Heirloom treasures are one of the most precious things that can be passed down the family line, especially when family members are represented through the years. This embroidered tablecloth can be made and used at the holidays, and will serve as a precious memory of past holiday gatherings. Handmade Holidays has pretty much been my theme for 2020, and I have really been ...
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How to Make a Small Plant Cage in 15 Minutes
Small animals can really do a number on our seedlings. Their tender leaves are so yummy to chickens, rabbits, squirrels and other pests. It's not unusual to find that our seedlings have been chewed down to the stems if we are not careful to protect them. Here's how to make a small plant cage that will protect your seedlings until they are large enough to withstand small ...
How to Make a Simple Organic Banana Peel Fertilizer for a Healthy Garden
Most plants need a certain amount of these top three macronutrients: nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. While there are TONS of different ways to get nitrogen to your vegetable garden, there are fewer to boost potassium. Banana peels can help with that, and and banana peel fertilizer is so easy to make. Potassium helps your plants move water and nutrients between cells. ...
How to Make an Easy, Shelf Stable Homemade Fertilizer from Banana Peels
Banana peels make a great liquid homemade fertilizer to provide essential nutrients to our potassium-loving plants. But sometimes you just need a shelf-stable option, and it's tempting just to go to the store and get something that fits the bill. Instead, make this version of homemade fertilizer that you can keep on your shelf for a couple of months, ready to use! Homemade ...
Pruning Tomato Plants: 3 Guarantees for a Better Bounty
When it comes to tomatoes, they can be quite an unruly plant. That overgrowth can make harvesting a chore, not to mention "set the table" for hornworms and other pests. These and other issues can make growing tomatoes less profitable for you. Learning the skill of pruning tomato plants can help that bottom line in positive ways. Gardening can be an expensive undertaking if ...
6 Helpful Tips You Need to Know About Seed Germination
Depending on the seeds you are using, germinating seeds can be a tricky business. Some, such as tomato and pepper seeds, need more than just damp soil. So how do you know? Here are some tricks and tips to make seed germination much more fruitful all the way around. 6 Tips for Successful Seed Germination 1. Always Plant More Seeds Than You Need Nature has a way of ...
How to Start Seeds Indoors for Best Results
Are you wondering which plants you can plant now for your spring garden? The time is now to do this, and I'll show you how to start seeds indoors so they will be ready to be transplanted into the spring garden once the last frost of the season has passed. Starting seeds indoors is one of those things that becomes a bit of an itch once you have gardened for a year or two. ...
How to Make a Cheap and Effective DIY Grow Box
Almost every successful gardener has a system for starting plants from seed and caring for seedlings. Some systems work better than others, but that shouldn't stop us from trying different setups to see which one works best for our space and habits as growers. My favorite method for growing seedlings is in a diy grow box. Most of us try to start our seedlings by spending ...
How to Get Cheap Garden Supplies: Dollar Store Edition
Gardening and starting seeds indoors doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg. When starting your garden is expensive, there are so many cheap garden supplies available at the dollar store that can put money back into your pocket! Dollar stores are one of the very best places to get inexpensive garden items. Many items that you find there could cost you multiple times the ...
Garden 101: How to Start a Vegetable Garden from Scratch in the Fall
People that are new to homesteading often get a bit of a shock when they buy a house with some land because they think that it will be all ready to go once they move in. If you’re lucky, the land may be ready for growing but a lot of the time, it isn’t. If your land isn't ready for gardening quite yet, here's some information for how to start a vegetable garden from ...
How to Harvest and Store Romaine Lettuce Seeds
While purchasing seeds won't necessarily set you back a whole lot of money, as a homesteader, you are likely interested in frugality to some degree. When seed quality and frugality can intersect, all the better! This year is a great time to learn how to harvest and store your very own romaine lettuce seeds. Rather than yanking the bolted lettuce plants out of the ground ...
5 Ways to Care for Yourself In and Out of the Garden
Gardeners are tough stock. You spend time outdoors hauling dirt, yanking out dead plants, turning soil, and doing all that needs done to make a harvest. In the process, your body gets sore, fingernails dirty, and hands, dry and cracked from use. Here are 5 ways to exercise self-care in and out of the garden. Self-Care is Necessary for Everyone Though you might feel like ...