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Home gardening: How to start your spring garden

March 08, 2023 -

If you're a gardening beginner, it's never too early to start planning your spring garden. Spring crops are great for beginners because they are some of the easiest, most resilient and quickest growing veggies.Benefits of starting a spring garden

If you have doubts about planning a garden, these benefits might help change your mind:

Planning ahead means you can prepare and relieve some of the stress that comes ...

Home gardening tips: How to start tomatoes from seed

December 09, 2022 -

If you're not sure where to start, try learning how to start tomatoes from seed.

Starting tomato plants from seed offers several benefits. First, it gives you an early start to enable a longer harvest. It can also help prevent diseases, which means you make the most of your plants in the garden.

Knowing how to start tomatoes from seed can help you save on groceries, especially since prices are steadily increasing store prices. If you know how to start tomatoes ...

Gardening tips: How to grow greens and microgreens indoors

December 08, 2022 -

Starting a home garden can help if you want to cut food costs. But if you don't have enough space for a garden, you can still feed your family nutritious food by growing greens and microgreens indoors.

With the right techniques and tools, you can grow and harvest greens and microgreens even in winter.Tips for growing salad greens

Growing salad greens is easier compared to growing microgreens. If you have a home garden or an indoor garden, you may already have the ...

Home gardening tips: How to grow onions from seed

November 30, 2022 -

If you have excess crops, you can sell them or make preserved onions for your stockpile to consume throughout the year.

Compared to other vegetables and herbs, onions are usually very low-maintenance once planted. If you plant the right varieties, you can store onions for up to 12 months.Types of onions and onion varieties

When growing onions, especially if you want to grow enough for your family for at least one year, you need to start by choosing the right ...

Home gardening tips: How to maintain a drought-resistant garden

January 31, 2023 -

Before SHTF, you need to learn how to survive in an area with limited water, especially if you are prepping for your whole family and you have a garden on your property.

Here are some of the different aspects of drought-resistant gardening. (h/t to PreppersWill.com)Water is important

You need water to stay alive.

Agriculture is one of the most important uses of water and most farmers rely on rainwater for at least 85 percent of their water needs. The remainder ...

Prepper food supply: Optimizing gardening calories for your survival stockpile

December 02, 2022 -

But if you want to make the most of your garden crops, think of the gardening calories resulting from your vegetable garden. This means carefully choosing which vegetables to grow and the number of calories that you will get from those vegetables. (h/t to ModernSurvivalBlog.com)Gardening calories and sustainability

Another option is to plan on gardening to be a significant or exclusive source of calories together with other food sources, like raising other protein foods ...

Home gardening basics: How to keep composting during the winter

November 17, 2022 -

Don't let the cold deter you from composting. Once you figure out what you need to do, it's easier to keep your compost pile going late into the winter months.

You can also take the time to save and store additional ingredients to improve next spring’s compost pile.

You can never have enough compost. By keeping your composting efforts going throughout winter, your plants and soil will be healthier next year. (Related: Home gardening tips: A beginner’s guide to ...

Gardening tips: How to start a concrete block raised bed garden

June 26, 2023 -

If you want to grow different crops in lousy soil, you can do so with a concrete block raised bed garden. (h/t to SurviveDoomsday.com)

Usually, stacks of concrete blocks are associated with building construction sites, not gardens, so it is unusual to see tomato plants sticking out of them.

While the idea of putting a rectangular stack of concrete blocks in your yard sounds like an eyesore, you can make sure they complement your landscaping by planning ahead.

There ...

Home gardening essentials: Here’s how to use tarps for your garden

March 10, 2023 -

But according to Bob Rogers of Survivopedia, tarps can also be used in your home garden. (h/t to Survivopedia.com)What is tarping?

Rogers writes about tarping, which he discovered during a visit to a friend's farm in Oregon. His friend used tarping for weed control and season extension, giving him an advantage over his fellow farmers.

Tarping is a method that involves covering crop beds with tarps. This then warms the soil and gets rid of spring-emergent weeds a ...

Gardening tips for preppers: How to start a medicinal herb garden

October 28, 2022 -

If you want easy access to healing medicinal herbs, plant herbs like calendula and lavender in your home garden.

You can start an herb garden in your homestead, or in a container garden if you live in an apartment in the city. (h/t to TheEpochTimes.com)Benefits of having a medicinal herb garden

While you can simply buy medicinal herbs at a health food store, it's better to grow your own herbs because of these amazing benefits:

Beginners can easily grow ...

13 Things to add to your to-do list for summer gardening

June 29, 2023 -

Organize, sharpen, sanitize and restore your gardening tools

Sharp-rust-free tools will make your gardening tasks much easier – whether it means digging into the soil or cutting through weeds.

If you keep your tools in good shape, you won't need to replace them as often.

Remove any rust or build-up that might be corroding them. Once the tarnish is removed, add a coat of boiled linseed oil to help stop the oxidation process. For shovels and trowels, you can use a handheld ...

Growing your own food: Gardening resources for beginner, intermediate and advanced gardeners

May 22, 2023 -

Science-backed resources

Your local extension office is one of the best authoritative resources backed by arboretums or botanical gardens and universities. For instance, with a vast network of 250 county Extension offices, 616 Extension agents, and 343 subject-matter specialists, the expertise provided by AgriLife Extension is available to every resident in every Texas county.

When searching for information online, add the word "extension" to your search. The search engine ...

Home gardening tips: How to make the best compost for healthy crops

May 16, 2023 -

But if you don't know what you're doing, you'll sometimes end up with smelly, useless sludge instead of compost.

To avoid this, learn some tips and tricks to produce good compost for your home garden. (h/t to SurvivalJack.com)What you can compost

Start by learning which materials can be safely added to your compost pile.

Avoid the following materials because they will attract pests and produce unpleasant odors:

Here are other materials ...

Home gardening tips: How to create potting soil for hanging baskets and containers

April 23, 2023 -

To save money, you can learn how to do this at home using a simple formula. Keep reading to find out how to create potting soil for your home garden. (h/t to OldWorldGardenFarms.com)Getting started with potting soil

A plant’s root system will thrive below the surface if you use quality soil. And when roots thrive, so will your plant.

But what makes potting soil great?

Potting soil needs to be light, with loose, well-draining soil with lots of nutrients.

These ...

Gardening 101: How to use fertilizer properly for healthy plants with better yields

April 05, 2023 -

Just like humans have different dietary needs, different plants usually need more than a bag of 10-10-10 fertilizer. In some cases, 10-10-10 fertilizer can be bad for plants. For example, once fruits and vegetables start flowering, they will need something other than 10-10-10 fertilizer.

If you're new to home gardening, fertilizer selection can be intimidating. But with some research and practice, you will learn which fertilizers your crops will need during the growing ...

The science behind the benefits of gardening for mental health and well-being

January 12, 2023 -

Read on to know the science behind all these benefits of gardening for mental health and well-being.Cognitive benefits

A study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health reported significantly increased levels of the brain nerve growth factors associated with memory and cognitive function in senior individuals who were recruited to make a vegetable garden.

From a local community in Gwanjin-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 41 seniors ...

Gardening tips: 12 Non-toxic ways to get rid of weeds in your driveway

May 23, 2023 -

Weeds come in all shapes and sizes, and they can take over almost anywhere, including your driveway. If you want to keep your driveway free of weeds, here are some non-toxic methods to try. (h/t to NewLifeOnAHomestead.com)

While store-bought weed killers are effective, they aren't safe to use if you have pets, livestock or young children around who could be exposed to the many harmful chemicals in them.

Below are several options to try if you are looking for a safe ...

Home gardening basics: How to make seed starting mix and start your own seedlings

March 03, 2023 -

Knowing how to start seedlings can also help you get one step closer to a thriving garden without breaking the bank. (h/t to TheOrganicPrepper.com)Benefits of making your own seed starting mix and starting your own seedlings

If money isn't an issue or you're a gardening newbie looking for a convenient option, you can buy supplies like commercial mixes and seedlings at the garden center.

But if you're worried about going over your budget, you can start your own seedlings....

Gardening, art and more: 6 Home improvement projects that can help boost your mental health

January 25, 2023 -

As a prepper, some projects can help enhance the value of your property and also help boost your mental health, like starting a home garden. (h/t to ThePreparedNinja.com)

As studies have shown, your physical and mental health are closely linked. Mental illness can be caused by or worsened by chronic illnesses that affect the brain and nervous systems, like diabetes or multiple sclerosis.

And if you have these conditions, you may experience depression and an overall ...

Sustainable gardening: What you need to know and do if your land is composed of clay soil

April 10, 2023 -

Identify your soil type

Knowing whether your soil type is chalk, clay, loam, peat, sand or silt will help you determine your soil’s exact condition so you can improve it more effectively and economically.

According to the Royal Horticultural Society, the best way to tell what type of soil you have is by touching it, rolling it in your hands, squeezing it, pouring water onto it to see if it drains quickly, and doing an acid test.

Clay soil has a smearing quality. ...