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. ...
Growing Food
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 ...
Growing and Preserving Basil
Basil is a great culinary and medicinal herb. Fresh and preserved (dry, or frozen) basil is great to use. Not just the taste, but also the scent of basil is unique. Fresh basil adds a summer fragrance and taste to a dish or salad. Basil is also great for teas and oral health. The basil herb is ...
Growing Food – Cucumbers
Growing food is important to us, and we have covered many edible plants already. Today it's all about growing food - cucumbers. Growing cucumbers in the northern climate, using cucumbers in yummy recipes, and preserving them for winter. Now, I have to admit that I have not been able just yet to ...
All About Starting a Garden
Here at Northern Homestead, we write about gardening a lot, general, and also especially about cold climate and short-growing season gardening. We have so much information here that it can be hard for a newbie to find it. So today we merge as much information as possible about starting a garden in ...
Grow What You Eat and Eat What You Grow
Gardening is a craft that brings a lot of joy, fun, and fulfillment. It inspires the natural desire to create and beautify our world. Gardening also allows you to 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 ...
Growing Figs in Cold Climate
This is our first post about growing figs in a cold climate. We get asked a lot about how we grow figs in our cold climate and short growing season, so I want to share our first experiences and as usual, we will add more information as we go. We have had our fig tree now for two summers and have ...
Growing Food – Onions
If you are into growing food – onions is a great plant in your garden. We definitely recommend growing onions even though they are not on the dirty dozen list of foods that are contaminated with pesticides the most. So if there is no room in your garden, or you struggle to grow a good onion, you can ...
Varieties of Berries for Zone 3 Garden
Berries are the best fruit cold climate gardeners can grow. Berries are the category of produce where we can shine. We grow many berries in our garden, but there are more varieties of berries for zone 3 garden that can be grown. Why grow berries Of all the fruit to grow, berries are the best ...
Growing Microgreens and Baby Salad Greens
Growing microgreens and baby salad greens at home is easy and adds instant homegrown freshness to your meals. Microgreens and baby salad greens are great for growing indoors during the long winter months. What is the difference between sprouts, microgreens, and baby greens An emerging shoot from a ...