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 ...
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 ...
The No-Plan Meal Planning Method for Gardeners
The no-plan meal planning method has been developed over years out of the necessity to combine planning meals with using what grows in our garden. It is a process and I don't feel like we have arrived yet. But we are getting closer to growing what we eat and eating what we grow. Rethinking the ...
What To Do if Plants Fail to Grow
If you have been gardening for a while, you know things do not always go well. Usually, we don't talk much about it, and that might give the impression that it does not happen to experienced gardeners. Well, it does, and here we share what to do if plants fail to grow. We have had a lot of practice ...