Dwarf fruit trees have really given anyone a great chance to grow their own apples or pears in their gardens. But instead of planting them in a monoculture, using companion planting to create a Fruit Tree Guild is a great way to integrate these trees in, without much sacrifice on garden space or practicality. Here … Continue reading Mini Fruit Tree Guild for Small Gardens | Companion Plant for Dwarf Apples or Pears
Gardening
Bite sized information to help you grow a practical cottage vegetable garden for your home.
Growing Potatoes in Cardboard Boxes (with pictures)
No need to over complicate growing potatoes. This vegetable will grow just about anywhere, so long it's not waterlogged. Growing them in cardboard boxes is an easy way to not only grow potatoes but help kill off grass for a future garden bed. Here I go into how to properly put together a cardboard box … Continue reading Growing Potatoes in Cardboard Boxes (with pictures)
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Hardening off your Seedlings without a Greenhouse
Hardening off is the process of bringing your seedlings from the indoors to the outdoors, in a way that doesn't stress them out. You do not need a greenhouse to do this, and within a week you can get your seedlings out of your house and into your garden safely. Here I go into a … Continue reading Hardening off your Seedlings without a Greenhouse
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Zone 6 – General Seed Starting Timeline (not complicated)
Starting seeds does not have to be complicated. Most seeds just need a head start indoors, especially if you live in northern areas with cold winters. This list is for anyone who lives in zones 4-6, since these zones generally grow on a similar timeline, only being a week or two off from each other. … Continue reading Zone 6 – General Seed Starting Timeline (not complicated)
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Free Ranging Ducks on a Pond
Yes, you can free range ducks on a pond, year-round. In fact, ducks are incredibly easy to let free range, even if you have neighbors. They are creatures of habit, generally love their owners, stay close to their water, and don't venture far (especially ducks who can't fly). In this article I go into tips … Continue reading Free Ranging Ducks on a Pond
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Creating a Cottage Styled Garden that is still Productive | 5 tips
Cottage gardening (some call it chaos gardening now) is my favorite way to garden, and over the years I have come across my favorite ways to make it as productive as possible. Even though on the outside many cottage gardens look full of flowers and color, you can still get plenty of medicinal herbs or … Continue reading Creating a Cottage Styled Garden that is still Productive | 5 tips
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Basic Seed Starting Supplies
You do not need some extravagant and expensive set up to get seeds started early indoors, if you don't want to; no matter how big or small you want to go everyone uses the same 5 (plus your seeds) basic tools. Let's go into what those basic seed starting supplies are and how to choose … Continue reading Basic Seed Starting Supplies
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Growing Heirloom Cucumbers | How to Choose Cucumber Seeds for your Vegetable Garden
With well over 100 different varieties of cucumbers around the world, there are plenty of choices for the home gardener to choose from. Cucumbers are often pickled or eaten fresh, and the varieties offered today cater to these practices in the kitchen, with cucumbers that were bred to do well in pickling, have good taste … Continue reading Growing Heirloom Cucumbers | How to Choose Cucumber Seeds for your Vegetable Garden
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Growing Berries at Home | Practical Fruit Bushes for Home Gardeners
Blackberry, thornless For most gardeners, berries are an easy perennial to add the gardens; they are prolific, most are disease resistant, some are even thornless now. Anyone with a decent amount of space or a large pot, can slip a berry bush or two into their gardens and reap the benefits of harvesting their own … Continue reading Growing Berries at Home | Practical Fruit Bushes for Home Gardeners
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How to pick Lettuce, Kale, Spinach, Collards Seeds to Grow at Home | Growing Heirloom Vegetables
No matter if your leafy green of choice is kale, chard, or lettuce, growing greens is one of the easiest vegetables to grow in a garden. There are thousands of heirloom greens (50+ year old varieties) that offer several different flavors, colors, nutrient density, with consistently. But since seed companies can offer a lot of … Continue reading How to pick Lettuce, Kale, Spinach, Collards Seeds to Grow at Home | Growing Heirloom Vegetables
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How to Shop for Tomato Seeds | Growing Heirloom Tomatoes at Home
Now a days, if you want heirloom tomatoes to eat and cook with then you are going to have to grow them yourselves at home. Did you know there are about 10,000 tomato varieties!? Yes, 10,000. Grocery stores only hold about 5 different kinds, if we are lucky (with most being hydroponically grown to boot). … Continue reading How to Shop for Tomato Seeds | Growing Heirloom Tomatoes at Home
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Planting Garlic Cloves | How to Grow Garlic in your Garden
Garlic has got to be one of the most beloved spices in the world, and the best thing about garlic is that they are incredibly easy to grow and require very little maintenance. There are only two things to think about when planting garlic: When to plant the garlic How to plant the cloves of … Continue reading Planting Garlic Cloves | How to Grow Garlic in your Garden
The Cottage Vegetable 