sustainable living, homesteading, sustainable homemaking
It’s that time of year when I try to plant as many fruit and nut trees as I can! I’ll cover the proper way to plant fruit trees next week, but today I want to show you how to plant blueberries! I bought the “blueberry collection” from Miller nurseries and it just arrived yesterday. I’m so [...]
What exactly is pH and how does it impact the growing of our own food? While many of us “glaze over” when someone starts to talk about chemistry, there’s a certain amount of understanding needed if we plan to be successful in growing our own food. The endevour of growing food isn’t quite as easy [...]
Have you ever wondered how to calculate how much produce you need to be able to can a desired amount? It’s time to get your game plan together! Photo credit Well, I sure have! My poor left-brain can’t handle “winging it” when it comes to canning, I want to know the formula. Can anyone relate? [...]
Here’s the BIG reveal of my kitchen garden plan, plotted by Territorial Seed on-line for free! Click here to see the entire plan, which includes a planting guide for your zip code and instructions for each and every plant to intend to grow! Territorial Seeds is one of my favorite seed stores. I planned a [...]
Most people hate weeds, myself included…until today. As gardening season is upon us, I’ve had my hands in the dirt this weekend longing for growth. While I’ve had very good success with my soil, I must admit that I’ve often wondered what the true conditions of my soil were. Succumbing to my curiosity, I purchased a soil [...]
The shortage of honey bees due to parasitic mites and mystery diseases is a real threat to the health of our crops! We need these precious pollinators to grow food….mason bees to the rescue! Photo credit I’ve been unfamiliar with mason bees until lately, but as story after story of “colony collapse” come across my [...]
This is one of the most exciting packages I receive all year….my seed order!! Johnny’s Seeds is one of my favorite places to order my garden supplies from, even though I began seed saving last year and I didn’t need as many. Starting your own seeds isn’t difficult, but there are some key things to [...]
After participating in a workshop put on by the extension office and THE Ohio State University last night, I want to bring you a re-cap of what I learned. The topic was “Dealing With Damaged Suburban Soils“, this is the entire handout that I received by Joe Boggs. Photo credit 1. Many times when a [...]
Using native plants and trees bring many benefits to your yard…. Olive Tree 1. Low maintenance: Tree and plants that are native have adapted to the local climate’s conditions (for the most part) and result in less overall care. 2. Save water: Native plants will usually flourish and typically take care of themselves, saving water. [...]
A potager is a french term that means “kitchen garden“. Today, that can translate into what Americans know as urban gardening! The fact of the matter is this….while many would like to live out in the country and grow food on acres of land, most folks live in urban or suburban areas and will likely [...]
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