Are you interested in growing your own food and embracing the beauty of a simple, self-sufficient lifestyle? Then you’re in the right place! Whether you’re planting your first seeds or tending a flourishing garden, you’ll find practical tips and projects to make growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs easier and more rewarding.
From creating a bountiful vegetable patch to harvesting fresh herbs for your kitchen, this space is all about cultivating nourishment, connection, and sustainability. Discover beginner-friendly guides, seasonal planting advice, and tried-and-true tips for growing your favorite foods at home.
Ready to dig in? Explore our gardening resources and see how growing your own food can transform your simple living journey—one seed at a time.
If you need a little help planning your garden and keeping your notes organized or understanding your climate, we can help.
We’ve been growing edible hibiscus for several years and it’s one of the most carefree plants we’ve ever grown. Commonly known as Rosella and Jamaican Sorrel, Florida Cranberry, and scientifically as Hibiscus sabdariffa, the flower, fruit, and leaves are all edible. Edible hibiscus is a short-day plant that grows in tropical and subtropical areas. However, … Read more
Cilantro is one of those herbs that people either love or hate. There really isn’t any middle ground when it comes to cilantro. I happen to love it. Fortunately, most of my family does too, although not quite to the same extent that I do. Truly, what’s not to like? It’s easy to grow, is … Read more
Unlike other zones, fall vegetable planting in zone 9 doesn’t start until sometime in September. Don’t worry, you won’t be behind, your fall garden will extend into a winter garden. You’ll be harvesting vegetables all they through next summer. Let’s explore the fall garden in gardening zone 9. Depending on where you live you are … Read more
I’ve heard it over and over again, “Gardening is expensive!” Well, yes it can be. But it doesn’t have to be. Our family spends about $300 a year on our garden and orchard. We’re able to grow about 75% of the produce needed for our family, which at this time is mostly 6 people – … Read more
I was chatting with a new gardener recently about growing vegetables from seed and she mentioned that she doesn’t really understand how to read a seed packet. The information on the seed packet confuses her and it’s just easier to buy transplants. I felt the same way when I first started gardening and I’m sure there … Read more
Our May garden is just delightful! Granted I was traveling for the first two weeks of May so it’s been a really short month for me. We’ve also had much more rain and cooler temperatures than we normally have in May so working in the garden has been a delight. While I was gone, my … Read more
When I think of sage (or smell it) I always think of turkey stuffing.Funny how smells can bring back all kinds of memories and when I was growing up, the sage bottle only came out on Thanksgiving. I’ve been growing sage for many years now and we always have more that we can use just … Read more
Our April garden is truly delightful! We’ve had quite a bit of rain so we haven’t had to water very often. The plants are growing and fruiting, and the heat isn’t too bad just yet. On a sad note, it appears we won’t have a citrus harvest this year. In January we had temps that … Read more
A mulberry tree is a must for your homestead or backyard. They are fast growing shade trees and provide food for your family and fodder for chickens, ducks, goats and other livestock. The mulberry tree leaves, bark and berries are all edible. When we moved to our property we were so happy to find a … Read more
The March garden in zone 9 is usually full of a lot of summer seedlings with some hang over plants from the winter garden lingering on. It’s a great time. Not a lot is being harvested, but oh there is so much potential. I love doing these monthly(ish) updates and showing the good and the … Read more
Over the last few years we’ve been trying to attract beneficial wildlife to our property and more specifically to our garden. When we bought our property there wasn’t much “life” in our soil and other than mosquitoes there weren’t really any insects. So, we’ve been building wildlife habits to attract bees, frogs, and useful insects. … Read more
Have you ever done something for years and then did an internet search on it? oh my! My head is spinning after reading all the complicated ways of explaining succession planting. I’m here to tell you it’s not that hard or complicated. Now, I do have somewhat of a “laissez faire” attitude about gardening. Not … Read more
{Note: The Mother Earth Homesteading Summit is this week. Each day you can listen (for free) to homesteaders who are doing some pretty interesting things. BUT you have to register which you can do here.} Well goodness, I think the heat has finally broken for a few months. We’ve had several days in a row … Read more
I was first introduced to foraging (finding wild edible plants) by my husband who happens to be an Eagle Scout. Early in our marriage he found a an empty field that used to have a nursery on it and it was full of blackberry brambles. Carl loves to explore and every where we have lived … Read more
Seed tape is fantastic for direct sowing small seeds into the garden. Of course, you can buy seed tape but it’s much more expensive than just a packet of regular seeds. Fortunately, it’s super easy to make your own seed tape at home. The best part is, you probably already have all the things you … Read more
Goodness, our July garden is barely hanging on. We’ve had 100°F temperatures almost every day for over a month and they will continue for at least another month. In years past I would work really hard at trying to keep the garden alive through the heat. I’ve learned that we really just need to focus on keeping … Read more
I have a very special treat for you today, in addition to our own garden update, we’re going to go on a virtual garden tour of eleven other gardens! I always love seeing what other people are growing, and how they are growing food, herbs and flowers. Plus, on this tour you will visit gardens … Read more
When we planted our garden this spring (early to mid March) I knew I was going to have to just be grateful for whatever our garden produced this year. During our normal planting time Carl was in Manila, Philippines with MetroWorld Child which meant that the beds weren’t prepared quite like we like them because our … Read more
So, I know it’s a few days into May but I took these photos about a week ago and just couldn’t get the post written before April ended. But I wanted to share them with you and what’s going on right now in our garden. Our April garden is doing great! We’ve had enough rain … Read more
Well, spring is finally here! Although I know many of us didn’t really have much of a winter, it’s nice to have spring here. I’m finding myself lingering outside each day and “walking the garden” as we call it. Not really working, although I probably should be pulling weeds, but just checking on things and … Read more