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.
The chicks are getting bigger and it’s time to put them with the big hens. We’ve put them in the run during the day and the hens have gotten along well. I’m not sure if it’s because the “flocks” are pretty even in numbers (28 hens, 28 chicks) or if it’s because there’s quite a …
I’m not sure if it happens with all beekeepers or not, but ever since people have found out that Gabriel is keeping bees he’s had several request to come get bees that are living where people don’t want them. This was one of those adventures. There were some bees living in a old propane tank …
…or maybe I should title this “the bee experiment that every beekeeper we’ve talked to has said is a really, really dumb idea.” But you know, we are just kind of like that. We get an idea in our heads and can’t seem to get it out. We know it probably won’t end well but we want …
This weekend we discovered tomato hornworms in our garden. Can you see it? Carl had to show me several times before I could figure out what he was showing me. This is how he knew something was up…leaves totally stripped from the top of a very healthy tomato plant. So now, each evening we have …
Cabbage is a staple in our kitchen during the winter and early spring, it’s probably our favorite winter vegetable. Every year we grow enough cabbage to eat fresh and preserve some for the summer. Growing cabbage in the home vegetable garden is relatively easy and a great way to have greens all winter long. Cabbage …
Last year when I started seeds, I used toilet paper rolls to start them. It worked fine. But then I saw the soil block builder and I knew I’d never be content with toilet paper rolls again. Never heard of a soil block builder? Let me introduce you. It’s this cool tool that takes soil and …
I was able to spend a few moments this weekend planning out our spring garden. I’m trying to remember to keep it simple this year. We have so many other things to do this spring and summer that I only want to plant what we can take care of reasonably well. Of course, my resolve …
We’ve been growing citrus for about 10 years and they grow quite easily in our climate. However, citrus can also be grown in pots and even indoors. Meyer lemons and satsuma oranges are great for growing citrus indoors. For the most part, all citrus has the same growing requirements. Of course, some citrus varieties are …
Our garden has pretty much had it. We still have okra and peppers coming in and a random tomato or squash much everything else has been burnt up. So here’s an update of our vegetable garden… {Tomatoes} The Celebrity tomatoes definitely gave us the most bang for our buck. We got 48.5 pounds of tomatoes …
There aren’t many vegetables that thrive in super hot weather, most will either wilt, burn up, or just stop flowering. But okra loves the heat, in fact, it needs consistent daytime temperatures above 85°F to fruit. If you live where the summers are hot, try growing okra. Okra is considered a super food with potassium, vitamin …
Last year we planted pumpkins and spaghetti squash for the first time. We harvested 12 spaghetti squash and 5 pie pumpkins. Our large pumpkins didn’t make. However, we harvested them in late July. I really wanted them a little closer to fall this year so we planted a little later. I don’t know if that …
We are beginning to pull up our garlic. This year has been a little disappointing. I think I could have watered and weeded them a little more often. But that’s okay, I will probably have enough to can with my tomatoes and onions. Next year I will purchase bulbs specifically to plant. I’ve always just …
When we planted our Roma tomatoes this year we put some of last years compost in the bed. For all the other beds we used aged hay from a friend’s horse and goats. By the time we planted the Romas we were out of farm “stuff”. I had started my Romas from seed and a …
If you go out to your garden and the squash that has been doing just fine, is suddenly wilted, you probably have vine borers. We have these every year and since we don’t spray our plants we will probably always have them. We’ve learned how to manage them over the years so that their damage …
We now have 3 different kinds of chickens, we have a mama and a daddy chicken, 17 “teenage” chickens and 12 new baby chickens. We gave our two small ones to a friend who doesn’t have a rooster. And lost a couple of the Red ones we bought. So we got 6 Orppingtons and 6 Barred Rocks. We …
Growing potatoes in the home garden is a really fun project. Potato plants require sun, well-drained soil and regular water, if you can give them those things, you can grow almost any potato variety. If you’re short on garden space, potatoes can be grown in containers or grow bags. True Potato Seeds or Seed Potatoes? …
This weekend we planted another corn patch. We have around 45 plants that we planted 6 weeks ago and they are now about 2 1/2 feet tall. (it’s hard to measure since we’ve had alot of wind and they are almost laying on the ground). They should be ready to harvest in the next 6 …
When we planted our spinach last fall I noticed that the dirt smelled like onions. Then I remembered that our green onions (sometimes called repeater onions) went to seed last summer and instead of pulling the head off the plant, we just let them fall. Some were already starting to send up green shoots. So …
Sometimes zucchini gets a bad wrap, but if you’re serious about feeding your family from your garden then growing zucchini is great way to do that. Unlike winter squash that will produce just a few squash per vine, zucchini will produce many squash per plant. There are three main types of summer squash; zucchini, yellow squash (sometimes …
Tomatoes are probably the most popular homegrown vegetable. Homegrown tomatoes are so much better than store bought tomatoes and that’s why so many people grow tomatoes. Even people who don’t garden will often plant a tomato or two in containers or sneak them into the back flower bed. For the most part, tomatoes are pretty …