Slugs and snails are enough to make the mildest mannered gardener see red. There is nothing more infuriating than planting and tending your plants, only to discover huge holes eaten in them one morning. You should be forgiven for any expletives and curses that might erupt from you – it is entirely justifiable. Limiting slugs…
Saving heirloom tomato seeds from your crop is an excellent way of saving money in the next growing season as you do not need to buy new tomato seeds. Most people recommend that you ferment your tomato seeds to keep them, but this is not always necessary, and it's not the only effective way of…
Organic herbicides are made from natural ingredients and are far less harmful to the environment than chemical herbicides. Many gardeners are switching to organic products to control unwanted weeds. However, there are still relatively few commercial organic weeds killers on the market. Organic herbicide products, like Avenger, WeedZap, Weed Pharm, AllDown, and GreenMatch EX, are…
Agriculture is a massive part of our lives. It is the bookmark for civilization to settle in one location and develop cities. Permaculture is a type of agriculture. In fact, it stands for ‘permanent agriculture.’ So, do you want to find out how they differ? Agriculture is the practice of cultivating food for human consumption.…
Bamboos are the easiest to grow on your homestead as they don’t have a lot of requirements. As long as the ground is fertile and the climate is neither too cold nor too hot, you’re good to go. One thing you can be certain about is how fast they grow. There are different species and…
A common gardener's dilemma is how to grow an edible garden in the shade. During my arduous gardening journey, I learned a few cardinal rules to follow if you want to cultivate a productive garden in less-than-ideal circumstances. So, if you find yourself in my shoes, don’t despair, there is an array of beautiful plants…
Passion fruits are a delicious summer fruit that many people enjoy worldwide, so it can be highly disappointing when your Passion fruit is not ripening like you thought it would in the time frame you had in mind. So, what are the reasons your Passion fruit is not ripening? 9 reasons your fruit may not…
Grevillea is an astounding genus of beautiful and versatile plants native to Australia. These plants range from evergreen shrubs to trees with delicate foliage and magnificent, showy flowers. However, despite their diversity and hardy nature, Grevillea is prone to several common problems. Grevilleas plants are prone to several fungal infections without well-draining soil, including Cercospora,…
You may be growing your Malabar spinach in your garden as there are plenty of delicious recipes out there for this spinach. But you may notice that your Malabar Spinach is also producing lovely, juicy berries that look tasty and may leave you wondering, are these berries safe to eat? The berries from the Malabar…
Ticks are often a challenging problem to control, even in backyard areas. But when you have acres of property, dealing with these blood-sucking bugs without affecting the area’s entire ecosystem can be challenging. Besides being painful, being bitten by even one deer tick can be dangerous if it is infected with Lyme disease. While you…
Beet, or beetroot, is packed with nutritional and health benefits, but some people still choose to avoid this powerful superfood because of its dirt-like taste. Why do beets taste like dirt? Is it normal? Beets taste like dirt due to microbes in the soil that produce an organic compound called geosmin. Geosmin is also found…
I’m sure you’ve probably heard of neem tree oil and its excellent uses in the garden. It’s famous for eliminating powdery mildew. But neem oil has so many more benefits. And we all know how difficult it can be to find an excellent organic fertilizer that causes no harm when sprayed on both the plants…
