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
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 ...
All About Starting a Garden
Happy New Year, dear gardening friends! This article "All about starting a garden" was written in early spring last year to help especially new gardeners to a good start. We feel that it is worth it to move it to the front right at the start of a new year. If you are a new gardener or know ...
Sowing Carrots in Cornstarch Experiment
Have you heard of sowing carrots in cornstarch? It is said to be a way of planting lots of carrots quickly and easily for great germination no thinning needed and preventing seed waste. Wow, that's a lot to ask from a planting method, especially if it comes to something as finicky as ...
Growing Legumes as Companion Plants
Companion plants are plants that have benefits for each other. They are better together than alone. As a gardener, you might have heard about the so-called nitrogen "fixing" plants. Now, that might sound very theoretical and only something for permaculturists. Growing legumes as nitrogen-fixing ...
How to transplant seedlings into the garden
This blog article was inspired by a question from a reader who asked: Do you have some information about the best way to transplant seedlings to the garden? Especially cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, celery, and lettuce. We love reader questions and try to answer them as well as we can. And ...
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 a new garden season. For a schedule when to start seeds go here, there is also a free printable that you can use to ...
Spring Indoor Seed-Starting Schedule – Free Printable
After using this spring indoor seed-starting schedule 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 attracted me to his work in the ...
Winter Sowing in Zone 3
Winter sowing is a way to start seeds outdoors in a small container greenhouse while it is still winter. Since the most common containers are used milk jugs, it also sometimes is referred to as milk jug sowing. It was first invented by Trudi Davidoff. It sounds so good that one wonders if it can be ...
Getting Seeds for the New Growing Season
It's winter, it's snowy, it's cold here - a great time to snuggle up in a blanket and dream about the summer garden. In this blog post, we cover getting annual vegetable seeds for the new growing season. Personally, we start with organizing seeds that we already have and then getting seeds for ...
