Meet Lori Living a mile down the road, Lori is my closest neighbor. She has made other attempts at gardening in the past, with varying levels of success. But this year her garden looks to be about the best one ever–lots of lush green plants flourishing in almost weed-free soil. Breaking new ground Her first challenge:…

Living a provident lifestyle is more than just frugal or self-reliant living. It also means cultivating a connection to your community and making economic choices based on your morality. Our food choices are  just one area that reflect our morality and community values. So much of our food supply is charged and impacted by politics…

You already know (hopefully) how much gardening benefits adults–physically, emotionally, mentally, financially and socially. What’s not to like? Now you can double your gardening pleasure by including your children. They will not only enjoy similar benefits from gardening that adults do, but there are some added bonuses particular to children. If you include your children…

Get off to a good start in your garden with the right garden tools. These are my favorite products, the kinds of things that I could not live without and that make it easier to produce a more bountiful harvest. Wheel Barrow or Garden Cart You’ll want something with wheels to haul around compost, dirt and…

I’ve found it kind of hard to harvest chamomile. You either have to cut each flower off one by one or cut the top 1/3 off the plant and then sort through and cut long stems off. Now, granted, all parts of the chamomile are beneficial but I really like just the flowers–they are prettier…

Right now it looks like spring is a long way  off. But don’t be fooled—before you know it, it will be time to plant your garden. This is the time of year to sit down and plan what you want this year’s garden to look like. What’s the Number-one Hobby in America? You guessed it–it’s…

I’m in the process of converting my 40′ x 40′ garden into raised beds. The cost of materials to construct the beds and the soil mix make raised beds a bit expensive. So here are the details of how I am keeping the costs down on my raised beds. Keeping the costs down I used…

Want an early start to your tomato harvest? Here is an experiment I did this year to see if using cold-weather protections (like Wall-o-Water) would really make a noticeable difference in production. Last month I told you about using protection to get an early start on planting crops. This spring I wanted to see how…

Summer is close to over and it’s time to report on my tomatoes. We only plant heirloom or open pollinated tomatoes so that we can save the seeds. That means we don’t always get the disease or pest tolerance that is bred into hybrids. But since there are literally 100’s of varieties of tomatoes, there…

What’s a brassica? You’ve heard me talk about brassicas, so maybe you’re wondering what on earth is a brassica? Well, brassicas are a family of plants that are known for being cold-hardy and high in nutrition. They are also known as cruciferous plants. That’s because when they first sprout, their first two leaves (called cotyledons…

It’s the end of the harvest and our storehouse is full to overflowing. Here are some highlights from this year’s garden: We got a bumper crop of blackberries and Nanking cherries. Gallons and gallons of blackberries and cherries in the freezer. Plus a couple batches of jam and several pies. Our apple tree produced a…

As you nurture your plants along from seedling to full-grown plant, your plants may encounter some rough spots or bumps along the road. You can help your plants along and encourage them to grow bigger and stronger with a little foliar feeding. Why foliar feeding? The leaves of plants are amazing things. Their primary function…

Garden veggies in April? How would you like to be eating fresh vegetables a full 4-6 weeks before the rest of your fellow gardeners? You can with cold frames. What’s a cold frame? Basically, it’s a mini greenhouse that helps warm the soil and protect plants during the cold transitioning months of early spring and late…

That’s how many seed catalogs I’ve gotten so far. And more coming every day! Some I don’t even bother with. Their prices are so-so, quality is about what you can get in the big box stores in town and some of these catalogs are so sterile—the pictures just do not inspire you to garden. Want…

Make the Most of the County Extension If you haven’t used the information and services offered by your County Extension, you are missing a lot.  The County Extension has lot of FREE booklets–both online and for pick up at the office–with a wealth of information including: Gardening–what plants do best in your area, when you…

It’s still too early for getting much from the garden. Does that mean that you are still doomed to eat frozen or canned veggies for another two months? Perish the thought! Early spring vegetables The best part of this season is asparagus. Asparagus is so coveted in our family that once it starts growing, we…