If you burn wood, then you will produce plenty of wood ash. When cooler temperatures arrive if you are anything like us we are constantly using our wood-burning stove and outdoor firepit, in turn, we are producing lots of wood ash. Don’t throw them out as there are many ways to repurpose wood ash. Although Read More
Category: Garden
How To Process Your Apples 4 Different Ways
We love to go apple picking and when we were invited to a nearby farm to do just that, of course, we had to go. Our plan was to go and pick some apples, and based on how many we got we’d figure out what to do with them. Apple picking is one of the Read More
Roasted Pumpkin Seeds: Easily Made And Delicious To Eat
Every fall I look forward to pumpkin picking with my kids, pumpkin carving, and of course a favourite snack, roasted pumpkin seeds! Roasting pumpkin seeds can be done throughout fall and winter, although my guess is that it is most common right around Halloween. Reduce the waste and don’t throw away pumpkin seeds, as they Read More
Planting Garlic In The Fall – Simply It’s Simple
When it comes to growing your own food, planting ingredients you often use in your everyday cooking makes the most sense. Garlic tastes amazing and is a wonderful addition to many meals, for us garlic is one of those ingredients we often use. Growing garlic is an easy process but requires patience, as it can Read More
What Is Sumac? How To Make Sumac Tea
Staghorn Sumac is the fruit of a shrub (Rhus coriaria). It is a wild plant that can easily be recognized with its unique leaves and bright red/maroon cones that grow on the tops of its trees. Sumac trees typically grow up to 30 to 40ft tall. The leaves on a sumac tree are symmetrical on Read More
How To Make Delicious Roasted Maple Seeds
If you didn’t already know…yes, you can eat maple seeds! There are some major pros to eating maples seeds; they are edible, healthy, easily accessible, and free. A maple tree definitely gives back to us; you can actually eat several parts of the maple tree, not just syrup, which is most common. We can also Read More
How To Use Old Potatoes To Grow New Potatoes
Potatoes are one of the most versatile vegetables and are simple to grow in a home garden of any size. As potatoes grow vertically they can be planted just about anywhere; from a large trench to a grow bag or even a bucket. Potatoes are fun and easy to grow. Anyone can do it, all Read More
Make Your Own Custom Sandpit In 7 Simple Steps
At our previous house in Toronto we had a small plastic turtle sandbox in the backyard (it was inground and came with the house). I recall when we bought the house, wanting to take it out but I am so glad that we didn’t. The kids ended up spending so much time playing in that Read More
Dog Vomit Slime Mold: What You Need To Know
At the end of June, my husband was working on the vegetable garden when he noticed something unusual on top of the wood chips (which is at the base of our vegetable garden). At first, he thought an animal had eaten something in the garden and vomited on the spot. It was a very odd-looking Read More
Mid-Season Garden Results: Year One, We’re Learning
Summers always seem to fly by and this one is no exception. It seems the garden got off to a slow start, but now it’s looking green, lush, and is thriving. We haven’t pinpointed why the slow start just yet. My brother-in-law seems to think it’s due to our location. We are 31 km northeast Read More
Mistakes Not To Make When Building A Firepit
A firepit can be enjoyed year-round. If you’re anything like my family, there’s always a desire to cozy up to the warmth of a fire. Our kids often ask “are we doing a firepit tonight?”, now I’m not exactly sure if it’s because they love being by the fire or because there’s usually some sort Read More
How To Make Worm Casting Tea: All-Natural Fertilizer
Our vegetable garden was struggling. The soil was looking dry, plants weren’t flourishing as we had hoped and we needed to make a change. The research began. We wanted to know what compost could be added to soil after you have already planted without damaging the vegetation. We discovered worm casting tea. It won’t damage Read More
New Vegetable Garden: The 3 Big Challenges
Our property is located within a valley, on the side of a hill, within a canopy of endless trees. The location we chose for our garden is on the hilltop, the only part of our property that gets sun all day. We built our vegetable garden from the ground up and we were so excited Read More
I Found A Tick On My Child, Now What?
When I did a post on ticks (It’s That Time Again…Let’s Talk Ticks! The Tiny Big Nuisance.) a couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that my 4-year-old daughter had just been bitten. This was the first time a tick bite had happened to one of the humans in my family. The following is what transpired… Read More
Gypsy Moth Caterpillars, A Big Threat That’s Here To Stay.
When we lived in Toronto I don’t recall ever seeing a gypsy moth (although I probably wouldn’t have known one if I was looking straight at it). We were however well aware of them, because twice a year we would be informed that an aerial spray would be taking place. We understood why they were Read More
It’s That Time Again…Let’s Talk Ticks! The Tiny Big Nuisance.
Spring has sprung and this is just one of the times during the year that ticks are most prevalent in Ontario. Although they can be present during all seasons, they are far more active in spring and fall. More and more ticks are being reported year-round, basically if you are spending time outdoors you always Read More
Our Not So Simple, Organic Terraced Vegetable Garden
We love to be outside, we have the land so why not make it work for us! Getting started with our organic vegetable garden felt slightly overwhelming. There was just so much to do and being our first time planting in this location we didn’t quite know what would actually grow. When we got to Read More
