Tag Archives: plants

Tomato Tidbits: Saving Seed

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Tomato seed saving!

Tomato seed saving!

Tomatoes have always been my favorite plant to grow! We grew them when I was a child and I have been growing them on my own for twenty years now! To say I’m obsessed with tomatoes is an understatement! The last five years Ryan and I have been actively saving the seed of our heirloom open pollinated tomatoes we grow. We grow more and more varieties and colors every year!

I love saving seed because it saves me money on seed orders and I can trade with other seed savers and get even more variety! This year we grew over 40 varieties of heirlooms, next year will be even more!

So to start, be sure the plant that you are saving from is an heirloom so the seed will be true to parent plant. Hybrid plant seeds can have all different results from their lineage. If you don’t know you can just research the name of your tomato plant and find out easily. Next, choose your healthiest plant with the best fruit.

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Posted in Fermenting, Homesteading, Nature and Environment, Organic Gardening and Farming

Seeds…So many Choices! How to Choose the Right Seed For Your Garden?

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Seeds, and more seeds, oh my!

 

Of course seed catalogs are arriving in people’s mailboxes left and right this time of year! It’s time to snuggle up by the fire and dream of what you will grow this summer in your garden. Flipping through the pages of glossy pictures with new varieties can be a little overwhelming at times. What do all of these terms mean? How do I know what to choose? I hope I can help you understand this all a little better after you read my post!

Knowing who you are ordering from and the quality of your seeds and service can make it a little easier…

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Posted in Homesteading, Nature and Environment, Organic Gardening and Farming

Our Homestead Then and Now

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The sun setting over our pond… breathless every time!

 

Where we were.

We spent the last 6 years in a run down rental home trying to find our dream home. It had 6 acres most of it woods that we were able to hike in and enjoyed that. In the small area that was open around the house we had a large organic garden and a small flock of chickens. Of course we canned, cooked from scratch, and made our own natural hygiene and cleaning products etc. But we longed for more… Read more »

Posted in Canning and Preserving, Chicken and Other Poultry, Cooking from Scratch, Fermenting, Homemade, Homesteading, Nature and Environment, Organic Gardening and Farming

Freezing in Georgia: What to do for Your Garden?

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Arctic blast could damage your plants!

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Frost fabric for the win!

How cold is it going to get?

Temperatures are plummeting into the low teens here in Georgia this week! Wednesday and Thursday are looking to be some pretty cold days for us southerners. Wind chill could be as cold as 4 degrees Thursday morning! For more information on the forecast visit these two links. I always look at both myself!

Weather Channel: http://www.weather.com/weather/5day/l/USGA0028:1:US

National Weather Service: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/ffc/

What should we do for our plants?

Long periods of cold  and extreme low temperatures can damage even our heartiest winter crops! In Georgia we are privileged with being able to grow year round if we protect our plants from these extremes. Hopefully you have already mulched well if you don’t have raised beds. Raised beds naturally retain more heat and mulch protects the root zone from cold damage and also generates some heat.

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Posted in Nature and Environment, Organic Gardening and Farming