How to fill a raised garden bed (and save money)

vegetables growing in metal raised bed

Raised garden beds are so very convenient and can be a great way to grow food on practically any land. But raised beds can be expensive to fill with soil, especially if they’re really tall. The good news is that you can use a variety of materials to cheaply fill raised beds and save money … Read more

Quick Start Guide to Growing Food

A collection of baskets filled with fresh produce, including growing okra, tomatoes, and various peppers, displayed outdoors. The vibrant colors of red, orange, and green create a bountiful and inviting scene.

It is possible to grow enough food to feed your family even if you live on a small piece of property. Maybe not 100% of your fruit and vegetable needs but, honestly, I don’t know anyone who grows 100% of their food. This is a really long article, so you might want to grab a … Read more

What you need to know about mulch for the vegetable garden

image of vegetable garden with hay mulch

Using mulch in the vegetable garden isn’t just about having a prettier garden. Mulch can help control weeds, build the soil, reduce watering, and much more. So, exactly what is mulch? What is mulch? There are various definitions of mulch but basically it’s anything that you put on the soil around a plant – usually … Read more

DIY Irrigation Systems to Save Water in The Garden

Milk Jug Irrigation is a great way to make sure that your garden gets watered deeply during the summer.

Sometimes I feel like some of the things our family does would qualify in the list “You might be a ______ if…”; You can fill in the blank…redneck, crazy woman, frugal gardener, whatever. Our diy irrigation system for the garden probably qualifies us as one of those things. Ensuring that your garden gets adequate water … Read more

How much to plant to feed your family?

basket of garden veggies

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 … Read more

Fall Gardening in Zone 9 {with links to other zones}

dinosaur kale in fall garden in zone 9

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

Frugal Gardening Tips: How to Save Money in the Backyard Garden

baskets of garden fresh veggies on ground

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

How to read a seed packet

There is a lot of information on the average seed packet and it can be confusing to the new gardener. Learn how to read a seed packet and improve your gardening skills.

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

Succession planting for a more bountiful harvest

Succession planting is a great way to get an abundant harvest. It does take a bit of planning but once you get the hang of it, it's super easy. Learn the different methods and when to use them.

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

8 Tips for Ethical Foraging and Finding Wild Edible Plants

Ethical foraging ensures that there will be edible and medicinal wild plants available in the future. It also means protecting your family, the environment and the plants.

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

Self Supporting Bridge

A person in jeans and flip-flops stands on a partially constructed self-supporting bridge. The text reads "How To Build a Self-Supporting Bridge" from SchneiderPeeps.com. Logs are arranged to form the bridge base on grassy ground.

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 … Read more

How to Close Out Your Gardening Season

Papers with grid designs and garden layouts rest on a wooden table, capturing the essence of the gardening season. A pen and seed packets are scattered nearby. The text reads "Closing out the Gardening Season" with a website URL at the bottom.

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 … Read more

How to make harvesting easier

There are so many harvesting tools that can make the job so much easier. Fortunately, most of them are easy to find and don't cost much money at all. Here is my can't live without super frugal gardening tools list.

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 … Read more

How to easily plan and plant a fall garden

Gardening doesn't stop with the end of summer. Fall and even winter is a great time to garden. But it takes some planning. Learn how to plan your fall garden.

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 … Read more

In the garden…leaf footed bugs

A large swarm of leaf footed bugs crawls over a green plant bearing round, orange fruit. The text reads, "Leaf Footed Bugs: what they are and how to get rid of them. SchneiderPeeps.com.

Note: Once a week I share a popular post from the archives. This post was originally published in June 2012. We planted several different varieties of tomatoes this year. We planted Rutgers, Romas, Purple Cherokee, Lemon Boy, Yellow Pear and Yellow Cherry tomatoes. They have all done well and after the season is over I’ll share … Read more

How to use waterwise plants in landscape design

SchneiderPeeps - Using waterwise plants in your landscape design. Low water perennials can help you have a beautiful, low-fuss garden. Not sure what perennials are low water? This article has a great list.

Last week we dipped below freezing for probably the last time this winter. so this weekend we spent Saturday working in the garden and flower beds. Just so you know, I’m not much of an ornamental gardener. We’ve moved many times and my focus is always on growing food first. But now that we are going into our … Read more

How to get the most out of your gardening zone

A wicker basket brimming with ripe tomatoes rests on a grassy patch. Text overlay reads, "Zone 9 Gardening plus 12 articles for zones 3-8" with the website name "SchneiderPeeps.com" at the bottom.

When you look at the back of seed packets you’ll see a map of the US (if you live in the US) with colors on it; those are USDA gardening zones. Each zone represents a certain average low temperature for that area and are 10 degrees apart. I live along the Texas Gulf Coast which … Read more