I mentioned earlier that in June, I had given the Raspberry patch a thorough weeding and clean up. At this time of year, it is very easy to just pull up any new shoots that are "out of order". If you don't tidy up your patch in Spring, you will be amazed at how difficult it will be for you to get in there and pick berries later in the season. It's a really good plan to do this again once Fall … [Read more...]
8 Great Ways to Use and Preserve Rhubarb
Spring on a northern homestead, what a wonderful time of year! Along with Asparagus and Jerusalem Artichokes, another early plant in our gardens in Rhubarb. Here are 8 great ways to use and preserve Rhubarb (with help from some of my awesome gardening friends). 8 Great Ways to Use and Preserve Rhubarb But first, here's an article I wrote years … [Read more...]
The Five “W’s” – Spring Chores
My days are really full right now with lots of outside stuff going on. I have a bit of the garden planted - the peas are all planted, as well as some carrots, lettuce and spinach. I am early this year getting things in the ground but these cool weather veggies should be fine. We're looking forward to a good harvest in a month or two. Things grow quick in the Cariboo. Spring is one of the … [Read more...]
Raspberry Vinegar with Honey
Thanks so much to Annie for allowing me to do a guest post on her blog! I'm happy to be here and share the good things in life with her readers! Raspberries have been a favorite since childhood. Even as a little girl, I knew that when I had my own home, raspberries would be at the top of the list. Not only are the fruits delicious, but they grow well even in cold climates, which is a … [Read more...]
The 5 Easiest Vegetables to Grow
Vegetable gardening is supposed to be fun, right? It should be! It is so tempting to plant a huge garden with dreams of preserving most of it and having fresh healthy veggies all season long. Wonderful to see all those rows of food, glorious food. Dreaming of my garden always starts in the dead of winter for me. This is my normal view and I love sitting … [Read more...]
How to Sell Your Produce at the Farmers Markets
If you love gardening and want to make some money on your homestead, think about selling produce and products at your local Farmers Market. It can be a great way to supplement your income - in fact, some people attend several weekly markets and make enough from markets to pay their monthly bills. I enjoyed doing it so much, I wrote a book about it. Here's how to sell your produce at the Farmers … [Read more...]
Why You Should Grow Your Own Food
There are plenty of benefits that come from growing your own food. Here are my Top 5: 1. It can save you a LOT of money. For the price of some seeds, a shovel, rake and a hoe, you can literally grow hundreds of dollars of food. You will be amazed at how much food you can grow from $20 of seeds! Spend $5 of that on some seed potatoes … [Read more...]
Moving a Saskatoon Berry Bush
Sometimes, things grow where we don't want them to. Sometimes, we misjudge the grown size of small plants and crowd them in too closely together. Where we live, Saskatoon Berry bushes are native to the area. These berries make wonderful pies! When I find small bushes, I try to clean out around them so they have room to grow big. But sometimes, I need to move the actual bush itself. The ideal … [Read more...]
Planting Fruit Trees
Fall is the best time for planting fruit trees - planting in very late summer or early Fall gives the trees time to settle in before the winter cold sets in. You can plant a fruit tree in the spring - just be sure to give it regular watering ALL season long until the winter comes. Here's how we got started with fruit trees on our homestead. We decided on planting apple trees. Now, our trees are … [Read more...]
