Tara Farm and Nursery & The Refuge Permaculture Center

06/19/2026

Just a Taste of Elderberry: 2026 Special Order Plant of the Week
A Quick Look: Three varieties available this year: Samdal/Samyal, Adams and Nova
Two gallon pot $20.00
Five gallon pot $28.00
(plus Sales Tax)
Free Delivery into Casper once each week.
Payment is due upon delivery.

These are beautiful, healthy young plants - and so healthy for your family, your garden, and all the beautiful, helpful bugs there.

For all the details please take a look at:
https://tarafarmandnursery.com/2026/06/19/so-many-beautiful-benefits-elderberry/

Ready to order or if you have questions, Comment here, or email to [email protected] or text to 307.262.8043

" In dwelling, live close to the ground." ~ Lao Tsu

Three varieties available: Northern European Samdal/ Samyal VarietiesNative North American Cultivar ‘Nova’Native North American Cultivar ‘Adams’ 2 gallon pot $20.005 gallon …

06/12/2026

Sundown Update: I dug one more shallow ditch and now all three existing planting mounds are under irrigation... this will work! (And I estmated the subtle slope of the field exactly! Who says this girls cant do physics!!) A few little additions of small tarp dams to direct water and a valve to be able to use the irrigation line to fill the trenches while other fields are being irrigated.
AND I have connected with the Student Life Department at Casper College and we have started discussions not just about donating food from this garden to the Student Pantry, but also having some students come down to learn about permaculture and restoration gardening.
My most sincere thanks to Team Ben for all the hard work!
Next: Get the fencing secured.

06/11/2026

We Have Water!! Plum Blossom Garden Update:
It works!! One little hand dug ditch. Irrigation tailwater from irrigating the hayfield is running perfectly into the Plum Blossom Garden! And spreading in the pit trenches to conduct water at root level into the planting mounds. The pits will be filled with compost/duck mulch so the soil bugs will move into the mounds as well. The movement of this first water will show us where the connecting ditches need to go to reach the other mounds.

06/11/2026

... riding out the Casper Wyoming wind...food is obviously a distraction from the 39 mph gusts...
Lilac bush in the Refuge Garden. They chirp all day until dark...a future insect management team!🌿🧡🌿

06/10/2026

Here comes the Sun: Pale Evening Primrose
(Oenothera pallida) One gallon pot $10.00.
One of two native white primroses in Central Wyoming. As a native it is drought tolerant, winter-hardy, loving sandier, rocky soils. Plant approximately 1 foot apart. Seeds for these were gathered (saved) from a local site on the verge of a huge construction project. They sprawl and bloom consistently through Spring and early Summer, with the white flowers turning pink as they close. The blossom scent in the evenings is citrus, similar to lemon or orange blossoms. Native pollinators love them. The plants have a wild look to them, and will fill in as a low-growing ground cover. They would do well in a mix of native bunch grasses (ornamental), prairie coneflowers, Golden Currant and Buffaloberry, for a low-maintenance, native design.
To Order: Comment here or Text to 307.262.8043 Deliveries in to Casper once each week; payment due on delivery. Thank you!🙏🌿🌿🌿

06/07/2026

Where you install your raised beds is always important: wind, direct sunlight, morning light, red-light plants/late afternoon sun, water sources, etc. Building a and working with brings another set of plans AND benefits. This tank raised bed is placed to get mid-day sun, to hold moisture (with drain holes at the base for too much water), out of our blast-furnace wind, protected by a 15 foot hedge of . The MAGIC of diversity comes in the Fall when the buffaloberry drops its leaves: those small yellow leaves retain more nitrogen than there is in the air! And as they decay, that nitrogen and the organic matter of the rotting leaf, go into the container soil. No fertilizer required!
Working in and with the landscape.

06/01/2026

Or: How We Lost All the Spring Fruit 🌿🌿🌿 So, if those severe drops in temperature and icey snow storms in the Casper WY area damaged not only the flowers on the Spring fruit but also delayed the pollinators, what do we do now? 1. We Have Summer and Fall Fruit. We should still see things like raspberries and grapes. 2. Disease Monitoring. Without a long, very cold Winter there is a very high probability of leaf diseases. No intense cold means the mold spores, damaging bacteria and viruses and damaging insect pests may have a population boom. Please remember that there are very simple treatments - like simple dish washing liquid or baking soda - for most leaf diseases. Inexpensive and not toxic to other creatures.
3. Recovery, Immunity & Unattractiveness: Most leaf diseases do not stop production. They just make for an unattractive plant. With full-blown mosaic disease, my Valiant grapevine still gave me 25 pounds of grapes one year!! One, sick, unattractive vine!! If the plant survives it will develop a certain amount of immunity. (All of us have survived a cold or the flu at some point.)
So, love the lush green leaves, treat the ill-being and keep them - and you! - happy for next season.
🌿🌿Next Post: So how do I reduce the harmful diseases without toxic treatment?
Photo: Lush green gooseberry and currant bushes. llgraham

05/28/2026

waking up so beautifully!

05/24/2026

Sorry to say... but we have had to cancel this class. Once again, our sincere thanks to all who showed support and interest. As in , everything is an experiment. No failure here, but now we know that lives are just so full already that extra time for a class is not what folks really need.
How about some PLANTS???

Ready for new homes the second week of June!! Check in here for all the information.
💚🌿💚🌿💚🌿

05/20/2026

Got clay soils???
The paths in my nursery are covered in dandelion and a another "pioneer".
What some call "weeds", Nature calls "pioneers".
These plants have incredible tap roots and are prolific in seed production. Think: little white floating parasols. Think: dandelions and this ~ the Mediterranean Serpent Root, also.known as Black Salsify.
These plants love compacted, poor soils; clay especially. And what is the trade off? That tap root will die and rot when seed is done and the leaves die back. That rot leaves an opening in that compacted soil which then allows water and air - but not sunlight - into the soil. It allows the dead root debris and other organic matter into the soil. That opening from that irritating plant dying, creates the perfect habitat for beneficial soil micro- organisms which ultimately improve soil health, and irritate you less. Cut those tops off just below the soil surface. You might have to do it twice; they are survivors!