Growing grapes in a cold climate presents a unique set of challenges and rewards. While grapes are incredibly rewarding to grow—both for their delicious taste and the joy they bring to gardening—the varieties that can withstand the severe cold of our local climate are distinct from the types you'd ...
All About Freezing Vegetables
In regions with a short growing season, the desire to savor the summer's produce into the winter is obvious. Given that frost graces our lands for nearly half the year, freezing as a means of preservation seems a fitting choice. Freezing vegetables is perhaps the simplest method to extend their ...
Common tomato leaf diseases
Tomatoes are one of our favorite plants to grow. We share many blog articles about growing tomatoes in a cold climate. Today we are looking into common tomato leaf diseases. In a cold climate, there is hardly a season where we do not have at least some of them. Tomatoes prefer a warm, dry ...
Making Progress on One Thing a Day
Do you ever feel like there are never enough hours in a day to keep up with the garden, harvest, homestead, and household responsibilities? If you're looking for a management tip to help you accomplish more and feel better about it, here's one: focus on making progress on one important thing each ...
How to Make Simple Compost Tea (Extract)
We're currently in the middle of summer, marking the halfway point of the gardening season. To give our plants a much-needed boost, the most efficient and simplest method is to use compost tea. This type of tea is created by using high-quality, finished compost as a liquid fertilizer for plants. ...
Hydroponic Fertilizer: The Key to Indoor Gardening
As we approach the tenth anniversary of our hydroponic journey and indoor gardening, it's an ideal time to reflect on the innovations, trials, and transformations that we have encountered in our pursuit of this home gardening method. A decade ago, we were newcomers, just beginning to dabble in the ...
Transform Your Canning Experience with a Steam Canner
Have you heard of steam canning? It's an ideal approach for processing fruits and acidic foods. It is an alternative to water bath canning but cannot replace a high-pressure canner. We invite you to transform your canning experience with a steam canner. I have to admit that I never ...
Embracing Simplicity: The Surprising Ease of Plant-Based Eating
It has been five years since we embarked on our plant-based journey, initially motivated by health concerns. Doubts loomed over our ability to sustain this lifestyle as described here, but today, we can confidently say that plant-based eating has brought us simplicity, delicious meals, and numerous ...
Haskap (Honeyberry) Jam
The Haskap (Honeyberry) jam opened up this year's canning season. Its tart, sweet, rich taste is very delicious. It is also simple to make since no pectin is needed. The berries are rich in natural pectin. This year for the first time we had enough berries to make jam. Usually, we enjoy the ...
Growing Food – Kohlrabi
Kohlrabi is a humble plant in the vegetable garden, but since it is so versatile and easy to grow it deserves a spot in our growing food series. It is a very reliable, fast-growing vegetable that can be enjoyed raw or cooked. If you want to grow food, grow kohlrabi. What is ...
