Garden Seeds — A Great Winter Pastime
By Jackie Clay
Issue #67 • January/February, 2001
Start your garden this year while the snow is still on the ground. I start all of my own plants from seeds. One of my favorite winter pastimes...
Seven tactics for planning next year’s garden
By Kristina Seleshanko
There are few things I enjoy more than snuggling up next to the woodstove with a cup of coffee and my garden planning notebook. Although winter might feel like a time to...
Here’s a Mighty Creative Way to Protect Your Plants from Animals
By Joy Lamb
Issue #39 • May/June, 1996
A huge brown beast stared at me as I drove through our apple orchard toward the house. I parked, walked quickly into the house, and said to my...
Time to Forget About Snail and Slug Bait
By Lyle Dykes
Issue #135 • May/June, 2012
Years ago when traveling on business, I looked out of the window of my motel one morning in Newport, Oregon, and noticed a little Chinese lady flipping over...
Three Raised Bed Designs
By Joe Mooney
Issue #150 • November/December, 2014
When it comes to gardening, almost anything can be used to create a raised bed. Tires, blocks, rocks, and scrap lumber are just a few of the most...
Swiss Chard — The Leaf Vegetable That Keeps on Giving!
By Raymond Nones
Issue #92 • March/April, 2005
For years every spring I planted spinach in my garden. For those who have never tasted home grown spinach, there is a world of difference between its taste...
Testing Soil
By Tom Kovach
Issue #119 • September/October, 2009
Testing the soil content of a garden is very important and is quite easy to do. Soil tests are needed because some plants prefer slightly acidic soil, while...
Gardening in the Desert Using Only Rainwater
By Joe Mooney
Issue #147 • May/June, 2014
I've always found the use of seasonal rains by native peoples very fascinating. From the diversion of floodwaters in earthen berms to irrigation via "aquaduct," it seemed incredible...
No Worrying About Fire Blight with Orient and Kieffer Pears
By Alice B. Yeager
Issue #52 • July/August, 1998
Everyone likes a good success story, and if I were called upon to name the most successful tree in our small orchard I'd have to say it's...
Elderberries — Hospitality, Health, And Beauty
By Gail Butler
Issue #124 • July/August, 2010
When friends stop by for a visit I like to offer them a hospitable and healthful libation of elderberry cordial. When served in a small aperitif glass or...
Solar-Powered Electric Fencing
By Jeffrey Yago, P.E., CEM
Issue #147 • May/June, 2014
A new electric fence attached to older traditional wood fencing
More and more people are turning to electric fences as the cost of standard metal and wood...
Your Manure Pile — For Fuel, Fertilizer, and Maybe Even Improved Water Quality, You...
By Rev. J.D. Hooker
Issue #87 • May/June, 2004
It's been well over a decade now since I first heard my friend Pete voice his amazement at my practice of spreading animal manure as a fertilizer....
Exotic Plants for the Homestead
By Corcceigh Green
Issue #85 • January/February, 2004
Isn't it funny how even the things we step on while walking on the lawn have value? I learned this first hand last summer as I discovered some...
Clover — From Livestock Forage to Medicinal Tea, This Humble Plant is One of...
By Eugene Mitchell
Issue #130 • July/August, 2011
Whether young or old, lying in the grass and searching for four-leafed clovers is timeless fun. Sometimes they're so elusive, like the leprechaun, it seems they don't exist....
The $1 Garden
By Jonathan Nunan
Issue #122 • March/April, 2010
The dollar garden is simple in concept: buy as many seeds as you can for one dollar and harvest as much food as possible from the plants you...
Growing Strawberries
By Patrice Lewis
Issue #162 • November/December, 2016
As you read this, the wind may well be howling and the snow piling deep, and you're likely curled up next to the woodstove with a mug of...
