Soil Tests
Soil test kits are one of the most under-used tools for backyard homesteaders in their gardens. Most gardeners seem to prefer to treat all soil as equal, equally bad, or equally good. Adding compost and fertilizer to every square inch of growing space, and treating soil for every crop that goes in. But money …. Read More
Saving Space While Growing Corn
Corn is a crop that has disappointed many backyard gardeners. Mostly because they watch lush green stalks grow up with anticipation, only to find that the ears didn’t produce any corn. One of the more common reasons why is that they didn’t plant enough corn. In order for corn to properly pollinate it needs …. Read More
Protecting the Garden From Animals
After you have invested time, physical effort and money into creating a garden from which you plan to enjoy a variety of fresh vegetables, the last thing you want to see is an invasion of wildlife. In a single evening, devastation can occur as a result of unwanted four-legged visitors. A slower method of destruction …. Read More
Act Now to Garden in the Spring
If you don’t already have a garden, then waiting until the spring isn’t going to help you at all. Even if you pour your time and resources into gardening starting in the spring you won’t be seeing the result until summer, and then it will still be limited. But, if you act now and prepare, …. Read More
DIY Clones
Downtime in the garden can really kill your productivity and efficiency. Cloning plants, such as tomatoes, will greatly reduce the time, space, and resources like potting soil. It will also give you a more predictable result, since you are not starting seeds with unknown traits, but cloning only the best plants in your garden. …. Read More
Harvesting Sugar Cane (Video)
Sugar is a huge part of the American diet, and yet a lot of people don’t even think about how it grows or how it’s harvested. Entire nations and states have had their entire economies centered around sugar, a very valuable commodity that is pretty labor-intensive. These days, big agro sugar cane fields have plenty …. Read More
How to Grow Blueberries
Blueberries are a delicious “superfood”. They are full in antioxidants like anthocyanin and offer numerous health benefits. They can get quite costly at the store, especially when they are out of season. But since blueberries are a perennial shrub, there is no reason for you to be spending money over and over again at the …. Read More
DIY Starter Containers
Whether or not you grow in containers, it’s nice to start some crops on tables, or even indoors. But for every plant that you end up transplanting into the ground, you could have started 10 or more that never made the cut. That means that if you are going to start crops in containers, you …. Read More
Growing Vegetables and Herbs Indoors
When the weather gets too cold for you to grow vegetables outdoors, you might want to be adventurous and try growing a few select vegetables and herbs indoors. If you live in an apartment, condominium or townhome without any outdoor space to grow a garden, you can grow some vegetables, herbs and even tropical fruit …. Read More
Demonstration of Proper Tomato Pruning
Pruning is a great way to control the growth of your plants. It can help you increase yield and reduce disease by focusing your plant’s growth. One crop that pruning is a must for, but often gets neglected is tomatoes. Tomatoes can be difficult to prune because it is not always visually obvious which portions …. Read More