by Texas Homesteader ~
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This year I planted the sunflowers along the chicken fence side of the garden. Those huge sunflower plants offer shade during the heat of the day for my chickens. Oh, and our bees love them too.
That’s a lot of bang for my package-of-seeds buck! But now it’s time to harvest those sunflower seeds. Come see what I did.
by Texas Homesteader ~
I like to use natural materials in my garden. Things such as straw, wood chips Dry Leaves or even grass mulch after RancherMan mows the lawn and bags the cut grass. (be sure to let that freshly-cut grass cure a bit before adding it close to your plants or it could burn them)
For instance, I have a grapevine that I’ve surrounded with three bales of straw. That straw serves a dual purpose. Its initial purpose is to protect my garden from encroaching bermuda grass.
by Texas Homesteader ~
Empty plastic coffee cans can be used in many ways! I’m sharing a way I repurpose empty coffee cans for keeping things tidy in the garden & making weeding more effective with less work.
by Texas Homesteader ~
My peppers and tomatoes were pretty much a bust this year due to our weird spring. You see, I planted seeds in my indoor greenhouse and placed that greenhouse at a south-facing window in my home like I always do.
But the constant cloudy weather this spring hampered a good germination. The few plants that did germinate were hardened off & placed in the garden. But you know peppers and tomatoes like a little more sun, a little more heat.
But I was recently able to replenish some of the vacant areas in my garden. It cost me ZILCH. “How can you get free veggie plants for your garden?” you might wonder. I’m so glad you asked!
by Texas Homesteader ~
Well, it’s been a pretty strange spring so far for us in NE Texas. Pretty strange indeed! Many areas all around us have received plenty of spring rains but for some reason it always seems to miss us here on the homestead. Although May is our rainiest month of the year we have areas in our backyard that are pretty bare where the ground is parched & cracked. Scary! Hopefully that’s not a sign of things to come this year. I’ve been watering with a 2-gallon watering can which takes a lot of time and doesn’t water as thoroughly. But RancherMan set up the cistern pump for me today so I’ll be able to use that rainwater captured in the 18-ft deep cement cistern from now on. If we get any rain at all in the coming weeks that cistern will fill back up! With the cloudy & cooler weather we’ve had, the garden has really been slow in taking off. But I’ve had some successes too. C’mon along with me for a stroll through our garden.
by Texas Homesteader ~
The herbs are going well in my Edible Landscape so I thought I’d take a few cuttings & try to root them in my kitchen window. I have a repurposed short, squatty, wide-mouth glass jar that I can use.
But I’ve always heard that when you’re rooting cuttings, a see-through jar can cause problems. It’s said that inside the jar should be dark. A dark jar keeps algae from growing in the water and also helps the roots do their thaaaang.
Some suggestions are to paint the jar or to wrap it in scrapbooking paper or something similar. Hummm…
So what did I decide to do? Say it with me kids: “Use Whatcha Got!” That’s right. 🙂 Check out this Homestead Hack.
by Texas Homesteader ~
Think about it. Isn’t it true?? Growing Your Own Food Is Like Printing Your Own Money!
Check out the list of my favorite gardening hacks below.
~TxH~
Garden Planning
Seed Planting
Soil Health
Garden Styles
Garden Plants/Harvest
Water/Irrigation/Drought
Weed Control
Garden Tips
References:
Find Your 2023 Updated USDA Plant Hardiness Zone
Texas Master Gardener’s Companion Planting – Plant Friend & Foe
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~Texas Homesteader ~Â
You buy produce with the good intentions of enjoying it with your family. But THEN it happens… Your produce goes past its prime.
Now back ‘in the day’ I’d sigh and toss it into the compost. Yes composting it is better than just tossing it in the trash, but these days I go one step better. I PLANT my compost!
That too-far-gone produce then produces fresh food for my family. MAGIC! Recently I wrote a piece for Mother Earth News about just that. Check it out, y’all!
