Some time ago we were visiting some friends at their farm. After a good meal, we enjoyed the evening together. The big window at the table overlooked the farm yard, and at dusk we watched the proud rooster leading his hens from the big shelterbelt to the barn for the night. Our friend, the farmer, ...
How to Grow Early Peas in an Unheated Greenhouse
It was still pretty much winter here (March 10) at my first attempt to grow early peas in an unheated greenhouse. Now, you need to understand that we are in Zone 3, March IS winter with 2 feet of snow on the ground and possibly more snow to come. How to grow early peas in the winter in an unheated ...
How People Lived Simple Yesterday
Simple living, self sufficiency, off grid living and back to the basics is having a huge comeback these days. Homesteading and backyard farming has become popular again. In this post I share childhood memories of how my parents lived a simple, mostly self-sufficient, urban homesteading life. How was ...
An Alternative to a Passive Solar Greenhouse – Indoor Window Garden
Welcome to another update of our indoor window garden. Today we talk about the advantage of a window garden as an alternative to a passive solar greenhouse in a cold northern climate. In our experience the window garden has preformed very well growing year round in Zone 3 (temperature here can go ...
How to Create a New Garden Bed
I'm always thrilled to hear about starting out gardeners creating a new garden bed. We need more gardens and more growers. Not even 100 years ago every family had a garden. Gardens are rewarding and fun. But how to create a new garden bed if you have none? A few things to consider first New ...
Starting Seeds Indoors (Free printable schedule)
Winter in our area isn't over yet. The last frost day is still more than two months away. But spring is coming, and with it the next growing season! Since our growing season is so short we get only about 100 frost free days in a row (if it is a good year, that is), we try to make the most of it by ...
Controlling aphids with No-Pest strips
For years I thought that cold and frost are our biggest foe, but not any longer. With the indoor garden we can grow food even in -40 degrees. However, what turns out to be a real challenge is pests. Aphids, spider mites and scales can easily ruin an indoor or greenhouse garden. We mostly have to ...
Annual Vegetable Varieties for a Short Growing Season
Growing a productive garden takes time. Seeds need to be planted, germinate, established, the plants have to mature and produce fruit. In most parts of the world there is plenty of time for this. The garden is planted in spring, grows all summer long, and is harvested in the fall. In short ...
Growing Sprouts at Home
Growing sprouts at home is the easiest way to grow nutritious food right in your kitchen. No green thumb is needed, as well as no soil, no grow lights, and no extra space. You can start today and become a gourmet sprout grower in less than a week. Why grow sprouts at home Sprouts' nutrition value ...
Homestead Kitchen – Before and After Reveal
It is very exciting to reveal our homestead kitchen before and after. It was a great project and we are very pleased with the outcome. As you know, we went with an IKEA kitchen, and you can read here our 7 reasons why to choose an Ikea kitchen. It was a DIY project, from planning the kitchen to ...