Growing
5 Tips to Developing a Permaculture Food Forest
Food forests, also known as edible permaculture forest gardens, are growing in popularity worldwide. A food forest is taking the old-fashioned monocrop orchard and adding many more layers of utility to it, while making it more self-contained and lower maintenance.
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Natural Pest Control for Gardens and Orchards
Brian Eubanks knows what he’s talking about. He’s an ISA-certified arborist and horticulture consultant in Reno and Sparks, Nevada. And he wants to tell you about natural pest control.
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Evergreen Tree Care and Diseases
Learning the basics of evergreen tree care can yield a bounty of useful products for your homestead. In addition to shade, wind insulation, and oxygen production, various evergreens can yield nuts, edible buds, as well as inner bark and needles for tea.
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Black Raspberries (Rubus): 2020 Herb of the Year
The 2020 Herb of the Year is Rubus which not only includes black raspberries, but red raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries, too. I am going to specifically talk about black raspberries and how to grow, harvest, and store them.
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A Guide to Pepper Plant Diseases
Add to Favorites Hot, sweet, purple, yellow, wrinkly or bell – I love all peppers. If you find yourself wanting to harvest your peck of peppers, but are having trouble …
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Salvage Your Drought-Affected Corn
For five long summer days, the relentless sun blazed, penetrating and drying out corn tassels. An unceasing wind drove away what moisture was available in the air.
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Oh, Deer: Keeping Deer Out of Gardens
Whitetail deer are charismatic, beautiful animals as they leap in graceful 20-foot bounds through your neighbor’s bean field. I like to watch them.
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A Garden of Simples Offers DIY Remedies
In the early days of our country, certain herbs were grown and used for the household and for simple medicinal remedies. There was no drug store around the corner so whether one was rich or poor, every household had what was then known as a garden of simples.
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Cedar Apple Rust: A Disturbing Discovery
My family and I returned home from church on a rainy Sunday in May. It had been pouring for hours, but just as I pulled into the driveway, the rain stopped, and the sun shone brightly through a break in the clouds.
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12 Plants That Keep Away Mosquitoes
Growing dual-purpose edible plants that keep away mosquitoes is beneficial and practical. From the annoyance of buzzing in your ears to the threat of Zika and West Nile, mosquitos are troublesome.
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Much Ado About Mulch
From flower gardens to homestead veggie gardens, mulching is an integral part of bed cultivation. But are you mulching the right way?
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Making Herb Salts and Garlic Oil: Recipes for Imperfect Harvests
When insects attack your growing basil or your garlic doesn’t grow to a desired size, don’t worry, you can still make delicious infused garlic oil recipes and salts with your imperfect herbs.
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Natural Pain Relievers from your Garden
Did you know that some of the most commonly grown culinary herbs are natural pain relievers? There’s a reason a sprig of parsley adorns your restaurant plate, and it’s not just for looks.
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Milkweed Plant: A Truly Remarkable Wild Vegetable
Milkweed plant isn’t your average weed; in fact, I feel guilty calling it a weed at all. The common milkweed, Asclepias syriacqa, is one of the best known wild plants in North America.
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The Versatile Mint: Peppermint Plant Uses
Peppermint plant uses are endless; this versatile mint does a lot more than make a refreshing drink. Peppermint is indispensable in my herb garden and so vigorous I can pull handfuls up by the roots and it always comes back, as fresh as ever.
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