Dealing with drought
I first wrote this post in 2012 when more than half of the United States was in a drought, including our farm in Illinois. I recalled hearing about people in Texas who were selling off their herds at rock bottom … Read More
gardening
You can’t grow that organically!
It is always a bit of a shock when someone asks me if something — apples, pigs, turkeys, you-name-it — can be grown organically. I’ve heard the questions so many times over the years that it really should not be … Read More
Homestead Garden: A Beginner’s Guide
Are you ready to start your first homestead garden? Or maybe you tried to start a garden in the past, and it was a sad failure? Do you think that you have to have a green thumb to garden? Fear … Read More
Growing the Backyard Orchard
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 … 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 … 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 … 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,” … 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 … 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 … 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 … Read More
