Kitchen-grown mung bean sprouts Whether it's the middle of winter or you simply have no yard, a lack of outdoor space is not a barrier to growing some food. You can grow sprouts in a jar in your kitchen for a fraction of the cost of buying them in the store. Sprouting seeds are sold at health food stores and through online vendors. To grow alfalfa sprouts, put two … [Read more...]
Plan your garden for food preservation
by Melissa K. Norris One of my favorite things about growing a vegetable garden is being able to enjoy its fruits long after the first frost. While cold frames and a greenhouse can help in these areas, they’re not what I’m referring to. I’m talking about eating our vegetable and fruit crops all year long due to home preservation. We canned over 200 jars of food from our … [Read more...]
What is natural?
A few months ago I was giving a talk and brought up aquaponics as a good way to grow vegetables during times of drought. Aquaponics is growing fish and plants together. It could be outside or in a greenhouse or even in your basement, but the beauty of the system is that the plants take up the waste products of the fish, and the fish thrive by having the plants clean their … [Read more...]
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 a surprise to me, but optimist that I am, I always think that I will never hear the question again. Why? Because every type of food can be grown organically. Prior … [Read more...]
Garden Vertically With a Sandwich Board A-Frame
by Chris McLaughlin Sandwich board A-frames are simple to build, store, and modify. If you're not worried about storing it, you can forgo the hinges, and screw or wire the top of the structure together (where the boards meet). This sandwich board A-frame in this photo was made with plastic poultry/garden netting because it's what I had on hand, but you can switch out the … [Read more...]
Using last year’s seeds in the garden
If you are wondering whether or not to use last year's seeds -- or some even older -- there is no reason to waste time planting them in the garden only to realize a couple weeks later that they are not going to germinate. You can check out their viability now! I happen to have a very large bag of pea seeds that I've had for a few years. They don't have a date on them, and I … [Read more...]
Dealing with drought
Because more than half of the United States is currently in a drought, odds are good that the majority of people reading this are actually in that situation. I remember last year hearing about the people in Texas who were selling off their herds at rock bottom prices because they had no water, no pasture, no hay, and no grain. And my heart was really breaking as I watched … [Read more...]
Variety is the spice of life
Homemade salsa with several types of tomatoes and peppers A few months ago I was being interviewed on a radio talk show, and the host asked me if we ever get bored with our food. You know, since we grow almost all of our own, we must get bored eating the same thing all the time, right? Uh, no. Not even close! The simple fact is that we have far more variety in our diet than … [Read more...]
Herbs in Small Gardens
Thinking about gardening already? Can't wait to get outside and dig in the dirt as soon as the mud or snow clears? Well, today's guest blogger has some ideas for your garden, as well as containers, so you can get started right away! And if you leave a comment at the end of the post, you'll automatically be entered to win a copy of Chris McLaughlin's book! You can either post an … [Read more...]
Goals for 2012
Happy New Year! Some smart person once said that if you don't know where you're going, you'll probably wind up somewhere else. So, it is important to know your goals. After I write down my goals, I start figuring out how to make things happen, which means I make a list of all the things I need to do to reach the goal. Although we've already done a lot on our homestead, there … [Read more...]
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