How to convert a hay field into a garden. This spring our Community Garden offered us to do a no till garden trial. We were immediately on board. We have been using a no dig or till method in our home garden quite successfully. To convert a hay field is a bit of a different story, but eh, we are up ...
Car Radiator for Heating and Cooling a Greenhouse
To control the temperature in our GeoDome greenhouse, we used a Water Tank for passive temperature regulation and also an old car radiator for active heat exchange. To use a gas or electric heater can be costly. This used car radiator did the trick for us. No, it's not really a beautiful piece in ...
Update: GeoDome Greenhouse Water Tank
To have a greenhouse in colder climates is very valuable. It helps to extend the growing season and gives the plants a lot more heat. Although on some days there is more heat than the plants can use, the greenhouse gets way too hot. A good way to regulate the temperature in a greenhouse is by ...
Raised Window Protected Garden
The raised window protected garden started out of desperation to get all the spring seedlings out of the house a few years ago. It was our first spring in this house and I was super busy so Anna put together a simple temporary greenhouse that worked surprisingly well. Next spring I built a bigger ...
Why we are Giving up on Backyard Chickens
Some time ago we were visiting some friends at their farm. After a good meal, we enjoyed the evening together. The big window at the table overlooked the farmyard, and at dusk we watched the proud rooster leading his hens from the big shelterbelt to the barn for the night. Our friend, the farmer, ...
How to Grow Early Peas in an Unheated Greenhouse
It was still pretty much winter here (March 10) at my first attempt to grow early peas in an unheated greenhouse. Now, you need to understand that we are in Zone 3, March IS winter with 2 feet of snow on the ground and possibly more snow to come. How to grow early peas in the winter in an unheated ...
How People Lived Simple Yesterday
Simple living, self sufficiency, off grid living and back to the basics is having a huge comeback these days. Homesteading and backyard farming has become popular again. In this post I share childhood memories of how my parents lived a simple, mostly self-sufficient, urban homesteading life. How was ...
An Alternative to a Passive Solar Greenhouse – Indoor Window Garden
Welcome to another update of our indoor window garden. Today we talk about the advantage of a window garden as an alternative to a passive solar greenhouse in a cold northern climate. In our experience the window garden has preformed very well growing year round in Zone 3 (temperature here can go ...
How to Create a New Garden Bed
I'm always thrilled to hear about starting out gardeners creating a new garden bed. We need more gardens and more growers. Not even 100 years ago every family had a garden. Gardens are rewarding and fun. But how to create a new garden bed if you have none? A few things to consider first New ...
Starting Seeds Indoors (Free printable schedule)
Winter in our area isn't over yet. The last frost day is still more than two months away. But spring is coming, and with it the next growing season! Since our growing season is so short we get only about 100 frost free days in a row (if it is a good year, that is), we try to make the most of it by ...