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, ...
Planning the Vegetable Garden
Planning a vegetable garden is for those, who love making plans and lists, a welcomed exercise, but a struggle for not-natural planners. We are more in the latter category. You know how it goes, you make a plan, at least sort of, then change it and then lose it. Oh, the struggle! If you know what ...
Growing Food – Potatoes
If you want to grow food that you eat, grow potatoes. It is a high-yield plant, easy to grow. Plus, potatoes store well for months. A must-have in the garden. Since potatoes are on the dirty dozen list, it is worth it to grow them at home. To write up a how-to guide on growing potatoes is almost ...
3 Great No Till Gardening Methods
We are constantly on the lookout for simpler and more effective gardening methods. Discovering the no-till method was a big step in this direction. I must admit that at first it almost sounded too good to be true. We were used to spading the whole garden by hand. But then again what does a "whole ...
Gardening for the Weak, Sick and Lazy Gardeners
Since I write a homesteading/gardening blog you could get the impression that I am a hard-working gardener, always on top of things. Well, that is not true, and I feel that I have to apologize if I have given you this false impression. The truth is that I am a weak, sometimes sick, and a bit lazy ...
How to Start Tomatoes from Seeds
Growing tomatoes is just as much fun as it is rewarding. In this article, I'm sharing how to start tomatoes from seeds using a 'no-fail method' that involves less work, which has worked for me for many years. With this method, you can go from seed to harvest in less than 4 months. Where ...
Grow What You Eat and Eat What You Grow
Gardening is a craft that brings a lot of joy, fun, and fulfillment. It inspires our natural desire to create and provide for ourselves. You can grow what you eat and eat what you grow. If you put into it some thoughts, it can replace your grocery shopping altogether. Wow! Do you want to grow what ...
