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 ...
End Of Season – Garden Update 2019
The growing season of 2019 has come to an end, at least in the outside garden and greenhouse, time to do an end of season garden update to review our annual garden. What worked well in this year’s garden, and what we will be looking into doing differently in the future. Every year is a little ...
Preparing the Garden for Winter
Preparing the garden for winter, a time when gardens go dormant. Winter is an important time for the garden and the garden soil. You might have noticed that the colder an area is, the richer is the soil. There are a few important steps that can make the garden soil even better and also help the ...
Preparing the Greenhouse for Winter
Preparing the greenhouse for winter is as important as preparing the garden. However, it still is different. If you have been following our blog, you will know that we have a Geodesic Dome greenhouse that we built ourselves. There are many ways to prepare the greenhouse, here we share our ...
NFT downspout Hydroponics system upgrade
Nutrient Film Technique (N.F.T.) Downspout Hydroponics is an exceptionally simple hydroponics setup. Last winter we built a NFT downspout Hydroponics system to grow lettuce indoors all throughout the winter. We share a how-to here. We are very pleased how the system works, of all the other ...
Plant Protection From Frost
Freezing temperature is something we constantly deal with in a northern garden. There can always be another frost after the "last day of frost" and before the "first day of frost". Plant protection from frost is crucial for growing a successful garden in cold climate. In this post, we will talk ...
Growing Peppers in Cold Climate
Growing peppers in 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. In overall though if you are successful in growing tomatoes, peppers can be your next thing to conquer. We love to grow peppers. ...
Canned Zucchini Salad
Canned zucchini salad is an old Russian recipe using zucchini, peppers, and tomatoes. These 3 summer vegetables combined and spiced up with lots of garlic make a very delicious dish. Served as a side dish with some baked potatoes, or whole-grain rice, it makes a real dinner. Traditionally the ...
A Dozen Ways to Preserve Apples
It's apple time around here and apples are everywhere. Apples are one of the fruit crops that do well in cold climate and short growing season. We sure need a dozen ways to preserve apples. We do not always make them all, but love to have the options for many varieties. The apples we can grow ...
How to Freeze Berries
How to freeze raspberries, blueberries, currant, strawberries, and other berries. The good thing about most berries is that they are great fresh or frozen. Berries are the most nutritious in the fruit category, plus they grow well in cold climate. We grow many varieties of berries in our garden ...