In June, I had the pleasure of leading a week long day camp around gardening and homesteading with elementary aged kids. It was a delight to see their minds connecting the dots with where their food came from, how it was raised and the care and attention it needed. We started with a rhythm of…
Here’s a detailed monthly to-do list for maintaining a vegetable garden (in a sunny position) in USDA Hardiness Zones 6 and 7: January February March April May June July August September October November December While this list is not extensive, it will help keep important line-items at the forefront of your mind and you establish…
A market style garden has captured my eye for years. I like the neat rows of varied crops, and have long found inspiration in the orderly yet productive estate-owned gardens across the pond from the Victorian era and beyond. Gravetye Manor in Sussex has a beautiful kitchen garden that I am constantly finding myself drawn…
In the online Homesteading community, a new term has cropped up over the last few years and has finally caught my attention. That term is Electroculture. Also spelled Electro-culture, this technique utilizes static, ambient and pulsed electricity to stimulate plant growth. As I began researching this topic over the last 2 years on and off,…
Well folks, its officially plan the garden “season”. The slow of winter has many of us longing for warmer months and favorable weather so we can venture out in the garden and come alive again! Here’s a photo I recently stumbled upon for the new market garden at Hopewell 2.0. Isn’t it lovely? (Download The…
This month, I successfully sprouted tomatoes and peppers in as little as 4 days by utilizing my electric oven light to speed up germination! I discovered that the oven stays between 78-80F IF I have the oven light on, and it stays 70-72 with the oven light off. I knew that peppers and tomatoes needed…
During the winter months, I find myself indoors more than any other time of year. This is the perfect time to learn something new, brush up on a favorite hobby or both! In gardening, there is so much out there to learn – selecting plants, deciding if you want to start your garden from seed, and what grows best in what climate. Whether you are a seasoned pro or just getting started, here are a few of my all time favorite gardening books that I find myself returning to year after year.
