Gardening

Planting a Bottle Brush Tree: How I Get Mine in the Ground and Blooming

The first time I saw a bottle brush tree in full bloom, I honestly thought someone had wired red pipe cleaners to the branches. Then a hummingbird...

Soil Exam – How to Test Your Garden Soil and Actually Understand the Results

For years I fed my garden the way most people do, a bag of all-purpose fertilizer every spring and a hope that it was the right call. Some crops...

When Are Onions Ready to Harvest? How to Read the Signs and Save Your Crop

Every summer I get the same question from neighbors leaning over the garden fence: "Are those onions done yet?" It is a fair question, because...

Do Cucumbers Need a Trellis? Here’s What I’ve Learned After Growing Both Ways

My first few years growing cucumbers, I just let the vines sprawl across the ground because building a trellis felt like an extra project I didn't...

Cabbage Worms – How I Finally Got Mine Under Control

The first year I grew cabbage, I walked out one morning to find half my crop reduced to lace. I hadn't seen a single bug the week before, and...

How to Plant a Banana Tree: What I Learned Growing My Own

I planted my first banana tree with far more enthusiasm than knowledge. I dug a hole about the size of the pot it came in, dropped it in, and...

When to Harvest Watermelon: The Signs I Check Before I Ever Cut One Free

My first year growing watermelon, I cut one open three weeks too early because I got impatient watching it sit there looking huge and perfect. The...

9 Crops Homesteaders Grow That Are Cheaper to Buy at the Store

You've probably heard it a hundred times: grow your own food and you'll save a fortune. And sure, a good garden can absolutely save you money. I'm...

How to Start a Permaculture Garden That Basically Runs Itself

My first vegetable garden was a straight line of raised beds, tilled every spring, weeded every week, and thirsty every single day of a hot July. It...

Why “Weird” Crops Make Your Garden Better

Walk through the produce section at almost any grocery store and you’ll see the same familiar lineup year after year. Tomatoes, green beans, iceberg...

Compost for Raised Bed Garden: Everything I’ve Learned Building Healthy Soil

When I built my first raised bed years ago, I made the rookie mistake of shoveling in dirt from the yard and calling it a day. My tomatoes sat there...

Succulent Soil: How to Mix Your Own and Actually Get It Right

I killed my first three succulents before I figured out that the problem was never the plants, it was the soil I was using. Regular potting soil,...

If You See This Weed, Your Garden Is in Trouble…

Nobody plants weeds. They just show up. You pull them, you toss them, you move on, and I've done it a thousand times. But weeds aren't random. Each...

Aged Chicken Manure – What It Is, How to Make It, and How to Use It Safely

If you keep even a handful of hens, you already have a steady supply of what old-timers used to call brown gold. Chicken manure is genuinely one of...

9 Vegetables That Grow Better in Fall Than Summer

Fall is not the end of the planting season. Quite the contrary. Fall is another planting season and you should take advantage of it because it can...

10-10-10 Fertilizer – The Complete Guide

10-10-10 is probably the most recognizable bag on the fertilizer shelf, and also one of the most misunderstood. It gets reached for as a default,...

How to Grow Spinach – The Complete Guide

Spinach is one of the first things I plant every spring, and one of the first things I lose to bolting if I'm not paying attention. It's a fast,...

2,4-D Weed Killer – What It Is, How It Works, and Whether It’s Safe to Use

If you have ever bought a bag of "weed and feed" for your lawn, there is a good chance you already own 2,4-D without realizing it. It is one of the...