Gardening

By Fredrica Syren: I like to plant my seeds in recycled household items instead of store bought plastic trays and soil blocks or even pots. Instead of wasting money and creating more trash, I suggest inventing your own seeds pots. It’s easy. Growing plants from your own seeds puts all …

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By Fredrica Syren: As homesteading vegans, we grow a variety of beans: pole beans, bush beans, fava beans, edamame, chickpeas — and the list goes on. For vegans and meat eaters, beans add a lot of protein and nutrients to the plate; at the same time, they are a low …

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By Larraine Roulston: Finally, there is global recognition that we are losing biodiversity at an alarming rate. This includes not only the pollinating hummingbirds, bees and butterflies but also the thousands of other pollinating insects and animals. Gardens of all sizes, whether each be a wildflower meadow or a planter with a few …

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By Larraine Roulston: Nourishment for your plants is enhanced by applying mature compost in the form of compost tea, also known as liquid gold. Finished compost, also known as black gold, not only feeds the good microbes by increasing their numbers and diversity but also eliminates the use of chemical fertilizers. …

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By Larraine Roulston: April celebrates National Garden Month. In order to have plants thrive in a  successful vegetable garden, healthy soil is key. The blog organic gardeningexplains that we should ”feed the soil, not the plant” to create a natural soil without the use of synthetic fertilizers, andoutlines methods to do so.  Kids …

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By Larraine Roulston: Help compost councils celebrate International Compost Awareness Week (ICAW), May 5-11. The ICAW was createdin Canada in1995, while the UK Composting Association and the U.S. Composting Council were established in 2001. Although composting is promoted year-round, the strength of their message during ICAW is enhanced through their designated annual week …

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By Larraine Roulston: Those of us fortunate enough to have a residential garden, balcony space or a plot in a community vegetable/flower garden can reward themselves with some homegrown vegetables. You’ll find that getting an early start by planting a few seeds indoors will be more economical than buying transplants. Vegetables …

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By Kerry Brooks: Perhaps the most blissful feeling in life is having a house you can call your own. But having a large yard for landscaping is a luxury! Take note, however, that just because you have the frill of a spacious yard, you can’t simply implement every idea your …

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By Kim Robson: For those of us who live in drought-prone areas, having a lush, green lawn is not only a ridiculous luxury, but it comes with a host of requirements including regular mowing, fertilizing, weed-killing, and tons and tons of water. You can opt for a xeriscapeor an edible …

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By Kim Robson: This is the time of year when autumn leaves are falling in droves, and many of us are toiling (or hiring neighborhood kids) to rake and bag piles of leaves. Most municipalities don’t allow the burning of leaves anymore due to environmental and safety concerns, so all …

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