how-to
When to Add Perlite Soil to Container Gardens
Add to Favorites What in the world is perlite soil anyway? Is it organic? I do a lot of container gardening, especially with my herb plants. Since I try to …
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A Homemade Dandelion Wine Recipe
Add to Favorites This dandelion wine recipe all started with violets. I know that might seem like a strange statement, but violets were my introduction to foraging. My neighbor introduced me …
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Improve Your Soil: Know How To Lay Mulch
Add to Favorites Mulch, mulch, and then mulch some more. Knowing how to lay mulch is one of the greatest skills any gardener can have. Using organic mulch is how …
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What is the Best Mulch to Prevent Weeds?
Add to Favorites All Photos By Shelley Dedauw The best mulch to prevent weeds depends on where the mulch lies, what else you need it to do…and, of course, cost. …
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Growing Cherry Tomatoes in Pots is Perfect for Everyone
Add to Favorites No matter your location, if you have access to even moderate sun, growing cherry tomatoes in pots is for you. With the right varieties and soil nutrients, …
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Growing Shiitake Mushrooms on a Log
Add to Favorites By Anita B. Stone, North Carolina – If you ever wanted to grow mushrooms on the homestead and make a decent wage, growing shiitake mushrooms is the way …
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Jamming with Rhubarb
Add to Favorites By Allison Carroll I love rhubarb season. Here in Maine, where I live with my family in an old farmhouse on a few acres, rhubarb is one …
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Garden Hoops: Low Tunnels for Frost and Insect Protection
Add to Favorites When you’re itching to get your hands dirty, garden hoops can extend the season enough to avoid disaster. Midway between full-sized greenhouses and the gamble of throwing …
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Recycling Water at Home: Grey Water for the Garden
Add to Favorites Using pure fresh water in the garden — while sending only “slightly used” grey water into the septic or sewer system — is considered wasteful in some …
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Water on the Homestead: Is Filtering Well Water Necessary?
Add to Favorites Many homesteads have wells drilled for their water source. But is filtering well water necessary? There are, as usual, different thoughts on the subject. I grew up …
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Do It Yourself Privacy Fence Tips For Success
Add to Favorites In suburban settings, a do it yourself privacy fence may be necessary to shield and protect you from those who live around you. They can also provide …
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Growing Jalapeño Peppers
Add to Favorites I remember well the first time I started growing jalapeño peppers in my vegetable garden. That was years ago, when growing jalapeño peppers was considered a novelty. …
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Why Raise Miniature Cattle?
Add to Favorites By Professor Richard Gradwohl Washington – As 100-500-acre family farms continue to disappear, the small acreage family homestead farm is becoming more common. Miniature cattle breeds are particularly …
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Cherishing the Natural Beauty of Icelandic Sheep
Add to Favorites By Marguerite Chisick – We discovered that Icelandic sheep were our ticket to a more sustainable way of life! It is not uncommon for people who are living …
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Wild Plant Identification: Foraging for Edible Weeds
Add to Favorites On a sleepy Sunday afternoon, on the grounds of an ex-horse stable, Nate Chetelat presents a wild plant identification tour for a local gardening group. The focus …
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