Tomatoes: When, Where, and What!

The days are getting longer, the weather is warming up, summertime is coming, and I’ve got tomatoes on my mind! When can I plant my tomatoes? Where’s the best place to plant them? What variety of tomato is best and what’s the difference between determinate and indeterminate tomatoes? So many questions about the tomato potential!…

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How to Make Simple Plant Markers

Results of our kid-friendly plant marker tutorial!

Add a little pizzazz to your garden with homemade plant markers you and your kids can create in just a few hours. I love art in the garden. For me, art in our garden is almost as important as the plants. I have a particular obsession for plant markers.

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How to Build a Simple Raised Bed

Start gardening this weekend with a simple raised bed your kids can help you create. In this tutorial, I’m going to show you how we built a raised bed with three kids (under 5 years old!) in one weekend. Why a Raised Bed? To be honest, we wanted a raised bed for one main reason…

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10 Ways to #optoutside in Your Own Backyard

Do you know about #optoutside? I love this idea of opting out of the post-Thanksgiving consumer craziness. Being intentional about spending time outside with loved ones rather than spending time shopping for stuff. Now, I’m all for good deals. We’ll actually have a special one for you to celebrate our other two November birthdays 🎉 on Monday! For the weekend though, what…

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Of Well-Worn Paths and Brand New Habits

In a curious juxtaposition, I find myself thinking about habits on a weekend when I’ve stepped out of many of my own. One notable exception? My morning cup of coffee…made even more enjoyable by the warm Florida breeze on the shady front porch where I’m writing.

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Justin Rhodes on Growing Food and Hard-Working, Problem-Solving Kids

“A happy family growing our own food and living the permaculture homestead dream.” That’s how Justin Rhodes describes life. He and his wife Rebekah grow food and homestead with their four children, ages 1-8, not too far from us in western North Carolina. I had a chance to talk with Justin, aka the “permaculture chicken ninja…

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Rake & Roll! Composting Giveaway

Rake and Roll Composting Giveaway prizes

Fall is coming to western NC. The morning air is crisp, and the leaves are hinting of colorful changes ahead. To celebrate fall’s arrival, we’re doing a big composting giveaway here on the blog. The Rake & Roll Composting Giveaway ended Monday, Sept. 19., 2016. Update: The winner has been drawn! Thank you to everyone who entered and shared…

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