The number and diversity of bugs that want to eat what you grow is truly staggering, but we’ll tackle organic garden pest control together.
With new insects coming into our gardens every season (thanks climate change) it can seem like a losing battle.
But looking at each insect as part of a larger ecosystem can calm fears and get us into the right mindset when finding yet another new bug eating our plants.
Continue readingWe love bird baths AND we love our huge Rhubarb leaves—so we decided to combine them into this easy DIY Cement Rhubarb leaf bird bath!
We also had gigantic leaves and a partial bag of concrete at the same time as a broken bird bath bowl. So this was a project begging to be done!
This is DIY project is truly easy enough for the kids to help with. There’s a little prep, some fast action while pouring the cement onto the leaf, then patience while waiting to dry. The only fussy part is removing any stuck leaf material by scrubbing off the cement after it has set. From start to finish, ours took a few days to complete- and will last years!
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Rhubarb combines some serious garden nostalgia with punchy modern takes on how we eat it. There’s so much to love about this perennial plant, so let’s dig right in!
These local plant sales will start your garden off right! Good for your garden, the pollinators, your harvests and the community.
Plants grown for these sales are not treated with Neonicotinoid pesticides, are non-GMO, locally raised by experts- and the sales directly benefit some great gardening programs.
Listed in Chronological order- ladies and gentlemen, save these dates!
With Mother’s Day coming up – which accounts for about 25% of all cut flower sales in the U.S. annually, I thought it was time to dig deeper into the dirty side of floriculture and look into the growing trend of local flowers…
Did you know that cut flowers are one of the biggest offenders when it comes to being sprayed with synthetic pesticides and herbicides. And with a nearly $60 billion industry in the U.S., Americans bring a lot of those sprayed blooms home and then seat themselves around them for meals…
Continue readingIt is so empowering to be able to make something like homemade mayonnaise in your own kitchen you thought you had to buy from a store!
This is such an easy staple to be able to swap out, and so much healthier for you and your family too- with all real ingredients and it tastes so much better than anything you can buy in the store!
With a stick blender and some simple ingredients; oil + egg + acid you’ll be amazed at how quickly this comes together!
Continue readingLet’s get your garden dreams onto paper so you can make harvesting from your garden a reality this summer! A little planning can go a long way. To that end, I’ve created a step by step Garden Planning Guide for you.
First – let’s get clear on what YOUR garden goals are. Setting an intention up front (and knowing it will change with/in the seasons) can be a welcome guidepost later in the planning process. Try to not to compare your gardens or goals to anyone else’s.
Continue readingSoil blocks produce some of the best transplants from seed starting I’ve ever grown. This is my hands down favorite way to start tomatoes, peppers and my earliest cold hardy crops.
The method uses a metal ‘press’ that you fill with an oversaturated (think cement slop for the right consistency) seed starting mix. You get this mix packed into the ‘press’ and push a lever to pop out the cutest soil cubes you ever saw. And if the mix is done right, they stick together great, even though it seems like they’re defying the laws of gravity.
Continue readingAs an avid gardener and garden writer, let me tell you, I’ve listened to a lot of garden podcasts… and some are better than others.
I’ve also had the joy of being interviewed by over a dozen podcast hosts (you’ll see some of their names below).
There’s something soothing about listening to others who’ve ‘been there and done that’. I love listening as I work with my hands or out on walks. If you’re not a podcast listener, I have to say (even as a lover of the written word) you are missing out!
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A favorite festive recipe is Chai Tea!
This will not only warm your body and soul, but makes your home smell like the holidays along the way… once I start making this Hygge season has officially arrived on our homestead.
Simple and completely able to tailor to your tastes, this recipe lets you add more or less of ingredients as you like.
I adore how I start craving this tea right around the same time I harvest my ginger each year. I’ve got an in-depth article on growing ginger in the north.
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