Gardening

The nitrogen cycle is one of the important natural cycles on our planet. Understanding this cycle is key to success in organic gardening. It can help us to give our plants one …

Living sustainably is often about finding new ways to use old things. One person’s trash is, after all, another person’s treasure. By reusing and upcycling old tires, for example, we …

Composting is not rocket science. It is basically taking advantage of nature’s recycling system to return nutrients to the garden ecosystem. There is a lot of information out there telling …

Often associated with vampires, witchcraft, and darkness, bats have gotten a pretty bad rap in our stories and lore. And yet, bats are a sure ally in the backyard, helping …

Potatoes are a staple crop on many temperate climate homesteads. Potatoes are generally a relatively easy (though space consuming) crop to grow. Get it right when it comes to choosing and …

Out of the myriad of reasons for starting a garden, saving money is often among the top. As is food security, the ability to eat nutrient-dense vegetables which taste far …

Eggplant – you either love it or hate it. This misunderstood vegetable has very few tepid fans. Even those of us that adore the creamy taste of perfectly cooked eggplant …

Plastic milk containers or milk jugs can be recycled. But the high quality plastic can also be used in a number of different ways around your home and garden. Before …

Fourteen years ago, I got back into gardening. That first spring I spent hours planning a vegetable garden that would be big enough to feed us throughout the summer, as …

Herb gardening is a fantastic gateway into gardening for those who are new to growing their own. There are many herbs you can easily grow even if you don’t have …

Last year, I added a new plant to my forest garden – a Siberian pea tree or pea shrub (Caragana arborescens). In this article, I want to share my reasons …

Raised bed gardening is a simple and ancient technique for increasing crop yields for less work. Growing food “up” instead of “down” was first developed around 300 BC by the …

Borage is often mentioned in organic gardening circles. It is considered by many to be a wonderful plant, which can find pride of place in many gardens. But what exactly …

Perennial flowers are a great choice for any garden. They can really brighten up your view, not just for one season, but for many years to come. Unlike annual or …

More and more of us are using our backyards as additional rooms for our homes. Cooking, dining and entertaining outdoors are all popular options. We use our backyards not only …

Who says that a vegetable garden has to be laid out in rectangular or square raised beds or in neat little rows? Who says that you have to choose between …

Gardening will never go out of fashion. Anyone with a green thumb and a penchant for growing nutritious food will attest to that. However, conventional ways of farming can fall …

Growing tomatoes in your garden can be a hugely rewarding experience. But inevitably, as you garden, you will encounter some problems. Often, the problems with tomato plants will be related …

There are plenty of ways to improve your garden on a budget – but perhaps one of the very best projects to consider is building a vertical garden with a …

Creating raised beds for your garden can be a wonderful way to create new growing areas for food or for flowers. But not all raised beds were created equal. When …

In an organic garden, one of the most important jobs is returning nutrients to the system. There are a number of different ways that you can take the nutrients stored …

Last fall, I created a new hugelkultur bed in a part of my garden. You can see my step-by-step tutorial here. At the time, I planted onion and garlic sets around the …

You’ve seen bags of it in the health food store and you have pinned images of the fine powder stating its health benefits on Pinterest, but have you gotten around …

Measuring yield can be a great way to determine success in your garden. Growing high-yielding fruits and vegetables can help us maximise the size of our harvests.  But there are …