Category Archives: Grow Your Own Food

Another way to start a garden

When you get ready to start a garden, it is nice to kill off all the grass, add plenty of compost, get your ground tilled up, and put together a nice garden plot.  Better yet, you could build raised beds … Continue reading

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An alternative method for staking garden plants

Some plants need to be staked for various reasons.  Some need support.  Others just make better vegetables when staked.  It is probably universally agreed that tomatoes and beans need to be staked, but others may not be so obvious. I … Continue reading

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What happens when you leave your garden alone for a few days

Recently, I was out of town for a week and this is what I found when I got home: I had a number of huge zucchini and squash on every plant!  I prefer zucchini about this size or slightly larger: … Continue reading

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Are some plants too big for raised beds?

Recently a commenter asked if plants like zucchini are too big to plant in raised beds and I would like to address the issue of plant suitability for raised beds.  First, I love raised beds and have found using them … Continue reading

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The 3 basic secrets to a great garden

During the first week of April, I planted a small garden for my parents in Mississippi.  Early in June, I was back there for a week with my parents.  While I was there, a number of their neighbors asked me … Continue reading

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A garden as a source of comfort

When I was growing up, we had huge gardens every year.  I don’t think we ever planted anything under a half acre and for several years we had a two-acre garden.  We grew unbelieveable amounts of vegetables.   A significant portion of … Continue reading

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Community gardens – why you should join one

Our local elementary school is built on land that was once a farm.  As more and more development occurred in the area and the need arose for a new elementary school, the county bought this farm to provide a place … Continue reading

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Make your own butter – it’s easier than you think

Early in my teen years, my father bought about a dozen baby heifer calves from a dairy farmer and we raised them on a bottle.  The dairy farmer used a Black Angus bull, so we had a dozen half Angus/half … Continue reading

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The secret to great collard greens

I am sponsoring a giveaway.  You can win seeds and a seed starting kit.  Go to my giveaway page to enter. If you follow on Facebook, you know that I picked some collard leaves last weekend.  If you don’t follow on Facebook, be … Continue reading

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Sunshine and soil: the next steps

The plants have been growing nicely under the lights indoors.  This weekend was so warm and beautiful that I took them outside for a few hours to get their first taste of real sunshine. This is the next step toward … Continue reading

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