Once Upon a Farm Newsletter - September 2025: When Nature Overflows

Author

Sam Once Upon a Farm
September 18, 2025

🌱 The Backyard Farm Update

Welcome back to another month at Once Upon a Farm! This month has been absolutely magical, one of those times when you can feel the earth itself waking up and stretching after winter's long sleep. Spring is in full bloom here, and every morning brings new surprises that remind me why I fell in love with this way of life.

The fruit trees are putting on their annual show, covered in clouds of pink and white blossoms that fill the air with their sweet perfume. The bees have emerged from their winter slowdown with a vengeance, and I can hear their busy humming from the moment I step outside. It's a sound that fills me with deep satisfaction, knowing they're already hard at work ensuring we'll have fruit to harvest in the months ahead. There's something profound about being part of this ancient partnership between human, bee, and tree that never loses its wonder for me.

Most of the upcoming season's seeds are now started indoors under lights, tiny green promises emerging in their heated trays. I've also finally gotten that bed of strawberries planted out—something I've been meaning to do for months. But perhaps the most exciting development is that those female chicks who hatched back in April have started laying! I've been finding the most adorable tiny pullet eggs, they make me smile every time I discover one. Between the new layers and my established hens, I am now completely drowning in eggs! The abundance is real and wonderful and slightly overwhelming all at once. Anyone who comes to visit leaves with at least a dozen eggs, and I've started looking up every egg recipe I can find. There's something deeply satisfying about this kind of abundance, this generous overflow that wants to be shared.

🤔 Pottering Ponders

I've been thinking a lot lately about abundance and what it really means. When I stand in my garden at the end of the day, watching the chickens potter around between the fruit trees and listening to the bees work their magic, I'm struck by how different this feels from the scarcity mindset that seems to dominate so much of our world.

True abundance isn't just about having more than enough, though those dozens of eggs certainly qualify! It's about being part of systems that naturally overflow, that give more than they take, that create surplus not through exploitation but through partnership. The fruit trees give nectar to the bees, the bees pollinate the blossoms, the chickens clean up fallen fruit and provide fertilizer, and somehow in the middle of it all, there are eggs and honey and fruit for us too.

This is what I've come to understand as the heart of regenerative farming: not extracting from the land, but joining the dance of reciprocity that's already happening. The abundance flows when everything belongs in the system, when we learn to see ourselves as partners rather than masters. It's taken me years to understand this shift, to move from thinking about what I can get from my land to wondering what gifts I can offer back. But when it clicks, when you feel yourself becoming part of the cycle rather than separate from it, the generosity of the natural world will take your breath away.

🌍 What's in Season?

What's In Season? - September 2025

Northern Hemisphere - Autumn

Planting: Plant garlic cloves (or start thinking about planting it!), cover crops (crimson clover, winter rye), cold-hardy greens like spinach, arugula. Last chance for quick-growing radishes and lettuce varieties.

Harvesting: Late summer tomatoes, winter squash, apples, pears, Brussels sprouts, late corn, dried beans, herbs for preservation.

Recipe: Simple Harvest Soup - Roast any combination of autumn vegetables (squash, carrots, onions, garlic) with olive oil and herbs. Blend with vegetable stock for a warming soup that captures the essence of the season.

Southern Hemisphere - Spring

Planting Now: Start warm-season crops from seed indoors (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant), direct sow peas, beans, lettuce, radishes, and Asian greens.

Harvesting: Last of the winter brassicas, early spring onions, asparagus (if established), fresh herbs emerging from winter dormancy, first early lettuce.

Recipe: Spring Green Frittata - Whisk farm-fresh eggs with chopped spring greens (spinach, chard, early lettuce), herbs, and a bit of cheese. Cook in a cast-iron skillet until set. Perfect for using up an abundance of eggs and celebrating spring's tender greens.

🔬 Science Spotlight

The Intelligence of Soil Networks

One of the most fascinating discoveries in recent soil science research is the existence of what researchers call the "wood wide web", an intricate network of fungal threads that connects plants underground and allows them to communicate, share nutrients, and even warn each other of threats.

These mycorrhizal fungi form partnerships with plant roots, extending their reach for nutrients while receiving sugars in return. But they do far more than just trade resources. Through these fungal networks, a mother tree can send carbon to her struggling seedlings, plants can alert their neighbors to insect attacks, and the forest can redistribute nutrients from areas of abundance to areas of need.

What strikes me most about this research is how it validates what traditional farming cultures have known for millennia: that soil is alive, intelligent, and deeply interconnected. When we work with these natural networks rather than against them, by minimizing tillage, maintaining soil cover, and supporting fungal relationships, we're not just improving our soil health. We're plugging into an ancient communication system that can help our gardens become more resilient, more productive, and more generous.

This is why I'm so passionate about building soil biology in my own garden. Every time I add compost, plant a cover crop, or mulch around my plants, I'm feeding the vast network of life beneath my feet. And that network, in turn, feeds my plants in ways that go far beyond simple nutrition; it connects them to a web of support and communication that has sustained life on this planet for millions of years.

Did You Know?

A single teaspoon of healthy soil contains more microorganisms than there are people on Earth. Somewhere between 100 million to 1 billion bacteria, several meters of fungal filaments, and thousands of protozoa and nematodes. When we tend our soil with care, we're stewarding entire civilizations!

📺 Last Month’s YouTube Spotlight

Thank you for joining me for another month at Once Upon a Farm. If you have questions about anything we've covered, or stories from your own garden to share, I'd love to hear from you. Until next month, may your hands be dirty and your heart be full.
- Sam