Food in Uncertain Times

I've been following a discussion about the 5 crops (foods) that should be grown for sustainable living in uncertain times.  They are: potatoes, corn, beans, squash and eggs.  My gosh I have to say I disagree with the potatoes and corn.  I will be discussing this in greater detail on my cooking blog but from a gardening perspective you really do need a fair amount of space to grow enough potatoes

Finding Frugal Garden Supplies

Garden Netting and Twine
Gardening can be as expensive or as frugal as you want to make it.  Most serious home gardeners turn to starting their own seeds which is considerably less expensive than buying plant plugs and potted plants.  At the same time there is a wide range of gardening supplies needed to help get the best yield possible.  There are several sources for getting gardening supplies

New Lawn Mower

YardMachines by MTDMay 3, 2010
Five years ago we moved away from cutting our own lawn to a yard service.  This resulted in our lawn being neat and tidy looking even when we were away.  Now if you have been following this blog you will know a lovely green carpet is not my idea of being eco-friendly.  The problem is while gradually reducing the grass it still has to be maintained until it can be

Saving Seeds

During the home garden harvest most home gardeners save seeds for the following year's garden.  When saving seeds it is important to collect from heirloom plants rather than hybrids.  You can collect seeds from hybrids but they often will not breed true.  Seeds from herbs and flowering plants are best collect after the dew has dried on a clear, dry day.  Do not collect seeds from any plants that

Continuous Harvest

Commercial GreenhousesAugust 29, 2009The idea of growing edible plants indoors is not a new one. Archaeological excavations of Pompeii (79 AD) uncovered the remains of early greenhouses so they have been in use since at least that time if not earlier. The ancient Romans ensured the survival of vegetables and grapes by using greenhouses to protect produce from in-climate weather. They were the

Over-wintering Plants

Our ADFF was October 12th this year meaning on that date there was a 50/50 chance of a damaging or hard frost. Unfortunately it came earlier than predicted spelling disaster to local tomato farmers. There were hundreds of thousands of dollars lost due to the early frost. Our property is water front so tends to be a bit protected from frost longer into the season still it is time to bring in