When I was a little girl, we had a grapefruit tree and a pecan tree in our yard in Texas. As far as I knew, my parents did not do anything except harvest the fruit and nuts. So, if my view of gardening seemed unrealistically simple, my idea of having a home orchard was even simpler. Trees just grow, right? It’s what they’ve been doing since the beginning of time, right? Well, … [Read more...]
Grow Turmeric for Better Health and Happiness
by Tasha Greer Fresh-harvested turmeric is nothing like the dried spice you get in containers. Even when you buy it “fresh” at the grocery store, that turmeric will have lost some of its luster and aromatic properties in transit. To truly experience turmeric’s immense power and potency as luxuriously fragrant spice, you must grow it at home. For those of you gardening in … [Read more...]
Planning the Sustainable Garden: What Will You Grow?
When planning the sustainable garden, you should choose varieties of plants that will allow you to save seeds for planting the next year. This means they should be open pollinated, not hybrids, and not genetically modified. Hybrids will not reproduce true replicas of themselves, and it is illegal to save seeds from genetically modified plants. Many people think they have to buy … [Read more...]
Clear Creek Seeds Garden Bundle Pack
Started in 2010, Clear Creek Seeds is a family-owned business offering non-GMO, open-pollinated, non-treated heirloom vegetable, flower, and herb seeds. They have signed the "Safe Seed Pledge" indicating that they do not knowingly purchase or sell genetically engineered seeds. Clear Creek has generously offered to provide one of their Garden Bundle Packs for our second seed … [Read more...]
Get Ready to Garden
For some people, the idea of starting their first garden and growing their own food can seem overwhelming. For others, it might seem ridiculously easy. You just plant seeds, and they grow—right? “But there is so much more to it,” say the overwhelmed future gardeners. The soil temperature has to be just right, and you need to choose the right plants for your climate, plant them … [Read more...]
Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Collection
We're so excited to offer another seed giveaway this year from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. Once again, I'm in awe of their beautiful new catalog full of rare, flavorful, and nutritious seed varieties! In the letter within this year's 22nd annual catalog, the Gettle Family shared the exciting news that they adopted two children from China last year. When they traveled to … [Read more...]
Composting With Worms
I've got worms! Yet another homesteading dream realized! That's probably my favorite tweet of all time. It was back in 2008 or so. And no, I did not have intestinal worms. I had just completed a one-day vermicomposting workshop, and I had attended the BYOB session. In this case, BYOB stood for "build your own bin." I had my newly made bin with red wiggly occupants sitting in … [Read more...]
Garden Therapy
Playing in dirt isn’t just for kids and animals! A growing body of research has shown that gardening can significantly improve your health and well-being. So what’s the dirt on dirt? Preventive Medicine Reports published a 2017 study that conducted a meta-analysis on the effects on human health. The researchers concluded that gardens improve physical, psychological, and … [Read more...]
Edible Landscaping With a Permaculture Twist
My husband may be wishing that I had never requested a review copy of Edible Landscaping With a Permaculture Twist because it was so inspiring that I have all sorts of plans for our flood-prone front yard, which means more work for him. I've read a few books on permaculture in the past, but none got me as fired up as this one. Maybe it's because he focused on landscaping. Being … [Read more...]
Planning the Sustainable Garden: How Much Will You Grow?
After choosing what to grow, the question is, how much do you want to grow? Do you simply want to grow enough to eat fresh throughout the growing season? Do you plan to can or freeze any for winter meals? Most tomato plants can easily produce twenty pounds of fruit. If you want to make a pasta sauce once a week throughout the year and your recipe calls for a pound of … [Read more...]
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