Backyard Garden

One of the greatest skills a homesteader can acquire is the ability to produce food for yourself. Not everyone is blessed with acres to grow their own food, but even a pot of patio tomatoes can change how you and your family eats. Our quarter acre is home to over 1,000 square feet of backyard garden as well as a mini-orchard. Discover how to maintain your gardens and outdoor spaces.

Carrot Woes: Using Burlap to Germinate

It took me several years to be a carrot gardener. Yes, apparently you have to be a special kind of gardener to grow carrots. For years I could grow practically anything… except carrots. I know I’m not alone. I’ve seen the gardening forums. Carrots are extremely discouraging, but they are (in my opinion) one of the yummiest garden gifts. Tomatoes may get all the glory when it comes to backyard gardens, but carrots really are the stars.

Finally, I discovered the trick and I was in carrot heaven. It is inexpensive and it will change your carroting world forever.

Weeding the Back to Eden Garden

There are two things that I love about my Back to Eden garden. The first is that I don’t have to water unless I’m germinating seeds. The rain does it all. I’ve pulled back the covering and checked the soil. It’s damp, but not soaked, a good 6″ down, even if we’ve gone through a dry spell. The second think I love is the weeding… or lack thereof.

A Natural Guide to Powdery Mildew Treatment

Powdery mildew is one of the most common garden problems and it affects gardeners from coast to coast. Conditions that seem to encourage powdery mildew include temperate weather and high humidity. Why do I get the impression that many east coasters will be reading this this year? Our weather this year has been the perfect storm for powdery mildew. So how do we treat it?

Organic Pest Control {Buying Beneficial Bugs}

One of the best organic pest control techniques involves making your property an ideal environment for beneficial bugs. You can start by creating a pollinator-friendly garden. Many pollinator gardens contain plants that attract other “good guys” to your area. You want three types of good guys in your garden. Having all three will help you build a natural system of organic pest control.

Backyard Foraging: Food from Your Yard

Foraging has become quite trendy in the last few years. It can be a little overwhelming to see the gourmet meals made from wild woods, the techniques and beauty are sometimes so much more than the usual home cook can pull off, but it’s made even more intimidating when trying to learn how to identify the wild foods safely.

Seed Saving 101 – An Encyclopedia of Seed Saving

Are you just getting started saving seeds? Here is a wonderful resource for everything you could need to know about saving various types of seeds. We cover the easy, intermediate, and hard vegetable seeds as well as a variety of herbs and flowers. Be sure to check back from time to time as we will be continuously adding to the list.