Three years ago we converted a hayfield into a garden. It was a no-till garden trial, part of the local community garden. Neither the field nor the garden belongs to us. So we got to work with what was there. It was a very interesting experience, and we learned a lot. It's time for an update on the ...
12 Favorites to Grow in the Garden
Fall update on our 12 favorites to grow in the garden. Every year we grow annual vegetable plants that don't do well in our climate. I must admit that during a long winter and a dozen catalog dreams, we tend to forget it and plant it all over again. This year I wanted to record what really is worth ...
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 ...
End of Season Garden Update 2020
It's time for the end of season garden update 2020 to review our summer garden. We share our garden updates, so we can go back and see what did well and what did not, as a garden journal. We also share them for other gardeners to watch and read so you can learn from our success and failure. However, ...
Preventing birds from flying into windows
We love our indoor window garden, and grow lots of food in there every winter. Big windows are great, and we encourage having and using them for edible window gardens. However, it has one negative effect. The big windows reflect the light and birds can't see them. We had to come up with a solution ...
Fermented Hot Pepper Paste
Fermented hot pepper paste is a must-have in our house. If you like spicy food, you will love this paste. It takes just a few minutes to mix it up, but you can enjoy it for years, really. Since it is hot it lasts for a long time, so it's very worthwhile to make it. Fermentation is a great way to ...
Fermenting is Simple – Learn the Basics
Here at Northern Homestead, we love fermented foods. We love them because they are delicious, healthy, and simple to make. It is a great way to preserve the harvest. Learn the basics of fermenting food at home. There is a whole science on how food gets Lacto fermented by using just salt and if ...
Growing Peppers in Cold Climate
Growing peppers in a cold climate is in many ways similar to growing tomatoes, but still different. Tomatoes are more popular, more forgiving, and a bit easier to grow. Overall though if you are successful in growing tomatoes, peppers can be your next thing to conquer. We love to grow peppers. ...
German Dill Pickles Recipe
The Germans have many pickle recipes, this yummy German dill pickles recipe is one of them. It is a traditional recipe, and like so often with recipes from other countries and continents, it does not comply with the US rules. So as always use at your own risk. Pickling ...
Bull’s Heart Heirloom Tomato Variety
Bull's Heart or also called Ox Heart, Beef Heart or Coeur de Boeuf is our favorite heirloom tomato variety. We grow many heirloom tomatoes but this one stands out and deserves a separate post. Bulls's Heart was a tomato I grew up with. It must have been my father's favorite because I remember him ...