Villa Terra

06/03/2026

This level of waste is not sustainable. We can do better. We must.
🚯♻️💚🌎

A system that creates an unmanageable amount of waste is NOT an efficient system. We need to reward companies for sustainability, not short-term greed that hurts us all in the long run.

06/01/2026

Another resource for native plants!
🌱🌾💚

For a plant that grows naturally on the Midwest prairies, significant effort goes into starting native grasses and flowers in a greenhouse.

05/29/2026

We have a reservation for the upcoming Slate Auto pickup, sharing use with the Benson Community Garden. What a beautiful, simple design for an affordable EV. This will be a BIG difference maker for the organization.

Take a look at my Slate!

05/28/2026

Few things beat free food growing right in your own backyard.
Today I headed over to my daughter’s house after she called to say her mulberry tree was ready. We grabbed a tarp, spread it under the branches, and gave them a good shake. That is really all there is to it. The ripe berries let go and drop right onto the tarp. The ones that are not ready yet stay on the branch and wait for next time. We walked away with about a gallon in no time.
This time of year the birds are your main competition, but honestly the tree had plenty for everyone. There were thousands of berries still on the ground after we were done.
A quick tip before you eat them: I always freeze mine first. A night in the freezer takes care of any bugs that might be hitching a ride. After that, rinse them well and they are ready to go. My wife is planning to turn this batch into mulberry preserves and jam, which will be delicious.
Foraging does not always mean hiking into the wilderness. Sometimes it means driving to your daughter’s house with a tarp in your trunk. Urban trees produce more than most people realize, and most of it goes to waste every single season.

Have you ever eaten mulberries? Drop a comment below. And if you have a mulberry tree you are not harvesting, call me.

Sustainability

05/27/2026

Best practice is to simply bring your own bags with you - always.

You may have heard that recycling plastic grocery bags can jam up machinery, but what might not be as well known is that there are other ways to get rid of the stuff.

05/23/2026

Walked into the Benson Community Garden this morning and found pineapple w**d growing right in the grass. Crush a flower between your fingers and it smells sweet like pineapple.
It’s in the same family as chamomile, and the flowers brew into a tea that calms your stomach and helps you sleep. Native to North America and used as medicine for centuries. Just never pick it from a lawn that’s been sprayed. Have you ever spotted this one in your yard?

**d **ds

05/17/2026

The first berry of the season has arrived.
Kurt picked the first strawberry from Villa Terra’s new strawberry patch this week, and while it was small enough to disappear in one bite, it represented something worth pausing over. Every harvest starts somewhere. This one started here.
This is the first berry fruit Villa Terra has produced, and if the patch has anything to say about it, it will not be the last. The growing season is just getting started, and between the strawberries, the currant cuttings, the honeyberries, the elderberries, and everything else taking root right now, this is shaping up to be a year worth documenting closely.
Small wins. Real food. Honest work.
Follow along as the Villa Terra harvest unfolds this season.

05/16/2026

Embracing the beauty and tolerance of perennial pollinators, grasses, and other native plants is becoming popular. Good for people, wildlife, and the environment! 💚🌎🌱

Gardeners across the country are flocking to climate-resilient native plants as concerns about extreme heat, flooding, and pollinators grow.

05/14/2026

My Thursday morning walk with my buddy Chef Nathan turned into a little foraging lesson this week.
We were cutting through Memorial Park when Nathan pointed up at a pine tree and said, ‘Do you know what those are?’
I did not.
Those small, soft, yellowish clusters near the tips of the branches are called male pollen cones. Some people call them candles. Right now, in spring, they are absolutely loaded with fine yellow pollen that the tree releases into the wind to reproduce. Most of us walk right underneath them without a second thought.
Here is the part that made me stop: pine trees are monoecious, meaning a single tree produces both male pollen cones AND separate female seed cones on the same plant. It is a complete reproductive system on one tree. That is quietly remarkable.
And yes, that pollen is edible. Pine pollen has been used in cooking and traditional medicine in Asia for a very long time. James Beard Award-winning chef, author, and forager Alan Bergo has a thorough, honest guide to harvesting, storing, and cooking with it. We will link it in the bio.
A few honest safety notes before you go shake a pine tree:

- Know what you are harvesting. Positive identification matters.
- If you have serious pollen allergies, this one is probably not for you.
- Harvest from trees away from roadsides and areas that may have been treated with pesticides.

Foraging does not require a farm or a forest. Sometimes it just requires a Thursday morning walk and a friend who knows to look up.
What have you noticed lately that most people walk right past?

05/09/2026

Electric cars exceeding manufacturers’ expectations