A few years ago I had a mission to plant more fruit in my garden. Besides various melons (like these and these), I found an historic, annual, heirloom berry called Wonderberry. Here is what you need to know about it. To be honest, I’m not sure if my ...
Vegetables
Summer Squash Success
I’m always trying new things in the garden. For a couple of bucks I can get a package of seeds and satisfy my curiosity. Summer squash produce quickly and abundantly, so it’s worth the minimal effort it takes to grow them! Let’s check out two ...
Grow Onions From and For Seed
Learn about the whole lifecycle of onions, from planting seeds to collecting seeds! This staple of the garden and kitchen takes on a whole new life as a beautiful allium flower as we explore how to become more self-sufficient by discovering how to ...
Grow Your Own Leeks
Maybe I just like leeks because they reach out of the typical garden fair, like carrots and onions, into the realm of unique. But there are many worthwhile reasons to grow leeks, such as being frost tolerant and largely pest free. I’ve been ...
Grow Your Own Dry Beans
Is your dinner plate looking a little green? Do you need something to round out your garden produce? I’m not even talking about potatoes. Dry beans are a fantastic way to add some satisfying protein to a garden produced meal. This year I grew ...
Carrots: Sowing, Storing, Saving Seed
There is a reason carrots are so popular in the garden – cold hardy, pest and disease resistant, and easy to grow once germinated. But the only reason you really need to grow carrots is the sweet, earthy taste of a garden carrot that you just can’t ...
Air Drying Herbs
During summer and fall, the shelves I start seeds on turn into drying racks for various herbs. Drying herbs is a great way to store them when freezer space is a hot commodity. Dry herbs do not use costly electric power for storage. Drying is also a ...
I'm Erika, I live on eighty acres in the northern prairies of southern Manitoba with my husband and four kids. Here, we enjoy the outdoors and try to be more self sufficient as we try new things in the garden and learn about our land and the world around us.