vegetables Archives - Homesteader DepotHomesteader Depot

How to Grow the Perfect Cucumbers

Cucumbers are the perfect vegetable even though scientifically, they’re considered to be a fruit. No matter what you classify them as what matters is that they are extremely tasty and rather versatile. They taste great on salad, can be eaten alone, and are used in dozens of recipes. In addition, there’s nothing quite like a cucumber that you grew yourself, in your backyard garden. Although the kind grown outdoors tend to have spines and bumps on them, making them not-so-pretty to look at, they taste good. In order to produce a garden full of tasty cucumbers, you need to know […]

How to Correct Nitrogen Deficiency in Your Soil

Did you know that your plants need nitrogen? Obviously, they need four other things as well: soil, air, sunlight, and water, but they also need plenty of nitrogen. This element is found in the air, as well as the soil. The nitrogen in the air doesn’t really help plants at all. In order for them to absorb it, the element must be in their soil. It occurs there naturally, but over time, especially if you use containers or grow bags for your plants, the nitrogen will begin to get used up. The end results are plants that don’t really thrive. […]

Why are my Vegetables not Growing?

You’ve planted your vegetables, and have tended to them properly (you think, anyway), but they still aren’t growing. Instead, you have tomato plants without flowers, tiny zucchinis that wither on the plant, and cucumbers that just won’t grow. Something went wrong, and it’s time to find out what. There are a number of issues that can cause your vegetable plant plans to go awry. Here are some of the most common problems. Everything Is Planted too Close Together This happens to the best-intentioned gardeners. You start off with tiny seedlings that are transplanted into the ground or a series of […]

5 Common Fertilization Mistakes

How much do you know about plant fertilizer? While your level of knowledge depends on your gardening experience, as well as how much research you’ve done on the topic, this doesn’t mean that you don’t make mistakes when applying yours. It’s very easy to use the wrong type of fertilizer, not mix it correctly, or even apply too much (or too little) of it. Since fertilizer is an important part of the growing process, you need to know which mistakes your making so that you can avoid them in the future. Here are some of the most common ones. Using […]

4 More Simple Ways to Improve Soil Quality

Growing your own fruits and vegetables is much easier when you have great soil. If yours is filled with too much clay, is infiltrated by tree and shrub roots, or has nutritional deficiencies, then you won’t be able to produce as many of them as you’d like. Or, you could end up with great quantities of fruits and vegetables, but they won’t be very large. Either way, your plants will struggle. The best thing that you can do in order to reverse this is by improving the overall quality of your soil. There are several useful (and fairly simple) methods […]

8 Items to NOT Include in Your Compost

Creating a compost pile is always a good idea. You’ll get to reuse food scraps that would otherwise end up in the trash, and then eventually in a landfill. On top of this, compost piles create new, fresh soil that contains plenty of nutrients. Your plants will love it. However, before it gets to that point, you need to understand the basics of composting, which involve knowing what you shouldn’t put into a compost bin. Many of these items are downright harmful to your compost and will cause a number of problems. Avoid adding them to the pile at all […]

11 Simple Ways to Practice Sustainable Gardening

How much do you know about sustainable gardening? These useful tips might just fill in any gaps in your knowledge! The more you know about these practices the better. Do you think that you’ll use some of these in your garden this year? 1) If you own cats or dogs, brush them and then sprinkle some of their hair around the edges of your garden. Sure, it might look weird, but it will keep any critters away. They’ll smell your predators and steer clear of your vegetables. 2) Place a laundry sink in your yard, near where your vegetable garden […]

Why Do You Need a Greenhouse and Things to Look for

Many avid gardeners have considered putting a greenhouse in their yards. There’s just something about having the ability to grow tropical and warm-weather loving plants year-round that really appeals to them. If you’re one of these people, then you need to read this primer about greenhouses. It contains just about everything that you need to know about them. What Is A Greenhouse? Let’s start by defining exactly what a greenhouse is. These are structures of various sizes that have clear walls and roofs. Some of the fancier greenhouses have glass walls, although you can use clear, plastic polycarbonate sheeting as […]

Plastic Sheeting Gardening Hack

Many gardeners count down the days until the winter ends because they’re just dying (not literally, of course) to get their crops in the ground. Rather than wait until the earth warms up and the last frost is far from over, start your season early by using plastic sheeting in to create a greenhouse-like effect. Plus, if you leave the sheeting up once the weather than changed for the better, you’ll have fewer weeds to deal with. Your garden will be magnificent thanks to this quick and easy garden hack. It All Starts in the Autumn Once you […]

5 Things to Consider When Building an Aquaponic System

Setting up an aquaponic system, although quite an easy task, requires some basic knowledge of aquaponics. If you have decided to install such a system in your house, then you probably know what this is and how it could help you. However, there may still be things which can interest or help you. Below you will find 5 essential things which you should know in order to obtain spectacular results. 1. Location The place where you put your aquaponic system is highly important for the way in which the plants and the fish will develop. In order to obtain great […]

Advantages of Aquaponic Farming

Aquaponics is a new way of approaching farming. Unlike traditional agriculture where you needed plants to grow vegetables, with aquaponics you need water and fish in order to have healthy food on your table each and every day. Basically, aquaponics relies on the interdependence between fish and plants: the fish produces bio-nutrients for the plants, while the plants clean the water, creating a perfect environment for the fish to grow and develop. It is a blend of aquaculture and hydroponics that has plenty of advantages. If you need some reasons to get your own aquaponic system started, then here are […]

Easy Checklist to Winterize Your Garden

As a homesteader, you may be wondering where you’re going to get the energy for preparing your garden for winter after all the hard work of harvesting the vegetables from your garden. Remember how happy you were when you realized that you wouldn’t need to buy any vegetables all winter long? Keep that in mind along with the fact that it will now be cooler to work outside. You can print out the below list to check off items as you complete them and before long you’ll be done so you can take a break for a few days. Those […]

How to Ferment Vegetables

Fermenting vegetables grown in your garden accomplishes two things at once. First, it enhances the nutritional value of the vegetables by preserving them at their peak. Second, it preserves the vegetables, so you can enjoy them all winter long. The process used for fermenting vegetables is simple. You need the right equipment and the right ingredients – and before you know it, you’ll have a pantry full of delicious, fermented vegetables for your family to eat. Fermentation Equipment The equipment you need to ferment vegetables is minimal and inexpensive. Here are the basic things you’ll need to have on hand: […]

Where and How to Find Wild Asparagus (Video)

Wild asparagus is one of the great finds of the foraging world, and it’s season is just beginning in North America! This Michigan man shares this video from his favorite spots, and has some very valuable tips for how and where to find the wild delicacy. There is nothing more rewarding than foraging for, cooking and eating, such a nutritious and tasty veggie. If it grows in your region, I highly recommend following these tips and seeing what you can find! Enjoy: If you enjoyed this, you might also like…. Long-Term Survival for Homesteaders… Natural Healing Secrets You Need to […]

Companion Planting Visual Guide (Infographic)

Companion planting is a gardening practice that involves strategically planting certain vegetables next to one another for their mutual benefit. It can lend itself to great success in the garden, but it can be a bit confusing and overwhelming to plan out. This infographic from MomWithAPrep.com is a fantastic cheat sheet for figuring out the best “companions” for each garden vegetable. It also includes potentially bad companions, so you can rule those out too. Why not give companion planting a try this spring? Grab this infographic and refer to it as you plan out your garden this year. Enjoy! […]

Most Decorative Edibles for Your Yard

Maybe you’ve only got a small yard or a patio, and would like to combine your vegetable garden with your landscaping. Or perhaps you can’t have a garden where you live and you’d like to grow some veggies under the guise of decorative plants. Perhaps you’re just the visual, artistic type and would like to produce food and have a stunning, attractive, decorative garden. Either way, there are lots of beautiful options for you to grow vegetables that are both decorative and edible! Here are some of the best: Basil Basil is a cinch to grow and just so happens to be very […]

The Easiest Gardening Method You’ll Ever Try

A thriving garden is the beating heart of the homestead. For many people, though, keeping a garden can be a challenge. Traditional methods require heavy machinery for soil preparation, questionable chemical fertilizers, all adding up to a prohibitive upfront cost. A great and easy method of gardening that has a very low financial demand is the “lasagna garden”. It was given that name because the method involves developing arable soil by composting an existing plot with layers of organic matter. You create the layers in the fall, to be ready for planting in the spring. Here’s a quick guide to […]

Kohlrabi

Kohlrabi is a cold hardy vegetable in the cabbage family. There are both purple and green varieties, both produce edible leaves similar to collard greens that can be eaten raw or cooked and a bulb that can be eaten raw. The bulb grows above the ground and has a skin that should be removed prior to eating. It is a nice addition to salads, some compare its taste to an apple, though I have never grown any that taste as good as an apple myself. Here are some tips on growing kohlrabi in your garden. Plant kohlrabi in the […]

When to Harvest Vegetables and Herbs

Time is a key factor in determining when to harvest vegetables. You want to be sure to harvest them when they are on the verge of maturity. The time of day is also a factor in assuring that you harvest vegetables appropriately. It’s helpful to keep the seed packet or plant identification marker for each item you plant in your garden. This is where you will find information regarding the estimated time to maturity. If you keep a garden journal, you can write that information in your journal. There are also plenty of charts available on line that list the […]

A Vegetable Growing Cheat Sheet

I love a good, detailed infographic, especially when it comes to gardening. A lot of the gardening infographics that show up on my feed on Pinterest are pretty simple, so I was stoked when I found this one from Anglianhome.co.uk recently. It’s an all-purpose cheat sheet for vegetable growing, from what’s best for plot vs. patio (or potted) vegetable gardens, where to plant, when to plant, and a handy companion planting guide as well. I think the companion planting guide section is my favorite, with handy color coding. It can be overwhelming trying to decide what to plant with what, […]