Organizing and storing seeds properly helps us not just simplify the busy sowing season, but also save money by not buying duplicates, and prolonging the shelf life of the seeds we already have. When organizing seeds you can go from very simple to super fancy. As you know, I am all for simple. ...
Planting a Shelterbelt
On an open prairie property, planting a shelterbelt is (almost) a must. Even though I really love to be able to see miles and miles, the wind is serious. Letting the wind just blow is an option, but it brings a second challenge with it, it does blow the snow cover away. Without a snow cover, the ...
Growing Edible Pine Nut Trees
Ever since we learned about edible pine nut trees, we wanted to grow some for ourselves. Most edible pine trees get very tall, so I included them in my permaculture design as a dual-purpose tree. They are part of the shelterbelt, and also of the food supply. We were inspired by the book series ...
Permaculture Design Project
The Permaculture Design Project was my final project for the permaculture design course. I finished it in the spring of last year and got my Permaculture Design Certificate. Summer was busy realizing the design, and as promised we are finely sharing it here on the blog. My goal is to share ...
All About Starting a Garden
Happy New Year, dear gardening friends! This article "All about starting a garden" was written in early spring last year to help especially new gardeners to a good start. We feel that it is worth it to move it to the front right at the start of a new year. If you are a new gardener or know ...
8 Years of Year-Round Growing in Zone 3 Review
We started with growing a four-season garden before passive solar greenhouses for year-round growing became popular. Instead, we converted part of an old garage into a food production place and experimented with growing food year-round. Here is an honest 8 years of year-round growing in zone 3 ...
Four Season Greenhouse/Growing Room Review
8 years have passed since we started our adventure of building a four-season greenhouse/growing room at the back of our garage, and it's time for an honest review. If you are new here, welcome! Northern Homestead is in Alberta Canada, growing zone 3, 51 latitude parallel north. The ...
How To Grow and Use Ground Cherries (With Recipe)
How to grow and use ground cherries is an older popular blog article that is time to refresh. We included our favorite ground cherry piroshki recipe. Try it and let us know how you like it. Ground cherries, also known as cape gooseberries, are little orange fruits resembling tomatillos, ...
The New Country Garden
Last year in November we purchased a 2-acre country property. We have not shared much about it yet for several reasons but wanted to update you on it over the winter months. Today we start with the new country garden update. Growing a garden away from home is not new to us. We have grown a ...
Preparing the Garden for Winter
Preparing the garden for winter is important for the garden soil and the perennial plants. We are in Zone 3 meaning winter temperature can drop to -40 degrees. In our particular area, this does not happen very often, but it might happen after a warm spell, where most of the snow melts. Protecting ...
