How to Plant Off-grid and Save a Fortune

Here are a few quick tips to help you save money and resources by planting trees (and other herbs): Plant lots of fruit trees and deciduous trees to the South of your house. Apple, Pear, and other trees that will bear fruit that you can actually eat.

Plant blueberry bushes, if you have acidic sandy soil. Blueberries are loaded with vitamins. Plant mugo pines around your blue berry plants to provide acidic mulch to the soil.

Plant lots of herbs to the south of your house. Basil, Oregano, Thyme, Terragon, Sage. All but Basil will come back every spring. Basil can be used on salads and to make your own Pesto Sauce at the end of the season. With 3-4 plants you will have enough Pesto to last you the winter.

Read Also: Indoor Vegetable Gardening

Plant coniferous trees to the north of your house to block the cold winter winds. White Pine grow very fast. White spruce and Balsam Fir provide a nice fragrant scent all year round.

Plant English Ivy along the South wall of your house and it will keep the house cool in summer and allow sun to heat the wall in winter.

Build a "Rain Garden". This is using the natural slope of your yard to drain water into your vegetable and herb garden. With a natural rain garden you will almost never need to use city water or other to keep your plants moist. Just remember to use raised beds in a "Rain Garden" so that your plants "feet" - roots don't always stay wet.

If you still have any lawn left buy a bag of White Dutch Clover and sprinkle the seed in the spring so that the clover takes over. The clover sets the nitrogen so that you don't need to fertilize and will thrive with almost no water - saving you a fortune.

Best Times to Plant Vegetables- Vegetable Planting Calendar

Spring is a lot of people’s favorite time of year to start their garden.  You go to the greenhouse and pick out your plants then dig up the soil, if you haven’t already, and plant away.  Water, weed, repeat and ultimately harvest.

The best time to plant in the spring is right after the last frost for your area.  If you jump the gun and plant too early you will inevitably have to have plenty of newspaper or other lightweight material to cover your plants to protect them from being damaged by the frost.

Vegetables to plant in the spring include: Corn, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, lettuce, okra, brussels sprouts, cabbage, onions, cucumbers… well, actually the list is just about endless for vegetables that go into the garden in the spring!

Indoor Vegetable Gardening

A lot of vegetables can be reseeded or planted as you go every year to lengthen the amount of harvest and the harvest time.  Corn can be reseeded every two weeks in consecutive rows to spread out the time and increase the amount that you can harvest every year.  Broccoli is the same way, as well as cabbage.  Planting extra plants staggers the harvest and increases the joy of eating what you have grown.  Not to mention the amount of food that can be canned or frozen!

Summertime planting can be a little tricky but don’t ever be afraid to experiment to see exactly what will and will not grow in your garden.  Just because it won’t grow well for one gardener doesn’t mean that you won’t be successful with it.  A lot of plants just don’t do well in the summer time because of the heat and humidity but toward the beginning of summer, in June and July, you can always go for that second planting of beets and carrots.  They can take the heat and humidity like a bunch of little troopers and will produce a nice crop that will keep well through the winter.

Fall planting can be almost as busy as spring.  Another go round of lettuce, cabbage, cauliflower, turnips, carrots, spinach and even broccoli can survive fall planting in most of the growing zones in the mid and southern US.  You may have to do an occasional light covering with newspaper or another light weight material to protect them from light frost but they will keep on going until at least the first heavy frost.  A nice layer of mulch to provide some warmth is also a very good idea when caring for your fall vegetable plants.

Some fall vegetables will even be kicking and still producing in the winter time if you plan it right and keep them covered from the elements like snow and wind.  Cold frames are a great invention for when you are still in the mood to harvest and eat the freshest vegetables.  They protect your plants from freezing and your longing to garden fulfilled even through the long dead season of winter.

How to Plant a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden

How to Plant a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden

A raised bed vegetable garden is easier to plant than you think. Let’s get you up and running.

First, you’ll need a few supplies:

1. A good soil
2. Rot-resistant lumber like cedar or a wood-plastic composite
3. Galvanized screws
4. Drill
5. Level
6. Saw (optional if you purchase pre-cut pieces of lumber)

Now, step into your yard and find a nice, level spot. Make sure it’ll get lots of sun, preferably at least eight hours of sunlight daily. A good size would be about four feet wide, at least six inches deep, and as long as you can spare the room for. You want to keep the width under control to make sure you can easily access the middle of the bed. For depth, most vegetables grow well in six inches, but if you can space it, go deeper and you can grow vegetables like carrots and parsnips.

After you’ve selected a great spot and have some dimensions in mind, it’s time to get to building that raised bed vegetable garden! Throw down some newspaper or landscape fabric to smother the existing vegetation in the area you’ve picked out. Assemble the frame by cutting your lumber to the correct dimensions and attaching them with a simple butt joint at each corner using a drill and galvanized screws.

You’re almost done. Use the level to make sure your frame is level on all sides, this is important in order to make sure you don’t have any water run-off issues. Finally, fill in the bed with your soil and maybe some left-over coffee grounds.

That’s it, now you can level out the soil and start planting seeds!

Vegetable Gardening and Insects That Can Help

Indoor Vegetable Gardening

While outdoor vegetable gardening is by far the most common method of raising a crop of produce, some folks don't have the ability to grow their own garden outdoors. Some may not have the space, like those living in apartments or townhouses, and others may not have the time or the conditions that are conducive to a successful garden.

If you are unable to begin a garden in your own backyard, but miss the freshness of home grown vegetables, consider indoor vegetable gardening as an option. Indoor vegetable gardening is much easier than you might think, and space is not an issue since many plants can be grown on a patio or right on your windowsill.

Advantages to Indoor Vegetable Gardening

There are actually a number of advantages to indoor vegetable gardening that can make this an attractive option to taking your hobby outdoors. First, with indoor vegetable gardening, you dont have to worry about a hail storm or an early frost killing those crops that you have worked so hard to cultivate. This means that you can enjoy fresh, home grown veggies year round.

You also don't have the problem with garden pests with your indoor vegetable garden, since you are able to control the environment of your plants much more effectively. Finally, an indoor vegetable garden can dress up a south-facing window with many pretty color and aromas for you to enjoy all year. Think of how refreshing it will be to watch tomatoes ripen on the vine while the snow flies outdoors.

The Basics of Indoor Vegetable Gardening

The two main factors to successful indoor vegetable gardening is to find the right location that will get plenty of sun (like that south-facing window) and the appropriate containers that will allow for sufficient root growth and drainage. Your containers can come from a variety of places, from that gorgeous ceramic pot that coordinates with your kitchen decor, to the used milk carton with the top cut off.

Read Also: Vegetable Gardening and Insects That Can Help

Keep in mind that your container should allow for at least six to eight inches of soil for proper root development, and sufficient drainage to keep your plant healthy. Beyond that, you are really only limited by your imagination. Fill that container with a good, lightweight potting soil and your indoor vegetable garden is ready to go.

Indoor vegetable gardening is a great way to enjoy your hobby all year long, and will give you a bountiful harvest of fresh vegetables right through the winter. Start on your indoor vegetable garden today and enjoy those yummy results! 

Tips: While buying different tools for your garden always read reviews. This website covers various power tool and garden tools review.

Vegetable Gardening and Insects That Can Help

There is nothing worse than watching a beautiful garden wilt and die before your eyes. Chances are if your beautiful seedlings just stopped growing you are having and insect infestation. Vegetable gardening and insects go hand in hand. Every gardener will tell you horror stories of vegetable gardening and insects that include tales of Japanese beetles, aphids, and squash borers. What you might not know is that vegetable gardening and insects don't have to be at odds with each other. There are many insects that are highly beneficial to your garden just like a chain link fence for your property.

The praying mantis is one insect that every garden needs. When it comes to vegetable gardening and insects, the praying mantis is the best predator you can find. Called the praying mantis because its long legs are folded as if it is in prayer, this insect can be as big as 6 inches long, although most only reach a length of 2 inches.

Their green color helps to camouflage them from preying birds and allows them to hide from the pests they like to hunt. The average garden mantis will eat all sorts of garden pests including beetles, squash borers, and grasshoppers. These insects are so strong that the larger ones have even been known to eat small lizards or humming birds, yet they are perfectly safe to have in the garden and don't bite or sting the way other insects do.

Read Also: Indoor Vegetable Gardening

Ladybugs are another beneficial insect that can help you to control pests in the garden. Ladybugs feed on aphids and mites that are practically invisible to the naked eye. Though small these garden pests can do extensive damage to your plants, so filling your garden with ladybugs is always a good idea. You can purchase live ladybugs through garden catalogs or even at some nurseries. As long as there are aphids in your garden, the ladybugs will not fly away, but will continue to eradicate them.

Some Words of Warning When it Comes to Vegetable Gardening And Insects

If you plan to release a praying mantis and ladybugs in your garden at the same time, make sure that you have plenty of harmful bugs for both of these types of critters to hunt. If the bad bug supply goes down, your praying mantis will start to eat your ladybugs. Most of the time, they will leave ladybugs alone, but if there is no other food supple, your ladybugs are in danger. It is also important that you never release these beneficial insects into gardens where pesticide has been recently sprayed. Allow at least two weeks for pesticide to dissipate before you release beneficial insects into your garden.