This is Part 2 of my Organic Gardening Series, Garden Planning. I’ve included a link to my garden plan, as well as a nifty seed starting timeline for folks in my hardiness zone! Today I’ll go over my earliest phases of garden planning, which I do before I even start my seeds. The level of planning that you do can vary, but after a few years of winging it, I’ve decided to try planning things out a bit more. I’ve…
Organic Gardening: Part 2 – Garden Planning
How to make homemade vanilla extract
If you want to learn how to make vanilla extract at home, but are intimidated by the process, it’s your lucky day! Let me be the first to tell you that not only is it very easy to make, but it’s much cheaper than store bought pure vanilla extract, and only requires a few ingredients. Overall, it ranks pretty highly on the awesomeness scale. Making vanilla extract yourself is not only incredibly simple, but it also yields absolutely delicious results….
Organic Gardening: Part 1 – Ordering Seeds
This post is Part 1 in my new Organic Gardening Series. The days are getting longer, and hopefully warmer, which means it’s time to start ordering seeds for your garden. When looking for seeds, you will find that seed companies can vary greatly in quality. After starting seeds from many different companies, I can honestly say that I’ve had the very best luck with seeds from smaller companies. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds is absolutely wonderful; they are a small family…
On Joining a CSA: and Bonus Salsa Recipe!
I have great news! My good friend Amanda from Casa de Lindquist is joining me this year in our first ever CSA farm share! What is a CSA, you may ask? CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. Having a CSA farm share is a wonderful way to give your family amazing, quality food, from a nearby local farmer. When we found the Lake Superior CSA, we sent in our application right away. We’re both super excited for all of the…
Well, My Garden Didn’t Need THAT Much Water…
I’m sitting in the Duluth airport, getting ready to fly into Detroit. I planned this trip to visit my family months ago, and it was almost ruined by the flash floods we had the night before last. Yesterday was extremely chaotic, and the entire city was pretty much shut down. If you haven’t heard our stories about the flood or escaped zoo animals, you can read more about it here, here, or here. Other than the poor little zoo animals,…