A friend sent me this picture with a question: Hi Anna, do you know what's wrong with my tomatoes??? :( Admittedly, it looks rather scary, but it actually is just a cracked fruit. Here you will find answers as to why tomatoes crack and split as they ripen, how to prevent it, and what to do with ...
Tomato Blossom End Rot
Now that tomatoes are planted and growing, let's take a look at some of the tomato problems and diseases. Tomato blossom end rot is a physiological condition, not a disease. It is not contagious and the tomato is actually still edible. Causes for blossom end rot If you search for causes for ...
Garden Update – Spring 2017 on Video
Welcome to our Spring 2017 garden update on video! It is the start of a new season and there are many wonderful changes happening in our backyard, and we are excited to share with you what has been going on. After successfully using A Cold Frame For Tomatoes we built a more permanent structure ...
Roofing With a Pond Liner
The old garage that we converted to a food production place came with a real challenge. The big building has a roof with a very low 1-12 slope. This type of roof tends to leak when covered with roof metal sheets, especially if the sheets overlap in the middle like ours did. I tried different ...
A Cold Frame For Tomatoes
Cold frames are great for growing plants in the offseason or to protect tender plants in early spring. But that is not all a cold frame can do. Create a sheltered garden with glass wind blocks, for growing tomatoes (and other heat-loving plants) in cold climate all throughout the summer. A cold ...
Wicking Bed for the Greenhouse
We are in the fourth year of garage greenhouse/growing room growing where we grow food year-round. You can read more about it here. A very important part of a greenhouse is the soil to grow plants in. Since our garage greenhouse, has no soil, we had to come up with a good alternative ...
Growing Tomatoes in Cold Climate
Nothing says summer like a freshly picked, ripe tomato from the vine. However, in a cold climate and short growing season, it does not happen very often, if at all. Most tomato growers around here pick green tomatoes in the fall and after ripen them indoors. Our summer seems to be just too short and ...
Growing Winter Carrots in Cold Climate
After a long, cold winter we can't wait to get out into the garden. Often though there is not much to do or look for in early spring. That is, unless you are growing winter carrots in cold climate. Harvesting carrots is the first task at our Northern Homestead garden as soon as the snow melts. In ...
How To Grow Tomatoes From Cuttings
Usually you grow tomatoes from seeds, and I covered how to start tomatoes from seeds in this post. But did you know you can grow tomatoes from cuttings, too? Well, you can and it is very easy. This is especially helpful if you have trouble or no space to start plants from seed. Just get a ...
Indoor Edible Garden Update
Another indoor edible gardening winter is coming to a close. It was more successful for us than ever before, and we are sure it can get even better. Indoor gardening has, like any gardening, a learning curve. Here is a video tour of our indoor edible garden on March 1. To watch the video on ...
