Homesteading Goals for 2017 Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. For our family, it's a way of life on our little 1/4-acre in the middle of suburbia. While there is still a lot we rely on others for, there is a lot we can do for ourselves. Through gardening, food preservation, and a lot of DIY we are teaching our children to be self-reliant and we are working together as a family to have the things we need. These life skills are a primary focus when we ...
Gardening
October In The Garden
After a very rough summer in the garden where everything died, I have been very happy with how the start of fall has been going. In late September, I was able to plant a few fall crops. Considering I am starting them from seed, and its a bit late in the season, only time will tell if they reach maturity. So far, the lettuces and radishes have been doing beautifully. I'm hoping to get a harvest in time for Thanksgiving so our salad will be fresh from the garden this ...
The Year The Garden Died
Consecutive days with temperatures over 90°. Drought. Summer travel. And ultimately, indifference. Yup, that's pretty much how it happened. Its how the garden died. I have been gardening in some way for 30 years. This is the first year in recent memory that the entire garden just bombed. And it bombed hard. My mother, on the other hand, told me there were several years my father planted a garden and after strawberry season the rest of the growing ...
Garden Tours
Garden Tour - Tuesday, June 21 We have a quarter-acre homestead in the middle of suburbia, growing more than 50 different varieties of fruits and vegetables. This year, we have added a pollinator garden (since we started it from seed, its not quite there yet), plus we are continuing to landscape our property adding to its curb appeal - we do live in a neighborhood after all, and want the look of our home and gardens to be aesthetically pleasing. I have had many people ask if we ...
Growing Raspberries
Raspberries are one of my favorite fruits. In addition to eating them fresh, I make raspberry jams and jellies that I then use in candy fillings, for pastries, and filled cookies. With a 6oz package of raspberries costing about $4 each, I decided to add raspberries to our garden. I originally purchased a package of 3 bare-root Caroline raspberry canes from Stark Bros Nursery. I had a 3'x8' raised bed, and the plan was for the 3 raspberry bushed to grow in that bed ... and ...