Figs are a sweet treat that is usually grown in a warm climate. As cold climate gardeners, figs usually do not even cross our minds until someone shares on social media something about their figs. Growing figs in a cold climate is possible. We get asked a lot about how we grow figs, so here we share ...
Maintaining a no-till garden
Maintaining a no-till garden is simple, but it is not without work. You replace the tilling and digging with mulching and covering the garden soil. A covered soil does not have to be tilled. It stays soft and becomes better the longer it is maintained. We cover the question of to-till or ...
Starting a new no-till garden with tilling
This blog article is about starting a new no-till garden with tilling. We are sharing how we converted a pasture into a garden. We talked about methods to start an instant no-till garden, also how to convert the existing tilled garden into no-till. Today we are sharing yet another way to ...
3 No-Till Gardening Methods
No-till or no-dig gardening methods are on the rise in popularity. The idea of starting an instant garden without the back-breaking work of digging sounds very appealing to an instant culture. To be honest with you, it took me a while to understand the no-till methods. Not because they are ...
Starting Seeds Indoors
Winter in our area isn't over yet. The last frost day is still a few months away. But spring is coming and with it the next growing season! Starting seeds indoors is the start of it. When we say starting seeds indoors it doesn't mean in the house (even though it can be that), but in an enclosed ...
Spring Indoor Seed-Starting Schedule – Free Printable
After using this spring indoor seed-starting schedule for annual vegetable seeds for several years now, do we still recommend it, or is it time for a new plan? The schedule comes from the All New Square Foot Gardening book. Mel Bartholomew, the author, is known for simplifying things. That ...
Organizing and Storing Seeds
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 ...
