Growing
Planting Kale in the Fall Garden
Planting kale isn’t just a spring activity in our gardens. When spring crops wilt from summer’s heat, and we have the pantry lined with the fruits of our labors, we till up the soil and plant a fall garden.
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Black Currants: America’s Delicious Forbidden Fruit
Black currants are easy-to-grow, requiring very little care, which was perfect for us! One spring, we were buying baby fruit trees at our local nursery and were excited about starting a small orchard on our 10-acre homestead.
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Mullein, Not Just a Common Weed
You will find mullein, a woolly-leafed, tall-stemmed biannual, along roadsides, in meadows, and riparian corridors throughout the United States and Canada.
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Milkweed Plant: A Truly Remarkable Wild Vegetable
Milkweed plant isn’t your average weed; in fact, I feel guilty calling it a weed at all. The common milkweed, Asclepias syriacqa, is one of the best known wild plants in North America.
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Building a Cheap, Seasonal Greenhouse
A greenhouse can be crucial for extending the growing season. It keeps plants warm while letting in a full day’s worth of sunlight.
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Sea Buckthorn: It Started With a Prayer
Studies have shown sea buckthorn is able to actually remove cholesterol from arteries. The seed and berry oil are used topically after radiation exposure due to medical treatments, accidental exposure or severe frostbite/sunburn.
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How Do Greenhouses Work?
Greenhouses are useful for growing produce out of season or starting seeds and cuttings earlier than your climate allows. This jump-start allows us to extend our growing season.
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A Market Garden Planner for Profit
Whether you’re using paper and pencil or an online market garden planner, why not start dreaming? It could be the start of a long-term, sustainable business venture for you!
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What is Rotational Grazing and Why is it Misunderstood?
Many people want to know what is rotational grazing and why is it misunderstood? Good grazing practices are often thought of as rotational grazing, but this is at best a half-truth.
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Evergreen Tree Care and Diseases
Learning the basics of evergreen tree care can yield a bounty of useful products for your homestead. In addition to shade, wind insulation, and oxygen production, various evergreens can yield nuts, edible buds, as well as inner bark and needles for tea.
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Growing Hemp on the Homestead
Recent interest in growing hemp as an agricultural crop isn’t as recent as you might think. Hemp is an ancient plant. Evidence points to the plant’s use 10,000 years ago where it has been used for centuries as a form of textile fiber.
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Nominate a Homesteader for the I Am Countryside Feature
Add to Favorites Know a homesteader who inspires others? Want to see them featured in Countryside & Small Stock Journal? Send a note and have them fill out the questionnaire below …
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A Simple Raised Bed Design
About a year ago, my wife and I moved across the country to acreage in Wisconsin. While we have many plans for the land, our immediate short-term goals were as follows: 1) Convert the existing garden into a chicken run and renovate a chicken coop, 2) Build raised beds close to the back of the house so the whole family can enjoy growing their favorite veggies and herbs.
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Growing Potatoes in a Bag or a Bucket
Potatoes are almost foolproof. They’ll grow and produce as long as the soil is fertile, water is available, the sun shines, and the plant doesn’t freeze.
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How to Add Calcium to Soil
Ensuring your soils have an adequate level of available calcium should be an essential part of your field fertilization practices for several reasons. Here’s why and how to add calcium to soil on your homestead.
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