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gardening – Page 20 – Homesteader Depot

Homesteader Depot

Tag: gardening

  • 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 expectancy is only a few months.  These are a few easy to grow super producers you should have in your garden.

    Okinawa Spinach

    Okinawa spinach is a hardy bush with leaves that are either green with purple on the bottom, or green on both sides.  Its benefits are still under investigation but it is said to help lower cholesterol and fight cancer.  It will flower and go to seed but like many other perennial it is better grown from cuttings made from the younger stems.  When harvesting it is better to remove whole branches than to pluck leaves, the plant quickly recovers.  It is best eaten raw or juiced.

    Sorrel

    Sorrel is a low growing plant that resembles leaf varieties of lettuce when it is young.  As it matures the plant will grow in diameter but remain low.  You can buy seeds, but once you get a good clump established, you can propagate it easily by using root divisions.  Sorrel has a tangy taste that is a great addition to a salad, but can be overpowering if it is the base, and it is a great addition to otherwise bitter green juice.

    Tree Kale

    Tree Kale (sometimes called tree collards) is the king of perineal greens.  It can reach massive proportions compared to other greens growing taller than 6 feet, and in full sun will also grow wide.  Its leaves are thick dark green, but have a light taste.  They can be eaten in salads as a base, added to sandwiches, are since an established plant can easily give you more than a pound of leaves each harvest and can be harvested regularly, even daily, it is great to juice.  It may occasionally go to seed, but the seedlings are unpredictable and most plants are grown cuttings of smaller branches.

     

    Instead of only planting and then replanting, make some room in your garden for the plants that only get better with age.

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  • What Items Should You Never Compost?

    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 the compost pile to stink. Never put waste from carnivorous animals onto the compost pile either. You can put on regular manure, but you should never put anything from a carnivorous animal – this goes for pets, such as your cats and dogs. The reason for this is simple – it has the potential to add parasites to the compost, which you would then end up putting in the garden and eating.

    Do not put any wood that has been chemically treated into the compost pile either. There is a good chance that the chemicals will get into the compost. Do not place walnut shells into the compost pile either. It contains a chemical that can be toxic to certain plants.

    Never put oil or grease into the compost pile. It will not break down, and it can cover the other items in the pile, which means they will not break down either. You should not put any weeds in the compost pile, especially if they have seeds. If you do, you are just going to end up with weeds in the garden.

    Keep composting, but make sure you know exactly what is going into compost pile each day.

     

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  • Super-Simple DIY Pest Repellent for the Garden

    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 to use regularly.

    The solution is very simple: vinegar and peppermint essential oil. You can spray it around the perimeter of your garden, however NOT on any plants you want to keep alive, vinegar kills plants! If you have a fence around your garden it would be ideal to coat the fence with the spray every week or so, and the strong, pest-repelling scent of the peppermint oil is sure to keep pests away.

    What you need:

    Peppermint essential oil

    Vinegar

    Spray bottle

    Label (optional but recommended)

    What you do:

    1. Pour your vinegar into the spray bottle.
    2. Add about 25 drops of your peppermint essential oils
    3. Put the top back on the spray bottle, and shake to combine. You’ll want to do this before you use each time just to make sure the oil is evenly dispersed throughout the bottle
    4. Label if you like. This is highly recommended if you use spray bottles for other garden uses, as vinegar is something you definitely don’t want to get mixed up with say, a neem oil spray or fertilizer!

    And that’s it! If you can create a barricade around your garden of the strong vinegar and peppermint oil scent, it will greatly reduce the pests in your garden without putting toxic chemicals in your food.

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  • What to Plant to Attract Bees

    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 if you can, it will definitely benefit you as well as the global production of bees. Not only will you have lots of happy pollinators buzzing around your garden, you’ll also get honey and honeycomb!

    But not everyone is ready to take that leap into beekeeping, you’re either homesteading in a city and don’t have the capacity to keep bees, or you’ve decided for one reason or another that keeping hives is just not the right option for your homestead, which is totally understandable. So what can you do to help the bees?

    Plant for them! There are a number of fragrant herbs and flowers that bees love, and most of them are pretty easy to grow!

    Here’s what to plant for the bees:

    • lavender
    • sunflower
    • catnip
    • poppy
    • borage
    • sage
    • cilantro
    • thyme
    • fennel
    • geranium
    • heliotrope
    • zinnia
    • crocus
    • buttercup
    • aster
    • anemone
    • calendula

    These lovely herbs and flowers are favorites of bees, and there sure to be constant visitors to your garden if you plant them!

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  • 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 in the ground and couldn’t be knocked over by wind or rain. Obviously, you won’t want to stake your vertical support into your garden bed when you have fully mature plants nearby that could have their roots damaged by the structure, but it is a good idea to direct sow the plants you plan to have climb the support so you can get an idea of how man you’ll have. You can of course build it first and then direct sow as well.

    Here’s the guide, hope it helps you choose the best vertical support for your garden!

    supports-infograph

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  • 3 Ways to Save Money on Your Garden

    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 you know other homesteaders who are getting their gardens started? In general, seeds, plants, and other garden necessities are cheaper when you buy them in bulk, and if you have others to share the cost with you, you can get a really great deal. Even if you’re not sharing the cost with others, if you’re buying items that will last for years (like heirloom seeds), you can save money on future gardening needs.

    Don’t Overplant Your Garden

    As you plan your garden, don’t plant seeds and young plants right on top of each other. Plant with the future – and your full-grown plants – in mind, and you’ll avoid a lot of waste.

    Maintain Your Garden

    Weeds can choke out fruit and vegetable plants, and parasites can kill them. Spend time in your garden regularly, weeding, watching for parasites, and keeping everything in good shape. This will avoid wasted money on plants that fall victim to outside forces, and you’ll get much more produce each season.

    Use all three of these tips to save money on your garden now, and it will pay you back with even more produce and a great deal of satisfaction later. Good luck!
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  • How to Safely Let Chickens in the Garden

    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 way to combat this is to put chicken wire around the garden.  This can be costly, even if you opt for the cheaper “bird netting” made from plastic.

    And this solution still doesn’t allow your chickens to be much benefit to your garden, it just keeps them from being a pest. Preferably your chickens will eat potential pests and fertilize your garden while leaving it undamaged.

    Letting Chickens In

    One of the best ways to get the benefits of chickens in the garden without damaging your plants is to take the plastic bird netting and lay it on the ground, over your mulch, and between your plants.  This will work whether you are growing in wooden raised beds or directly in the ground.

    Areas like paths or fallow plots and beds are not necessary to cover.  Concentrate on active beds, especially those with young vulnerable plants.  The bird net can be stretched out to the size of the bed and cut to fit, one wide strips
    are most versatile, “holes” can be made to accommodate the plants by using twist ties or landscaping stakes (or even sticks) to pull the net away from the plants and keep it secure.  Stakes or twist ties can also be used to combine multiple pieces of netting.  While holes could be cut in the net, that will make it more difficult to reuse in the
    future.

    This will allow for your flock to roam and feed to their heart’s content while cleaning out potential pests from your garden like caterpillars and slugs-and holding your mulch and your plants in place.  They will even help fertilize as nature takes its course, and with chickens, that’s pretty often.

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  • Prolonging Your Tomato Harvest Through the Winter

    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 off the roots as you can.  Spray the roots with a hose to get off all the excess dirt on at least a few of your plants.  The rest of them can stay dirty.

    Step Two: Hang the Plants

    Hang the clean tomatoes indoors, upside down.  The warmer the room you place them in the quicker they will ripen.  So unless you want all of them to ripen at once, it would be wise to place some of them in a cooler room so they can ripen a little slower.

    Hang the dirty tomato plants in the garage or other unheated outbuilding, upside down, just like the clean ones.  These tomatoes will ripen slower than those that are hanging inside in the warmth. If you run out of ripe tomatoes from both your “warm” and “not so warm” indoor supplies, you can bring in some of your outdoor plants.

    Step Three: Harvest

    Check the plants daily, the ripe tomatoes will fall faster when hanging upside down than they would have when growing upright.

    While this might not give you a surplus of tomatoes all the way through the winter and into the next spring, it will allow you to eat more of what you have already grown, and will extend how long you do have access to homegrown tomatoes.  It will all depend on how many plants you have and how cold it is where you live.

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