To prune or not to prune tomato plants is an option tomato growers have. Not all tomatoes need pruning, in fact, some should not be pruned except for the bottom leaves and possibly at the end of the growing season. Some growers decide not to prune at all, and some go over the top with pruning. ...
Cutworm in the Vegetable Garden
A garden is always shared with many organisms, wanted and unwanted. Most of them we are not even aware of. However, a cutworm in the vegetable garden will make itself known in a quite unpleasant way. We do not suggest starting a war on cutworms, neither to hate nor despise them. They are just ...
Garden Update – Spring 2021 On Video
Welcome to our garden update spring 2021 on Video. Northern Homestead is in Alberta, Canada – plant hardiness zone 3A, elevation 1,037 m (3,402 ft). We turned our yard into a garden and the old garage into a food production place. We have been publishing garden updates since 2012. You can find ...
Dry Spring Challenge in the Garden
Planting seeds into something that feels more like dust than soil, is a common thing here in Alberta. With over 300 days of sunshine a year, we do not get much rain at any time. Spring, however, often feels especially dry. Here we share how we deal with the dry spring weather challenge in the ...
Raised Garden Beds vs Container Gardens
Raised garden beds have gained popularity, especially by new gardeners. However, there seems to be confusion about raised garden beds vs container gardens. They often look the same, but they are fundamentally different. We wanted to explain it in this blog article. A raised garden bed is ...
Hardening off Plants the Easy Way
Hardening off plants that you started indoors the easy ways is different from the traditional method where you bring plants out on a nice and sunny day for 2 hours, then bring them back in, repeat that the next day for 4 hours and bring them in again. Adding a couple of hours each day it takes 7 -10 ...
Cold Spring Challenge in the Garden
Living in a cold climate cold is a constant challenge in the garden. We share many methods about how we survive blizzards and protect plants from frost. In this blog article, we want to particularly address the cold spring challenge in the garden. If you prefer listening to reading, you can ...
Soil For Seedlings, Container Gardening, and Raised Beds
Good soil is essential for healthy plants. Soil for seedlings, container gardening, and raised beds is different than the dirt in your garden. Container gardening soil needs to be light, be able to retain moisture, and have enough nutrients to keep the plant growing. Here we share two ...
Perennial Flower Favorites in our Northern Garden
Even though we focus on growing food, the perennial flower favorites in our northern garden bring us a lot of joy. Many beautiful and hardy perennial flowers grow well in zone 3. With a little love and care you can enjoy an abundance of flowers all season long. Perennials are planted ...
When to Plant What – Northern Planting Schedule
When to plant what in a vegetable garden? This is an important question. The northern planting schedule answers this question in a nontraditional way. The general rule in our area seems to be very simple: plant everything on the May long weekend. This has to do with our last frost day, ...
