beginner gardening Archives - Homesteader DepotHomesteader Depot

Gardening Tips From Seasoned Gardeners

When you just get started with gardening, it can be easy to feel very overwhelmed! As a beginner, there’s so much to learn, and so many ways things can go wrong. But never fear–you can learn from those who have gone before you. We’ve got some great tips for beginner gardeners to help you beat the stress and have a flourishing, healthy garden in no time. Let’s begin! Ask for help Don’t be shy! Usually, seasoned gardeners love to talk gardening, so reach out and ask for help! People at your local nursery, in local gardening FB groups, or even community […]

How to Choose What to Plant This Year

It’s spring time, and if you’re an experienced gardener, you’ve probably been planning out your spring garden and what to plant for months now. But if you’re just getting started, either on your very first garden or second or third, you might be overwhelmed with the amount of choices for what to grow in your food garden this year. Here are a few tips for how to narrow down your options and choose what to plant: History Obviously, if you’ve gardened already, you’ll want to think about what you’ve successfully grown in the past, and go with what worked. But […]

Tips for Growing Herbs Indoors

Herbs can be a helpful addition for any homesteader. They can be used for flavoring food, and in some cases, the herbs will even have medicinal purposes. Depending on where you live, you will not be able to have a garden all year long, and this would normally mean an end to your herb production until things warm up again. However, if you still want to grow your herbs throughout the year, it is possible. You just need to grow them indoors. Types of Herbs to Grow When you are growing herbs, think about the best types for your needs. […]

Crops to Get Kids Excited About Gardening

Gardening can be fun for kids, though it requires more patients than most kids can muster up. Getting them started with an interest in gardening at a young age will increase their likelihood of eating healthy and continuing gardening as they grow older. Gardening can get kids off the couch and outside where they belong, learning about the world around them, and how they can relate to it in a beneficial way, both for them and the natural environment. Here are a few crops that are more likely than others to get kids excited about gardening. Stevia Stevia seeds […]

Crops I Don’t Recommend and Why

I’m sure that I will get people who disagree, but that’s why the article is titled “crops I don’t recommend” instead of “crops you shouldn’t grow”. Everyone has access to different resources and has different levels of experience and time they are willing and able to put into their garden. If you have a lot of money, and a lot of time, and you don’t mind putting a lot of work into growing a certain crop because you enjoy the satisfaction of overcoming the inherent difficulties in doing so, then great, grow whatever crops you want to. But for the […]

Tips for Saving Money When Purchasing Seeds

Seeds are an unavoidable cost of starting a garden. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t show some care when going about getting your seeds. Purchasing seeds for your garden without using some discretion can cost you. Here are a few tips on how to save money when purchasing seeds so that you have more money to invest elsewhere in your garden. Don’t Buy Package “Deals” If you are looking at a seed catalog you are likely to find package “deals” advertised. Sometimes these are salad greens, medicinal herbs, culinary herbs, or starter packages for new gardeners. The premise […]

Easy Mistakes to Avoid in the Garden

When you have a failure in your garden chances are it is not unique to you. You probably made a mistake that plenty of other gardeners have made, a mistake that was easy to make, and probably easy to avoid as well if you know how. Here are a few of the more common easily avoidable mistakes that gardeners make. Bad Stock If you start off with something bad, you can’t really expect to get good results. For this reason you want to buy your seeds or cutting from a good source and not try collecting seeds from […]

Tips to Save Money in the Garden

One of the big benefits of growing a garden is that your grocery expenses are less when you grow your own vegetables, berries and herbs. There are numerous tips you can implement to save money in the garden. By becoming a frugal gardener, you will increase the financial benefits your garden offers. Some of the money saving tips related to gardening involves the plants themselves. Starting plants from seeds enables you to get more plants for less money than if you bought individual plants. However, if you don’t have the proper setup for starting with seeds, go ahead and buy […]

Growing Vegetables and Herbs Indoors

When the weather gets too cold for you to grow vegetables outdoors, you might want to be adventurous and try growing a few select vegetables and herbs indoors. If you live in an apartment, condominium or townhome without any outdoor space to grow a garden, you can grow some vegetables, herbs and even tropical fruit indoors if you create the proper growing environment. Sufficient light, either natural light from a door or windows or a grow light, is essential for an indoor vegetable garden to thrive naturally. There are some LED grow lights available on amazon.com that also make for […]

Benefits of Simple Raised Bed Gardens

Raised bed gardens are an ideal concept for today’s lifestyle trends. Raised bed gardening transcends generations and is a viable option for various size budgets. You can enjoy this method of gardening whether you have an expansive outdoor area or a space-challenged lawn. If you’re the DIY type, you can easily find detailed instructions for building raised beds. However, if constructing beds yourself isn’t a project you have the tools or time for, a quick Internet search will reveal many raised bed garden kits and design ideas that do not require construction skills. Eco-friendly living and an awareness of […]

Mistakes to Avoid When Planning Your Garden

To assure that the plants in your garden thrive, there are several mistakes you should avoid when setting up your garden. Getting things right from the start can save you time and money and eliminate a lot of stress and frustration. Determine the size Ambition is a wonderful thing, but being overly ambitious and planting a garden that is too large for you to manage is a mistake you want to avoid. Deciding how much time and energy you have to devote to maintaining a garden should be the basis for determining its size. Choosing a location Most vegetables require […]

Growing Onions from Onions

If you are looking through a seed catalogue or a selection at your local gardening store, it is not at all unusual to see onion seeds. That being said it is a little unusual for most people to be able to grow onions with any real rate of success from seeds. The germination rate is not very high, thinning them can be difficult because of their shallow roots, and they grow so slow that it is hard to mulch them without smothering them and hard to keep them moist without mulch. It is much easier to simply grow onions from […]

3 Ways to Save Money on Your Garden

Growing your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs can save you a lot of money over the long run. When you invest in your garden, you’re basically completely negating the need to buy produce at a grocery store, which can add up to a lot of savings very quickly. Of course, even knowing that your garden is going to save you cash, it’s easy to overspend on that investment if you’re not careful. However, with a few simple tips, you can avoid this problem and save a lot of money from the very beginning. Buy in Bulk and Share Costs Do […]