When spring fever hits, it is easy to want to plant everything you can think of in your garden, as soon as you are able to work the soil. If you are a new gardener, it is common to make this same mistake. Planning out your garden by season, as well as by what you actually eat, will make your life so much easier. I can help you evaluate your current gardening skills and resources with my quick Gardening Self-Assessment! …
Even the most avid gardeners have a bad year! Any number of things can keep you out of the garden in April and May, weather problems, work commitments, family problems . . . we’ve all been there. But don’t give up on your summer vegetable garden just yet. There are still plenty of yummy veggies you can get planted now (in mid to late June) and get a nice harvest before the summer ends. Let’s talk about what you can …
It’s June! Mid to Late Summer Vegetable Gardening Read More »
Hold on to your hat! Spring and its warmer cousin, summer, are just around the corner. Yes, even if you’re looking out the window at piles of crystalline, white snow — believe! One day soon, the days will lengthen and your summer garden will become just as real as those freezing temperatures! If you haven’t yet taken my Gardening Self-Assessment, now is the perfect time to do that. By answering just 11 questions, you’ll have the basics for a plan …
7 Things To Do Right Now To Get Ready For a Fabulous Summer Garden Read More »
Make the most out of your yard by creating an edible landscape. Every March, I am consumed with spring fever and can barely wait to get outdoors and turn my winter laden yard into a fairy tale garden. This year, I decided to start the long but productive process of turning my small yard into a food producing, perennial palace. Annuals are great, but by choosing perennials, I can build my edible yard little by little each year instead …
That quality which makes a plant a weed is in the eye of the beholder. Where one person might see only an overgrown flower bed, another might see the makings of a decent salad. Frank down the street is probably tearing his hair out trying to get all the nettles out of his garden, while Susan next door is not only eating them for dinner every night but has also placed an order with a fancy seed company so that …
Over the years, I have to admit, we have spent more money on gardening than we have ever reaped in an actual harvest. We don’t try to be spendy, trust me, but starting a garden from the dirt up can get expensive and buying high-quality garden gear and tools for women is one of my priorities. The actual tools I’ve used for gardening have ended up being the least expensive because I tracked down the best quality I could afford, …
Gardening is one of the top prepper skills needed for survival. Learning how to grow your own food is not something you want to do after a disaster has happened. I can speak from experience when I say there is a lot to learn and you will make a lot of gardening mistakes. It’s far better to make these mistakes now when your world is pretty stable than when you’re just trying to survive day by day following a …
No matter the time of year, you can always get seeds started for the upcoming growing season or for growing indoors, and by knowing some creative ways to start seeds, you can save money. I’ve started seeds in muffin tins, milk cartons, and tiny clay pots. There’s no need to buy any type of special starting pots if money is tight or you just want to recycle whatever happens to be around the house. When should you start these seeds? …
It’s so easy for the hot, lazy days of summer to just sort of run into each other in a haze of heat and laziness. When my kids are out of school and there is no routine I tend to get lazy myself. Then the day arrives when it’s time once again to get the kids ready for school, and we ask, where did the summer go? If your prepping goals have taken a break right along with your pledge …
Like most of you, I have a love/hate relationship with bees. I hate their stings, and thank goodness, no one in my family is allergic to them, but I love their role in nature, acting as the major pollinator. Without them, many different species of plants and animals wouldn’t survive and one way to support them is to create a bee-friendly backyard. Last year we decided to develop a close, personal relationship with bees by adding beehives to our busy backyard. …
