Looking for ways to use and preserve Rhubarb? I've got delicious recipes for you! Spring on a northern homestead, what a wonderful time of year! In many gardens, the first small harvests begin to happen. Along with Asparagus and Jerusalem Artichokes, another early plant in our gardens is Rhubarb. And Rhubarb is a beautiful plant too, so you can easily tuck it in a corner of any flower bed. … [Read more...]
Growing Saskatoon Berries: Planting, Transplanting and Pruning
Growing Saskatoon Berries - all you need to know about growing this healthy superfood in your backyard! Saskatoon bushes are known by other names such as Serviceberry bushes, Juneberry, and Shadbush. Their Latin name is Amelanchier alnifolia. No matter what you call them, here is everything to know about growing your own! Consider planting a few bushes and start growing your own … [Read more...]
Top Gardening Tips for Beginners
These top gardening tips for beginners can be a guide on what to consider before buying any plants. If you are a beginner gardener or new to gardening, you may have already been tempted to visit your local garden centre to load up with beautiful flowers, fruit trees or vegetable seedlings, right? Hold up a minute....do you know those particular plants and shrubs will thrive in your … [Read more...]
How to Grow Haskap Berries (Honeyberries)
Plant and grow Haskap Berries - the earliest bearing berries of the season Haskap berries are becoming a more well known berry to grow in the family garden. Also known as Honeyberry plants, this fruiting shrub is quite perfect for northern gardens. I wanted to share some tips to help you grow the best haskap berries possible. Haskap berries are becoming more popular to grow in … [Read more...]
How to Maintain a Raspberry Patch – Pruning
Here's how to prune Raspberry plants - fix that overgrown neglected berry patch! Earlier in June, I had given the Raspberry patch a thorough weeding and clean up. Knowing how to prune raspberry plants is an important part of maintaining your berry bed. 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 … [Read more...]
Planting Fruit Trees in the Backyard
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 … [Read more...]
Pruning Tips for Your Shrubs and Trees
Pruning is a valuable skill for any gardener, although I found it quite intimidating in the beginning. But learning how to prune shrubs and trees properly will really benefit them. Plus, it adds to the overall aesthetics of your garden. Many people look at pruning with apprehension. They worry that they might cut the wrong part of the plant or prevent it from growing any more. Or even kill … [Read more...]
How to Grow Huge Strawberries
Wondering how to grow big strawberries? Here's the trick you need to know! If you love fresh strawberries but don't want to pay the high prices at the grocery store, why not start your own strawberry bed in the backyard? You can grow them in a bed or even as a border alongside your patio. You can also grow huge strawberries in containers! Strawberries are quite easy … [Read more...]
Growing Berries in the North
We can grow great berries in the Cariboo. They just love our climate and if we have a lot of rain in the Spring, our berry crop is fantastic. Usually, berries can take the cooler weather at night time. One of the gardening obstacles we have here is the fluctuating temperatures. It's common here for daytime summer temperatures to be 30C and then go down to 4 or 5C at night time. That's pretty … [Read more...]