I should warn you. This herbal apple cider vinegar hair rinse was a gateway into all things herbalism and foraging for me. It is beyond easy to make and is SO effective that my eyes opened wide to the possibility of creating all of my own plant magic.

Three common methods for trellising tomatoes are the single stake method, the low and lean method, and the cattle panel method. We’ve got a bed dedicated to each method in our garden this year to compare them side by side. Each of these trellising methods has pros and cons and can be adapted for different types of tomatoes or growing conditions. The following post will review each type in detail and share anecdotes from our experiment, including our failures!

Due to its long growing season, garlic is a crop that is planted and harvested once - not succession planted throughout the year like some other crops. Harvesting a year’s supply of garlic all at once means that the harvest, curing, and storage must be done with care.

The garden is a perfect canvas for play-based learning, offering endless opportunities for children to explore and discover. As they dig their hands into the soil, they learn about the life cycle of plants and the importance of nurturing them.

A cut flower is a flower grown to be harvested for bouquets and flower arrangements. Cut flowers are usually known for their long vase life (how long a bloom stays alive after being cut), colorful or dramatic blooms, long stems, unique foliage, or all of the above. Cut flowers can be perennials (plant comes back year after year), annuals (planted every year), bulbs, tubers, or rhizomes.

The greatest gift of gardening has been connecting with plants beyond my diet. It’s the kind of thing I feel silly for saying out loud, because, duh! Obviously, manufacturers are getting their plant-based products from someone who is growing them, right? Turns out I can be that someone for myself and create cleaner products to nourish my skin.

Traditionally hügelkultur has been used as a way to build soil. Typically you would dig a hole in the ground, line it with large logs (preferably ones that have started rotting or decomposing), stack it with smaller ones, add mulch or leafy debris, and then top it with compost and soil. By the time this pile is constructed, you have a mound that is as tall as it is wide.

We could dig up a really complex and scientific definition of companion planting but it’s really just when two or more different crops are planted in the same vicinity in order to benefit at least one of the plants. There are a lot of benefits that companion planting can provide, which is what can make it a little overwhelming.

Purchasing seeds can seem like a big investment but growing from seed can actually save you a lot of money when you have a large garden. A packet of seeds is usually $2-$5 and can produce 10-100+ plants. A start from a nursery is $3-$5 and will produce 1-3 plants (typically just one but sometimes there’s an extra one or two plants in that pot!). This post will share where and what seeds I purchased for this season and reflect on some of the mistakes I’ve made in the past.

I have been organizing my seeds and grouping them by date and type of planting for a few years now. All of the seeds I will start indoors the first week of February are grouped together with a cover sheet that has the date. I created some dividers based on this system and laminated them. I used a dry erase marker on them to mark dates so I can reuse them year after year. I loved them so much that I want to share them with you!

The more independent and mobile your baby gets, the more attentive and flexible you need to be. I said a lot of “don’t eat that”, “that’s not ripe yet” and did a lot of diverting. I found it rewarding to spend time with her outside and teach her something new. “Here’s a dandelion. It’s yellow. Can you find me another dandelion?”.

Gardening is a great way to promote the activity and life cycles of pollinators. You can naturally attract, protect, and promote the activity of pollinators by using these simple tips!

Seed packets are akin to food labels, it seems no one really reads them anymore and if they do, they aren’t sure what they’re reading. There’s a lot of jargon that I often take for granted - hardiness zone, hardening, direct sow, transplant, maturity, annual, biennial, and that’s just on the seed packet! Let’s decode some of this info so you can get growing with confidence this season!

I was reflecting on the list of books that I’ve read the last two years and realized that my favorites brought me into nature. In some the main characters share my reverence for our natural world. In others they are masters of it in a way in order to survive. Then there’s the character that finds connection to forgotten history through nature.

DIY shampoo?!? Yes! AND it was super simple. This post will break down the ingredients, process (two-ways), and give a review after using the shampoo.

I am finally coming up for air after spending the month of October with various colds, coughs, and viruses (yes, THE virus!). The fall is already a tough time for my sinuses since I have severe environmental allergies this time of the year. I’ve turned to herbalism and natural remedies for keeping symptoms under control and to build up my immune system to prevent another round of illness.

You can’t talk about eating seasonally in the fall and not talk about brussels sprouts! It quickly became a favorite of mine when I figured out how to cook it. Shocking how that works, right?

Ginger beer is a very different beverage than ginger ale! Ginger ale is a soft drink that is very sweet, has mild ginger flavor, and added carbonation. Ginger beer is a naturally effervescent beverage made from fermented ginger. It’s less sweet than ginger ale and has a lot bolder of a ginger taste.

Fermentation is a natural transformation that happens in our foods caused by wild microorganisms under ideal conditions. 

Herbalism is one of the things that fell into my lap once I began homesteading.

I became aware of the healing power of many plants that were already growing naturally or intentionally in my garden.