought this year. We want to stay as active as we can, and have some fun while we do it. If you have been curious about them:

https://meetonetrike.com/KevinWallace

THE BOOK IS OUT

Before I Could Read is no longer “coming soon.”

It is the story of learning to read at 28, the veterinary years, and the long road back to this land. Kindle is $9.95. Paperback is $19.95.

Amazon · Our book page

If a library or bookstore wants it, they can order through Ingram. ISBN 978-1-62967-349-3.

NURSERY

Plants are still local pickup only, by appointment. Message us on Facebook or reply to this email and we will set a time. What we grow for Central New York is listed here: Nursery stock.

ONE THING YOU CAN DO THIS MONTH

Walk the beds that are closest to going to seed. Cut them down. Drop cardboard or a tarp on the worst patches. Chip what you can. If you plant garlic, now is the window in this climate. That front-loaded work is still working for you when the ground freezes and you cannot get out there.

ONE ASK

Reply and tell us one plant or topic you want covered next. We would rather hear it from you than guess.

Tennessee is part of where this is headed. We will say more when the plans are firm enough to be useful. For now the filming, the nursery, and the daily work are still here in Oswego County.

Thank you for staying with us.

Kevin & Thea Wallace
Mindful Living Sanctuary
https://www.mindfullivingsanctuary.com/

P.S. If you only click one link, make it the chloramine article, the carb article, or the book page. All three are new since the last letter.