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 from your kitchen windowsill, 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.
Knowing how much to plant to feed your family for a year is a great help when you’re planning out your garden. What one family of 4 needs is not necessarily what another family of 4 needs, so much depends on taste preferences, your climate, and whether you’re growing vegetable for just eating fresh or …
When most people think about the food garden, they think about annuals like tomatoes, cucumbers, and broccoli. But there are many perennial vegetables, fruits, and herbs that will grow in all but the very coldest gardening zones. Every year we try to plant edible perennials in our garden. Our goals is that over time we’ll …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 – …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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. …
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 …
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 …
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 …
Note: Each week I try to share a popular post from the archives. This post was originally published in February 2014 Saturday we’re having Gabriel’s Eagle Scout Court of Honor here at our house. He passed his Eagle Scout Board of Review in October but since he wanted to have his Court of Honor here we …
Growing a fruit garden on your property will give you years of harvest as most fruits are perennial plants. Your backyard orchard will provide food for your family and wildlife and add beauty and shade to your property. Since the day we moved here (even before that really) we knew we wanted to grow a …
Aww, fruit trees! It’s been said that the best time to plant a fruit tree is yesterday – because they take so long to produce. And while it’s true that you won’t get fruit the first year you plant a fruit tree it doesn’t have to take years and years to get fruit either. There …
We don’t really ever finish gardening here. We have slow months and busy months but since we garden year round, we never take a complete gardening break. Even so, I’m learning the importance of closing out one gardening season and begin another by not using our entire garden for each season. Now, the spring and early summer it’s …
While most of our organic gardening friends in the National Organic Harvest 2015 project are bringing in the vast majority of their harvest right now, we’re not. Our big harvest time is June and July and then we wait a few months and start planting the fall garden. Right now we are harvesting peppers, basil, …
Did you know that September is National Organic Harvesting Month? Well, it is! We’re celebrating by teaming up with seven other bloggers in a month long promotion. Each week we’ll cover a different theme and the last week we’ll have a couple of super cool giveaways. If you’re on social media you can follow #organicharvest15. I …
The time to start planning the fall garden is when it’s still summer. The time to plant your fall garden will depend on your climate. Some of us will start planting our fall garden in July and some of us won’t plant our fall garden until October. If you plan well and plant frost tolerant …