Recently someone sent me some links about research indicating that food and a child’s diet affect their behavior. I felt I had to add my two cents worth this subject having been something I’ve been looking at and researching for a very long time. It has long been my theory that children get ‘hyper’ because they are basically starving for the nutrients they need for building the body which is crying out for what it needs. A growing body needs a tremendous amount of micro-nutrients like trace elements, good protein, complex carbohydrates, and pure water to build all those bones, tissues, and org ..read more

Most people don’t know that our bodies very efficiently recycle all but about 1 mg of iron a day taken from the hemoglobin in the blood as the blood cells die and are disassembled. Though doctors tell us when we’re anemic that we’re deficient in iron, and we are prescribed iron tablets, this is a wrong ‘why’. In fact our bodies are clogged with iron, and this is working against metabolism, which gives us energy. It takes COPPER to clear excess iron out of the body, and it takes COPPER to restore the metabolism pathways in the cell to create ATP which is our cell’s energy molecule feeding fuel ..read more

https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov This is a very slow upload so be patient. Here in Barrow County, Georgia we have just gone from 8B to 8A. For those following this blog or FB page, if there is any notification Hillside Gardens is 8B in articles, that has now changed. I recommend you go to this map and see if your area has changed Zones because this can impact what plants you grow and may make some adjustments necessary for your crops. This is important for your crops as a few degrees can make the difference between a dead or frozen plant and one that is just cold. Diann Dirks ..read more

Today I received a fat packet of seeds from “Free Heirloom Seeds”, https://www.freeheirloomseeds.org/ a non-profit that collects heirloom seeds and distributes them to people requesting them. They were a gift from a former intern named Juanita, whom is about to give a class on ‘seed balls’ from old seeds I gave her for that purpose. I thank her for these wonderful seeds. None of them are GMOs or hybrids, all will breed true into the future with no alteration. All you do is request them from the list on their website, and pay shipping. It takes a bit of precision to do this process of requestin ..read more

We live in a time when the more skills and knowledge we have about being self-reliant, the better our chances of surviving whatever the world is doing. One of those things is being able to supply our own DIY medicine, nutrients, and remedies from the resources we can bring together. For us here at Hillside gardens, we grow about 150 medicinal herbs, most of which are wild crafted but many are also collected from various disciplines such as Ayervedic, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Cherokee, and herbalism. I have made a lifelong study of herbs by growing them and studying their effects and how t ..read more

Making Use of Old Garden Seeds. 12-18-23 I love seeds. I value them and consider them magical parts of nature. Imagine nature has managed to place the full genetic treasure of a plant into a tiny little bit of organic matter, that when given the right conditions blossoms into an entire new plant able to do everything the parent plant could do. And as part of that process goes forward into the future to not only grow but make an entire new generation in the form of the next generation of seeds. But there is another free seed organization not requiring a group or community activity called Free ..read more

Seeds in the garden – I have a huge collection of garden seeds from 2008 to 2010. We’re clearing out the seed storage area to make room. This collection takes up a very large closet (like your clothes closet for a clothes horse – BIG). I’ve been saving them in the hopes of using them for experimentation for germination rates and to make ‘seed balls’ for guerilla gardening. They range from vegetables for cold and warm weather, herbs, flowers, rare seeds, such a treasure. But I just didn’t have room in my garden to grow them all. Sooo, if you have ever thought to play with seeds to feed birds or ..read more

It’s November in NE Georgia and we’re in transition in the garden – hot weather summer plants to fall/winter There are Four approaches to winter in the garden: First Option: Either clear the beds and clean up preparing the soil for next spring When hot weather plants die out with the first frost or freeze, clear out the dead organic matter and compost it. Gather any seeds created by those plants and save them by drying or other wise removing them from their pods or fruit, label them and place the seeds in glassine (ULine has glassine envelopes) or tan paper key envelopes or other appropriate c ..read more

Tips to make spinning easier. I have loved the idea of making things from fiber for a long time as my mother was an accomplished fiber artist, weaver, tailor, embroideress, and all things related. She had a big standing spinning wheel that must have been over 100 years old. You spun the yarn while walking back and forth pushing around a wheel that was probably 5 feet across, called a walking wheel. That’s how I was taught to spin. Why is it called spinning? Because in order to take a fiber and make it into something that can be used to make things, you have to line up the fibers and put a twis ..read more

I get requests from people wanting to know how to discourage deer from the garden or which plants they don’t like. Here is a wonderful website I wanted to share: https://www.tyrantfarms.com/deer-resistant-plant-guide-edibles-ornamentals-natives/ If you do have deer invading your garden, and don’t have fencing, about the only thing that I have found that works is deer netting held up from the beds by either heavy wire plant supports – long straight piece with a curlicue on the top – which holds up the netting, then weighed down along the edges with rocks or bricks (or rebar, anything heavy). An ..read more