Consistent watering is pretty important for a garden. However, a lot of people have it set in their minds that the garden simply must be watered every day. Unless you live in an area with very sandy soil, you could be doing more harm to your plants than good! This even applies to watering every
Tag: Troubleshooting
I haven’t presented my readers with a growing guide in quite a while, aside from growing Lavender from seed. It’s about that time, isn’t it? Carrots prove to be one of the most complicated crops for new gardeners and homesteaders to grow; unlike plants like cucumbers or potatoes (which grow anywhere and everywhere without a
For some plants, bolting, flowering, and producing seed is a bad thing for the gardener. Unless they’re saving seed, that is. Everyone dreads finding out that their lettuce or spinach has started to bolt; every year, we risk encountering bolted greens when spring arrives. Bolting is commonly associated with woody tubers, bitter greens, and reseeding.
Who doesn’t love a freshly picked, home-grown blueberry straight from the backyard? I know we do… Except, it just wasn’t happening for us. Our blueberry plants were doing exactly the opposite of what we wanted them to do: thrive. Last summer, we watched them begin to fail, struggle to catch up, and begin to fail
Indoor gardening strikes excitement within the hearts of homesteaders, because it allows us to deny winter (as much as we can, anyways…). Overall, being able to produce your own greens, fully grown vegetables, and even flowers indoors without sunlight is extremely exhilarating.
I’d just like to take a minute or two today, just to express how much of a pain in my rear that voles are. These tiny little critters (okay, they’re bigger than field mice) may look cute, with their short, stubby little tails…. But they are an absolute disaster waiting to happen. They are our
As a homesteader or gardener, dogs can be a real problem. This is a hot topic that I really wanted to bring to the table, as I know all too well how these situations can end up. If you think you’ve been having a horrid experience with some dogs, you’re not alone. Many of us
If you’re anything like me, carrots are life. Those long, orange (or white, yellow, red, purple… whatever your carrots may be!) roots simply call to your soul with their satisfying, flavor-packed crunch. Carrots will go with nearly anything on your plate, too…. it’s impossible to argue that with a carrot fiend like myself. Carrots are
I sure do love pulling a massive, jaw-dropping sweet potato from beneath the soil. There’s just something so invigorating and satisfying about harvesting these tubers in particular, that no other crop can rival. However, I’ll tell you one thing I do not like: Voles. Filthy, thieving, over-populated voles. The war against these tiny demons is
Do you deal with an angry, hateful rooster every single day? Do you get challenged, chased, pecked, or even spurred? Does he make it nearly impossible to finish chores on the homestead? I know how the story goes, and I know how common this chicken owner’s “rite of passage” is among new homesteaders. Aggressive roosters
Like any other day, you go out to the chicken coop to check on the ladies and give them some feed or veggies scraps. You make it to the nesting boxes, hoping to grab some delicious, fresh eggs (or, butt nuggets as we like to call them!) and you find the weirdest little egg you’ve
If you have several pine trees on your property, it can be really hard to figure out what to do with all of those pine needles as they are shed. Pine needles are known to be very acidic, as they compost into the soil around the trees. Therefore, it may not be ideal to use
If you have a nice little bed for greens on your homestead (like many of us!), you’re probably finding out that spinach can be a very finicky, hard to grow plant. I’m going to guess that you either lost your entire spinach harvest last year due to bolting, or you are currently dealing with bolting
Strawberry seeds can require a bit of work in order to get started. They aren’t as simple to grow as other seeds, such as tomatoes or squash. As a matter of fact, growing strawberries from seed is one of the more difficult tasks that a home gardener might tackle. Want to know what you’ve done
Growing a vegetable garden can be a heartbreaking process, because 501 things can go wrong all at once. Therefore, I present to you my MUST GROW list! These low maintenance garden vegetables will ensure that you have a successful harvest of SOME kind from your garden. If you are just starting out… Or if you
I love pasta. Lasagna. Spaghetti and Meatballs. Chicken Parmesan. Guess what? Most pasta dishes include basil. Basil is one of the hallmark ingredients of many Italian dishes; and it is absolutely delicious. Basil grows quickly, and is fairly easy to grow. Seriously, every new gardener should try it. However, as with any other plant that
To the new homesteader or gardener, preparing potting soil before reusing it might seem to be simply removing the old plant and putting the soil into the next pot to be used. For the experienced gardener, there are so many different reasons to squirm at that thought! Used potting soil could carry diseases or parasites,
Need Some Advice? Cucumber Growing Tips? So, there you were, cruising through the spring growing season watching your cucumbers simply flourish. You had one delicious salad with a crisp cucumber, right after you rubbed the curious little spines off of the fruit in your bountiful garden, and you were hooked. Then, as if disaster struck