gardening Archives - Page 8 of 10 - Homesteader DepotHomesteader Depot

5 Space Saving Tips for Your Garden

For most of us, space is an issue in the garden. Whether your yard is small or you just haven’t converted as much lawn into growing space as you want to so far, space can be the number one determining factor for productivity in your garden. Here is a list of 5 ways that you can help make the most of the space you do have to grow more food. Raised Beds Growing in raised beds instead of rows helps make the most of space you have. With tightly defined borders you can plant right up to edge of […]

All About Lemon Balm

Lemon balm is a perennial herb in the mint family. It gets its name from the strong “lemony” smell of the leaves, which also have a tangy taste to them. If you aren’t currently growing some, here are a few reasons why you should start. Ease: Lemon balm is easy to start from seed and once established it needs little care. It can be grown in full sun in areas with mild weather, or in partial shade in hotter climates. Anti-viral: Lemon balm can help fight off viral infections. Sleep aid: Lemon balm has shown in tests to provide […]

Food That Magically Re-Grows Itself

I recently found this awesome infographic on Pinterest that depicts several foods that can regrow themselves, no garden needed! It’s from WholeFoods.com. Most of these you can do on your counter, windowsill or on your porch, and it’s a great way to re-use scraps from vegetables (which, if you’re shopping at Whole Foods, will probably have cost a lot!) This is also a fun idea for winter. As your garden dies out, you can grow celery or what have you on your countertop! Not to mention, this would be a great little science project for kids, especially homeschoolers. Why should […]

Safe Homemade Weed Killer (Video)

If you are homesteading and have not heard about the dangers of using chemical herbicides like Round Up, then you have probably been living under a rock. For everyone else, controlling weeds with natural methods can be time consuming and energy intense. Aside from mulching your garden heavily, what can you do? Here is a short video of a recipe for homemade weed killer, it even shows some of the results at the end. If you liked this, you might also enjoy… Natural Healing Techniques Doctors Don’t Want You to Know… The Weight-Reducing Magic of Yoga… The Ultimate Woodworking […]

All About Feverfew

Feverfew is a great resource to have on your homestead. With so much work to get done, you can’t just take a sick day every time you don’t feel good. You need to have a medicine on hand to get you back on your feet. Feverfew can help with that. Uses Feverfew can be used to treat headaches, reduce fever, and help with inflammation. It works by opening up your vascular system and allowing the blood to flow smoothly as it should. Feverfew is said to be safe for pregnant women and children. Cultivation Feverfew is grown from seed. […]

What Is Hugelkultur?

The name is funny, but for those seeking to have a garden that requires less water and fertilizing, hugelkultur is something to take seriously. The basic idea is to create raised beds on top of buried wood. It may take a little more effort to get in place, but in the years to come, it will require less attention and resources than conventional beds. Why Use Hugelkultur As with any other aspect of homesteading, resource conservation is critical in gardening. Hugelkultur allows you to make use of wood that is not suitable for fuel or building since you can […]

How to Use Fall Leaves

This time of year many of us are going to have a layer of leaves all over the lawn. Many people simply rake and bag them to put on the street for the trash men to pick up, others will even pay someone else to do this. But there are more options for what to do with this fantastic free garden resource. Fall Mulch Mulching with leaves can have a drastic impact on your garden’s soil mineral content. Not only do the leaves of many deciduous trees have an NPK of around .5, .1, .5, but they also have calcium, […]

Are Vertical Farms The Future Of Agriculture?

When space is tight and the demand for food is high, vertical farms might be the best answer. Check out this piece from PBS on the subject. Here are some fun facts about vertical farms. If you are interested in building your own vertical farm, https://homesteaderdepot.com/supports-for-vertical-gardens-infographic/here are some alternative or unique supports you could use to get started. How to get started with Aquaponics. Other things your might like… Advanced Gardening Course To Accelerate Your Food Production… A to Z Survival Medicine & Wilderness Survival… Traditional Survival Techniques From Long Ago, Re-purposed For The Modern Era… The Ultimate Natural Medicine […]

Best Perennial Vegetables to Grow

If you are a new homesteader, one of the first things you want to think about when creating your plan is what vegetables you will be growing. You want to be as self-sufficient as possible, and that means growing and raising as much of your own food as possible. Of course, those who are new might not know what some of the best perennial vegetables are to plant. Asparagus One of the nice things about asparagus is that it is extremely durable as a crop. It also happens to be one of the first vegetables that you can harvest during […]

Tips for Weeding the Garden

Having a garden is a lot of work, and a big part of that work is weeding it. If you don’t weed the garden, those weeds can end up choking out the vegetable plants, or any other plants you want to grow. They take the nutrients that your plants need. However, if you are vigilant and are willing to spend time maintaining the garden each day, you have a much better chance of combating weeds effectively. One of the first things you want to do is make sure that you aerate the soil. You can do this with a specialized […]

Garden Calendar (Infographic)

I came across this great infographic on Pinterest today for what needs to be done in the garden during each month. Given we have Fall and Winter well on the way I thought it was perfect for this time of year. Not only for what to do in the garden as the seasons are changing but also because winter is a great time to start planning next year’s garden. As the weather gets cool and you harvest your summer crops, it’s the perfect time to think about next year’s garden. Garden journals are great for this: you can write down […]

Storing Potatoes for Winter

Potatoes are one of the best crops you can grow! Nutritious, substantial sources of food, they also keep well over the winter, if you know how to store them right. Whether you’ve been growing them and would like to do a big harvest to keep them all over the winter, or you’re buying them in bulk from the farmer’s market before it closes from the winter, it’s important to use the best storage practices so they don’t rot or sprout through the winter months. Potatoes are wonderful for hearty winter dishes so it’s imperative to store them well! Here are a few […]

Easy Perennial Greens

Often we think of taking the easy way out as a bad thing, but in gardening it can be best way to do things. One example is perennial greens. After getting a perennial green started and established, your yield is going to increase for years. You will also not have down time in your garden while you wait for seeds to sprout, then to mature, and then go to seed again so you can get the next generation. Perennial greens also give you a chance to nurse an injured or sick plant back that you couldn’t do if it’s life […]

What Items Should You Never Compost?

Composting is something that every homesteader should do. It allows you to recycle food and other material and to create richer soil at the same time. However, there are only some items that you should not add to the compost pile. Let’s look at some of the elements that you should not add to the compost pile, as well as the reasons why. Never put any meat scraps into the compost pile. The same goes for bones. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, it has the potential to attract vermin. In addition, it is going to cause […]

Super-Simple DIY Pest Repellent for the Garden

As you probably know, most commercially available pest-repellants are full of harmful chemicals that you wouldn’t want anywhere near your house, children, or pets, let alone near the garden that you’re growing your food in. Even if you don’t spray chemicals right on the leaves of your plants, spraying them around the perimeter, either to kill grass, weeds or bugs, will trickle into the soil and can easily be absorbed through the roots of your plants, and you don’t want that. But there is a very easy, at-home solution for keeping pests out of your garden, and it’s safe enough […]

What to Plant to Attract Bees

Bees are essential for our survival, and they’re dying in record numbers. We need them to pollinate our plants, so as they are dying in record numbers worldwide, it is devastating to think of the effects this might have on life on earth. There’s only so much a single homesteader can do, but as bees are just as vital to our small operations as they are to global food production, we can definitely still try to do our part to attract, nourish and sustain bees on our humble homesteads. Of course, beekeeping is a great way to do this, and […]

Supports for Vertical Gardens (Infographic)

Adding vertical support to your garden can be a great way to maximize space and allow crawling and vining plants to do what they do best. This handy infographic breaks down the types of vertical support and which plants they are best suited for. It was originally published on FamilyFoodGarden.com, along with some gorgeous photographs of garden support systems in action. When choosing vertical support for your garden, it can be very easy to make your own, if you make sure your support can withstand the weight of the plant that will be climbing it. Make sure it’s secured well […]

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 […]

How to Safely Let Chickens in the Garden

One of the most serious drawbacks to having truly free-range chickens is that they can go anywhere they want to and they tend to want to go to your garden. This makes sense since, hopefully, your garden is a healthfully functional natural environment filled with potential prey (many of which you would be happy to see eaten) for your chickens. Keeping Chickens Out The downside of chickens in the garden when your chickens do what chickens do, and start kicking and scratching until they have unearthed the roots of your plants or even kicked your plants clean of the garden. One […]

Prolonging Your Tomato Harvest Through the Winter

Surely by now you have noticed that your tomatoes are not producing like they were in July, and what they are producing is not ripening as fast. No matter what you do, shorter days and cooler temperatures are going to stop your tomato production almost everywhere but the tropics. But you can still prolong your access to ripe homegrown tomatoes pretty easily by taking advantage of an easy technique that allows you to eat more of the tomatoes you have already grown, which might otherwise never ripen. Step One: Uproot Plants Pull your tomato plants up and shake as much dirt […]