Ravenstead on Patreon

I just opened up a Patreon page featuring some of my digital art, fantasy maps, jewelry, ironwork, and much more. You may notice the "Witherwind Patreon Campaign" page above. This is dedicated to running a Dungeons and Dragons campaign for my Patreon supporters. Patrons will be awarded virtual land in the World of Witherwind and have the opportunity to play along in the campaign. Please check out my new Patreon Page!

Here is an example of some digital composing I have been doing for my Patrons.

The Vikings are coming to Ravenstead!

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Ravenstead on Kickstarter

We have been super busy over the last year turning out some great projects on Kickstarter. It's going so well the focus of Ravenstead has become that of game design, blacksmithing, and all things RPG! If you would like to see some of the past projects please follow this link: Kickstarter

Weed Control

Weeds! Its no surprise we have weeds sprouting everywhere. I have been breaking new ground at an alarming rate trying to play catch-up with the growing season. I've done little to prevent the spread of weeds in these new growing areas so I have tried to select wide spaced crops like squash and cucumber that will allow me to mechanically control weed growth. I am running the tiller and high wheel cultivator around these areas often which seems to be helping.

"Next Year" is becoming our catch phrase around the farm. So...next year I will be using more bark, straw, and wood mulch as well as employing black plastic mulch on our longer beds. For now my days are spent going up one bed and down the next pulling weeds. I even made a special low bench that straddles the 30 inch beds so I can give my back and knees a rest.

Transplant or Direct Sow

As we prepare our 30" beds for planting I keep wondering if I should be direct sowing seeds or transplanting. I have to admit we are quite far behind this year for transplanting so the question is more directed to next year. We don't have greenhouses yet and our indoor cats prevent the use of spaces in the house. I am thinking of building some cold frames to get a head start on next years growing season. We live in tidewater Virginia, zone 7 so things aren't dire but I would like to hit the ground running a little earlier.
Comment below any thoughts you may have on using cold frames. How much earlier can they be used before a mid April frost date? Will February tomatoes germinate in a cold frame with freezing temperatures?
Thanks for the input!

By Hammer and Anvil

    

Mjölnir

 Thor's Hammer

I have been hard at work in the forge making iron pendants. Please visit my Etsy store to see more jewelry and art.