Vicki Arnold

Winter is made for curling up with a good book. Take advantage of this time and learn some tips and tricks to help make next year a better gardening experience. Analyze your year. Did you have a particular area that you'd like to work on like organic pest control? Do you want to learn how to grow a specific vegetable or fruit better? Would you like to try a new method? Or would you just like to know that you aren't alone in this crazy idea of food growing? Figure out what you want to learn about and then pick a book. Gardening, Farming, & Food Memoirs The $64 Tomato: How One Man Nearly Lost His ...Read More

Have you ever wondered if you can garden any time other than summer? Can you garden in the fall? Yup (check out this article on fall gardening). But can you garden in the winter? That just doesn't seem possible. Well, surprise, surprise: you can. You can garden in ANY season. It just looks different than what you've become accustomed to thinking of when you think "gardening." Things to Consider to Garden in the Winter A winter garden needs more protection than your typical summer garden, and yes, even more than a fall garden too. While frost may pose a threat in a fall garden, actual snow is a likely possibility in ...Read More

Gardening is like any other hobby or life skill, it can get expensive as you buy equipment and tools. To help your garden budget, I've assembled some great DIY projects for gardeners who are willing to put some time out to save some money. Some of these projects can be made with reclaimed lumber (check Craigslist) or other items you may have around already. Others will require you to pick up some supplies. How you prioritize your DIY projects is up to you, but I do hope you find at least one that will make your gardening life a little easier. ...Read More

If you didn't get a spring or summer garden in, have no fear! You can put in a fall garden. I know, summer is still in full swing and here I am talking about fall. The reason is, if you want to do a fall garden, you need to do some planning now. A little planning now can have some big pay-offs in the future. Isn't that how it goes with most things? Fall Gardening Basics Fall brings cooler weather and shorter days. This climate change also changes what you can grow successfully in your fall garden. Summer staples that need longer days to produce larger fruits like watermelon, peppers, and tomatoes are out. ...Read More

The end of the summer gardening season is coming soon. Come September, I'll be looking to see if my garden was wildly successful—or whether I'll be chalking this year up to a learning experience. It’s hard when you’ve invested as much time and energy into a garden to get it going as it takes, and then somewhere along the way, it all goes down the tubes. For us this year, we didn’t even get a lot of the plants in the ground that we usually do. Of the 4 trays of tomato plants I planted, we had only 5 plants germinate. As frustrating as that was, God is still in control and He still blesses us unexpectedly. We were ...Read More

I love gardening and I love the idea of getting kids in the garden. Here are my tips for how to get started gardening with kids. I included some free printables, too. I am a firm believer that everyone, including our kids should at least try gardening a few times in their life. No, I don't think it's easy or that everyone will love it. Heck, I don't even like it sometimes, but I know it's important. Taking an active role in our food chain gives a new appreciation to those who dedicate their lives to providing our world with food. But it's more than that. Above that is our Creator. God created our bodies, He knows ...Read More

Gardening season is approaching fast. It's the time of year that gardeners everywhere are giddy with all the possibilities and longing for the green of spring. We've checked on our seed supply and ordered our dependable standbys, plus some can't-wait-to-try-new varieties. Are you a veteran gardener? Or does the thought of something else to add to your plate overwhelm you? Gardening is good for your health. Just look at it this way: Gardening = Better Food + Good Exercise. Could you use a little more of either of those in your life?  ...Read More