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Mastering Brussels Sprouts Growing Stages for a Bountiful Harvest
If you’re reading this article, I’m going to assume you’re a proud member of the group of people who love Brussels sprouts! I’ll be honest, I didn’t eat one until adulthood when I became a gardener. In that way I’m spoiled because I never had to suffer through frozen or grocery store sprouts. […]
Easily Freezing Swiss Chard: No-Cook Method
If you’re a chard lover you’ll definitely want to put “freezing swiss chard” on your fall to do list! There’s no doubt about it, chard is one of the most colorful vegetables you’ll grow in your garden. It comes in a rainbow of hues that aren’t found in many other vegetables – reds, pinks, oranges, […]
9 quick steps for storing fresh carrots from the garden
If you’ve successfully mastered the art of growing carrots you may find yourself with a surplus at some point during the season. That’s why it’s important to know how to store carrots from the garden so you can enjoy the fruits of your labor for many weeks and months. Carrots are one of the most […]
Storing your homegrown onions for winter
Onions are one of my favorite vegetables to grow in my garden each year. Most seasons I plant between 300-500 and the majority of them go into storage so we can eat our own onions all winter long. Figuring out how to store garden onions can be tricky, but I’ve been doing it successfully for […]
How to store beets from your garden when you have a bumper harvest
A common thing that happens in our gardens is that we end up planting too much of some vegetables and then come harvest time we have more than we can possibly eat. Beets are definitely one of these vegetables! No matter how much you love beets (there’s a phrase I would never have written 20 […]
Preserving Tomatoes: Save Time With This Quick Hack
There’s nothing quite like pulling out a container of your own tomatoes to throw into a recipe in the middle of winter. Jarred and canned tomato sauce from the supermarket can’t hold a candle to the bursting flavor of tomatoes grown in your own garden and preserved for use in delicious meals in the off-season. […]
My philosophy?
Get more with less.
Keep it simple.
Learn how to garden the smart way & get great results.
We’ll start with the top 5 mistakes to avoid.
Recent
Perfect Timing: When is a Tomatillo Ready to Pick?
Tomatillos aren’t just green tomatoes! They’re a unique vegetable with it’s own tangy taste that’s nothing like its cousin tomato. They may not be as popular in home gardens, but those of us who do grow them have learned that they’re extremely productive and definitely deserve space in our garden beds. Although tomatillos definitely fall […]
Are Tomatillos Self-Pollinating? A Gardener’s Guide
One season, I was tending to a client’s garden and her tomatillo plant was flowering, but wasn’t producing any fruit. I was confused because usually tomatillos are super productive. It’s easy to grow more than you can use in your kitchen. What the heck was going on? I was comparing the tomatillo plants in my […]
The Big Question: How Long Does It Take for Tomatoes to Grow?
I know we all agree, there’s nothing quite like the taste of a homegrown tomato straight from the garden! No wonder it’s one of the most popular vegetables grown by gardeners. Since you’re probably counting down the days until your first harvest, you’re likely wondering how long does it take for tomatoes to grow? It […]
The Great Debate! Choosing Between Bush Beans vs Pole Beans
True fact: I rarely buy green beans from the grocery store. I find them to be waxy and virtually tasteless most of the time. They’re one of the vegetables I only eat during their growing season. That’s why I think they’re one of the most “worth it” vegetables to grow in your garden. One of […]
When to Start Seeds Indoors in Zone 5 Demystified
I’ve lived and gardened in zone 5 (Madison, Wisconsin) for the bulk of my gardening life, over 20 years! This zone is no joke with bitterly cold winters and hot, humid summers – we have it all. The winters are long in Wisconsin, which is one of the reasons why I love starting seeds for […]
Seed to Harvest: Growing Pumpkins in Raised Beds
After building several different gardens of my own and working with hundreds of gardeners over the years, I’ve found that building and growing vegetables in raised beds is the best choice for most people. Raised beds offer lots of important benefits: they require less work to prepare in spring and less long term maintenance, they’re […]
Books to help you get the most from your vegetable garden
Grow more vegetables than ever in your garden this season. This book is a fresh and simple approach to planning your garden. At the end, you’ll have a personalized blueprint for what a successful season in your garden looks like.
Eat food from your garden all year round! Preserving food doesn’t have to be difficult or take up a lot of time. And if you think canning is the only option – this book is for you! I’ll teach you how easy it can be to use your basement, fridge, and freezer instead.
FALL
Harvesting Leeks Like a Pro: Tips from the Garden
I’m not shy about how much I love growing alliums in my garden. Every fall I plant 220 garlic and each spring 500 onions. I harvest and cure them in my garage in mid July and in fall I transfer them to my basement to use throughout the winter so I never have to buy […]
What Kind of Garlic Varieties Should You Plant?
Interested in growing garlic? You’re in luck – garlic is one of the easiest crops to grow in the home garden. You can plant a large amount in a small space, it doesn’t have many pests or diseases, and it loves cold weather. And if you live in a very cold climate like mine in […]
Immediately Improve Your Garden By Mulching in the Fall
When the cooler weather of fall arrives most of us dig out our chunky sweaters, queue up our gloves by the front door, and search for our missing stocking cap which hasn’t been seen since last spring. Why do we automatically do these tasks? Because it’s time to cover up for winter. You wouldn’t go outside […]
Prepare Your Vegetable Garden for Winter: 6 Tasks for Your To Do List
When the calendar flips over to the fall season many gardeners immediately hang up their gardening gloves for the year and don’t bother preparing their vegetable gardens for winter. This is a mistake! If you take some time in fall to prepare your vegetable garden for winter, you’ll reap the rewards the next spring with […]
Frost cloth: The best way to keep your harvests going in fall
This post contains affiliate links. Does this sound like a familiar fall scene? You scrambling around your garden in the dark with a flashlight on a chilly night, trying to harvest all the vegetables you want to save before the first hard frost descends on your garden. You’re ready for it to be over, but […]
Planting Garlic in Fall for a Spectacular Harvest
Planting garlic in fall is a symbolic act in my opinion. You’re declaring to Mother Nature that you’re coming back next year and are already planning for the harvest. The cyclical nature of the gardening season is beautifully represented in your garlic crop’s progression throughout the year – planting in fall, hibernating in winter, sprouting […]
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