Every winter, small farmers must bridge the Hungry Gap. Here are 3 way to ensure you aren’t heading to the store or doing without in winter. The post 3 Ways to Bridge the Hungry Gap on the Homestead appeared first on Homestead on the Range ..read more

Mulch is a tool for protecting soil, smothering weeds, and conserving moisture. These are unquestionably tremendous benefits in a garden or orchard, but it is nevertheless important to recognize that mulching is merely a tool. A tool can provide the greatest benefit when used with purpose and context in mind. And so, we will turn our attention to natural ecosystems and consider how nature uses mulch. How Mulching Works in Nature In many ecosystems, including forests, savannas, and prairies, we see the principle of mulching at play. Every fall, a fresh layer of mulch covers the ground close to ..read more

A quick perusal of nearly any market gardening book will reveal the fact that most of the pros use what is known as a 30-inch bed system. The 30-inch bed system consists of any number of beds 30 inches wide and usually either 50 or 100 feet long. These beds are built up by raking soil up off of the paths on either side, forming a slightly raised surface. The paths are generally either 12 or 18 inches wide. Why are 30-inch beds so commonly accepted for larger gardening operations? Is there any special benefit? Let’s find out. Pros More efficient use of space than single rows. Few approaches t ..read more

Gardeners frequently wonder whether they should purchase heirloom seeds only, or if hybrids are a reasonable option. The answer typically depends on the gardener’s objectives. First, a little explanation. A hybrid and a genetically engineered organism (GMO) are not the same thing. While bioengineering involves introducing genes from other species, a hybrid contains the genetic material of only the species on the label. One of the reasons that seed companies develop so many hybrids is that it simply makes their job easier. All they have to do is take two parent varieties that have been demonst ..read more

Did you know that your houseplants may benefit from taking a shower periodically? Plants use their leaves for photosynthesis, which means that they benefit from having clean leaves to maximize the sunlight they can capture. Outdoors, plant leaves are usually kept tidy from a combination of wind and rain. Indoors, plants tend to accumulate dust. Misting the plant’s leaves with lukewarm water will help keep the dust down. You do not need to worry about the water resulting in sunburned spots on the leaves—this is a myth. Even outdoors, water droplets do not focus sunlight enough to burn the leav ..read more

The following is a common scenario on many farms: We were making it, but workdays were long, leisure time short. Some days we worked from sunup to well past sundown and still had supper to prepare. We hadn’t been on a vacation in several years, partly because we were reinvesting all profits in the farm and partly because we felt that we couldn’t leave.…We didn’t have training systems or standards in place that would allow other people to perform even simple tasks that were needed to keep the farm going in our absence. Our production, on the whole was erratic: every week we seemed to seesaw be ..read more

Watering a garden is one of those things that sound simple and really aren’t. Sure, anyone can pour a bucket of water over a plant. But when we are dealing with drought, every drop must count. Likewise, when we have a large garden and a few other responsibilities, every minute must count, as well. So what is the best way to water a garden? Let’s find out. First Things First: Why We Water Why we water is simple, right? We water to keep the plants alive. Well, yes, but actually it is a little more complicated than that. When providing mineral nutrition, is it better to feed the plants or feed t ..read more

No backyard? No problem! Even if you don’t have a great deal of room to grow, you can still raise some of your own food. Part of the beauty of gardening is that it can easily be adapted to nearly any scale or circumstance with a little ingenuity. Here are 5 ways to raise fruits and vegetables when you are short on space. Indoor Gardening With a south-facing window and maybe a grow light, indoor gardening can be a simple way to get started. Herbs are extremely easy to grow indoors, and raising your own will enable you to avoid the heavy metal contamination rampant these days, particularly when ..read more

The basic principles that mark the creation of a landrace are just as applicable to plants as to animals ..read more

Vermiculite is a natural mineral (magnesium-aluminum-iron silicate) that is heat-treated until it expands and curls, creating a light, fluffy texture ..read more