Rural Living Gardening | Hydroponics | Generators
Backyard Chickens | Barbecue Grills | Greenhouses | Prepping | Livestock
One of the things many people do when they move to a more rural location is start a garden. While there is much to know about gardens, it is best to start small. Take the time to continue to research as you go, and expand your plot. Depending on your climate and topography, your garden can produce an abundance of produce. Many consider buying a greenhouse and setting up a hydroponic system as well. To enrich the soil, you may want to consider composting as well. Composting is easy to do and will make a big difference in your garden. Even if you don’t intend to live off-the-grid completely, you will enjoy many benefits from gardening.
Whether you are interested in fruits, vegetables, herbs or an orchard, you can make it work. You and your family will eat healthier, spend more time outdoors, and literally enjoy the fruits of your labor. You will continue to learn new things and skills through trial and error. Having a steady food supply helps in self-sustainability and also provides a sense of comfort for those interested in prepping.
Flowers and other plants are beautiful too. Along with food production, beautiful scenery is an important part of rural living as well.
Now that we know how to build a grow rack, let’s see how to make inexpensive Heat Mat for Seed from Christmas lights! How to Make a Heat Mat for Seed Starting This is a “readers’ favorite” post our how-to site. When you are learning to grow from seeds, often you might see reference to a heat mat for seedlings. Heat mats can really help speed up germination for many seeds, especially tomatoes and peppers. … Read more
Series of posts on fall and winter vegetable gardens. We included lots of info on planting, structures, great pruning shears review and winter garden care. Many of you were inspired to keep your summer gardens going longer or to plant seeds just for fall and winter harvesting. Again this fall, there has been a lot of interest in extended-season gardening. Fall and Winter Vegetable Garden Think about growing fresh vegetables in fall and winter. Many of us grow … Read more
Path to Sustainability is Gardens and Orchards – We’ve been talking about various steps along the path to sustainability. That is, practices that will carry us over from year to year, even if our outside resources fail us. Like sustainable production of livestock, ongoing success growing fruits, vegetables, and herbs depends on a few specific factors. We can keep gardens and orchards going year after year without outside resources by establishing perennial plants, saving seeds … Read more
Creating and Building Root Cellars – We have done some research though, and to answer your questions, we’ll share what we’ve learned. In some climates, root vegetables can winter in place in the garden, well-mulched before the first freeze. If frozen ground prevents harvest, the vegetables will usually be edible in the spring as long as they haven’t been devoured or damaged by rodents. But for storage of other produce, root cellars can be a … Read more
It’s natural to wonder if it’s worth your time and money starting a garden where soil poor. But the good news is, there are ways to do this. Sometimes you can improve the soil that’s there. If it’s beyond an easy fix, you can plant in raised beds you’ve filled with good soil. What is poor soil? It’s when you have soil that consists of rocks, sand, or heavy clay… or dust or dirt without … Read more
Country gardens are not just for vegetables. There’s so much more you can do. Just in time for our first snowfall, I got our vegetable patch put to bed for the winter. As I was working, I realized that in spite of the colorful veggies and herbs, I had really missed having a flower bed. Along with food production, beautiful scenery is an important part of a wellness sanctuary and rural living too. We didn’t … Read more