Across the country, market demand for raspberries far exceeds availability and provides an ideal opportunity for homesteaders to cultivate the fruit for local markets as well as home use. A berry …
Growing Grapes
Grapes are one of the oldest propagated crops and with good reason! These beautiful fruits are delicious and versatile foods used for snacking, canning, freezing, and of course, winemaking. Even if …
Winter Fruits: 8 Garden Additions For The Cold Months
As the summer winds its way into fall, it's a good time to start thinking about preparing your garden for the darker, cooler days ahead. Hopefully, you've made dandelion wine, dried all your herbs, …
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Pruning Apple Trees
Apple trees truly are giving trees. In spring, their fragrant, pale blossoms dot the landscape with a welcome, hopeful change from the soggy grays and browns of late winter. In summer, their lush …
8 Low Sugar Fruits: A Safer Way To Snack
Fruits are nature's candy and offer an array of flavors, colors, and textures for us to enjoy. But these sweet treats are so appealing because of their high sugar content, and if you're on a low-sugar …
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Wild Grapes
31Among the wild food just waiting to be plucked from open fields, deep forests, lush riverbanks and country roadsides, wild grapes have got to be a favorite. If you’re a fan of the delicious fruit, …
How To Eat A Persimmon
When I first moved to California, the house we rented had a mature Fuyu persimmon tree in the front yard. I had never tasted a persimmon before and didn't know what to make of them. It wasn't long …
Growing Strawberries
Everyone who gardens knows that homegrown food is more delicious than what you can buy in the store. Strawberries are the prime example.Since a perfectly ripe strawberry is even more juicy and …
How To Tell If A Watermelon Is Ripe
To say my daughter is a melon fan is a gross understatement. This child could live on melon alone, and left to her own devices, she probably would. Her favorite melon being the watermelon, we made it …
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9 Tasty Apple Varieties You Should Try
Dad climbed into the passenger seat. The children were already settled in the back. We were off to the orchard to pick apples, bring them home, and make some much-loved applesauce and apple pie. Dad …
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Homestead Stories: Great Grandpa’s Rhubarb
The first heavy frost has just hit and the temperature has taken a nose dive well below freezing. The gardens are all tucked in their beds, well covered with leaves.Little nobs still poke their …
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Cultivating Thimbleberries In The Homestead Garden
Thimbleberry (Rubus parviflorus Nutt.) is a common bramble plant found growing in the wild on sunny, sub-alpine, mountainous slopes and avalanche tracks from Alaska to California. In fact, …
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How To Start A Blueberry Patch With Three Plants
There are many reasons why you should introduce blueberries into your landscape, and the first is they’re delicious. Blueberries are a tiny, but mighty fruit that packs a punch. Full of antioxidants, …
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Planting Currant Bushes
Currants are a great addition to any homestead. Native to the United States, currants are a flavorful and versatile berry used in jellies, jams, wine, cordials, puddings, and pies. Currants, no matter …
Growing Blackberries
Blackberries are easy to grow. A diverse array of blackberry varieties are native to almost all of North America. They are especially abundant in areas with warm summer days, cool nights, and plenty …
Companion Planting For Melons
As any experienced gardener will tell you, it takes a whole lot more than sun and soil to successfully cultivate a homestead garden. Moisture, nutrition, as well as weed and pest control are …
Companion Planting For Strawberries
The sweetest, juiciest strawberries you’ll ever enjoy will come from a home garden. By growing strawberries at home, you'll enjoy fully ripened, chemical-free berries. Like other homegrown produce, …
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Best Canning Recipes
Canning is a fun project that gets your hands dirty, keeps your food fresh, and gives you a last-minute gift option when the holidays roll around.The key to successful canning is starting with a …
Too Many Apples Broke This Apple Tree
My Dad's running a gardening experiment in his backyard. What happens if you let an apple tree fully fruit, instead of thinning the smaller fruits in the spring?This is what happens:Yes, …
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Best Dehydrator Recipes
If you're lucky enough to have an overabundance of fruit, veggies, or meat, you also have a problem. How to preserve this bounty? Refrigeration may only keep the stuff fresh for a few days. Freezing? …
Organic Codling Moth Control
In Western Washington, our apple trees have two major enemies: codling moths and apple maggots. While codling moths can be a nuisance (they don’t ruin the apple), apple maggots can leave the entire …
Organic Choices
CC Photo by Roving-Aye! on FlickrFruits And Vegetables with Lowest Pesticide Loads:For detailed USDA specifics see below...Onions: Insects leave onions alone.Scallions: Insects leave …
Best Fruit Trees for Seattle
At my permaculture design course last weekend the guest speaker was Douglas Bullock, of the well-known Bullock Brothers Permaculture Homestead on Orcas Island. Douglas was lecturing on the overall …
