When beginning to grow food in a small urban space, you are likely to follow up selecting your varieties with choosing containers. If you are new to gardening, containers help set an achievable goal for your first successful seasons. Likewise, if you are new to an area or need to be wary of ground contaminants containers allow you to grow food crops safely … Read More
The holidays and family visits are over, garden goals for the new year have been set, and after nearly four months of constant precipitation the plants are feeling the shock of a sudden shift to the dry season. In the tropics, our work never ends. On our rooftop, we have a mix of containers with unglazed terracotta pots making up the majority. Plastic … Read More
This should be a no-brainer for sustainable gardening, but it is especially difficult for us temperate climate transplants to remember when we first take on vegetable gardening in the tropics. Ornamentals and spices are no problem, we love the exotic looks and flavors, but when it comes to vegetables we still insist on trying to plant our go-to summer squash and Beefsteak … Read More
I get some variation of this question, or find it lurking between the lines, every time I speak with someone just beginning to explore permaculture and sustainable lifestyle practices. You want us to go back to living on dirt floors and in rags? You want to bring back the hippie movement? You want us to live in dusty, creaky cabins filled to the ceiling … Read More
Last week I shared a very comprehensive list of recommended homesteading skills from Granny Miller on our resource page. This list got me thinking more deeply about the kinds of skills I have been striving to develop through this venture and the heritage I want to pass on. As Katherine of Granny Miller mentioned in a recent post, “a household that doesn’t provide for its own … Read More