Living remotely and off grid brings with it numerous challenges that one needs to overcome. Doing so sometimes requires simply adapting to the new circumstances until you are in a better position to overcome but no matter which way you go, relying on yourself and your own skills is a cornerstone to … [Read more...]
5 Organic Non Manure Fertilizer Options
Gardening is messy and sometimes stinky work. Awhile back, I posted an article about the Unglamorous Side of Homesteading and smell is definitely one of them. Using manure in the garden or dealing with manure from your livestock is a necessary evil for most homesteaders. Not everyone who gardens … [Read more...]
Gardening on a Budget AND in Small Spaces
Gardening season is so close that I am pretty much driving myself nuts with ideas and plans and generally wanting to get digging in the dirt! Of course, this means I am babbling about it to pretty much anyone who will listen. The other day a person overheard me waxing poetic about the … [Read more...]
Growing Greens in Containers (Even Indoors!)
One of the things that surprises me the most is how often people think you need to have some huge plot of land, or a box outside, or a larger area to be able to grow food like leafy greens. When I explain how easy it really is to grow lettuce or other greens in a container in the window, I get mixed … [Read more...]
Gardening in (Really) Wet Climates
I live in Ketchikan, Alaska (Ketch-eh-can). It rains here. A lot. As in we get a month (or more) of solid rain in varying 'moods' - rain every single day for 30 days! - at least once a year. Like the Native tribes in the arctic who have dozens of words for snow, we have dozens of descriptions for … [Read more...]
Using Nature’s Tin Foil
Before the invention of aluminum foil, people used leaves and other things to cook food in the coals or on hot rocks around the fire pit. Some are also used to steam food or wrap before boiling to keep the ingredients together. Learning which natural ‘tin foil’ is available in your area can not only … [Read more...]
Garden 2015: Less Variety, Larger Harvests
I am going crazy with daydreams of playing in the garden! Even though we are gaining light it is still dark when I go to work and dark when I come home - and it is cold. The thought of sunshine and green, tasty growing things has been creeping into my head more and more often. It got so bad today, I … [Read more...]