It's September and the summer gardening season is coming to a close. Was your garden wildly successful for you this year? Or are you like me and chalking this year up to a learning experience? It's hard when you've invested as much time and energy in to 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 four trays of tomato plants I planted, we had 5 germinate. As frustrating as that was, God is still in control and He still blesses us unexpectedly. We were blessed to ...Read More
Fall Gardening Tips for Beginners
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
How to Get Started Gardening With Kids
I am a firm believer that everyone 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 is 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 each hair on our head and the intricate details that make us who we are. Who better to take nutritional advice from than the original Gardener? He created the very first garden: "And the ...Read More
Homeschooling Homeschooling Philosophies and Methods: Unit Studies
What is a Unit Study? A unit study is when you center your homeschool learning around a theme. You cover subjects in a way that relates to this theme. You can cover all subjects in a unit study or just a select few. For instance, here's what a unit study could look like if you were doing a study on insects: For phonics and early readers, you would look for readers that have a bug theme. For science, you would find non-fiction books about the parts of insects, what kinds of insects there are, and books that study individual insects. For art, you would draw, paint, or otherwise create something buggy. For ...Read More
Foods Herb Gardening for Beginners
Today we're going to talk about herb gardening for beginners, however, this information can help expert gardeners, too. Choices, choices, choices. Gardening brings a plethora of choices with it. You can grow a vegetable garden or a flower garden. You can grow it in containers or the ground. You can even choose to grow a garden in a hay bale, if you want to. But one of my favorite types of gardens to grow...herb gardens! My point? If you want to grow a garden, there is a garden for you. It may just take some time to find it, but it's worth it. Gardening is good for you (but I've already talked about ...Read More
Gardening for Better Health: For Beginners
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-this 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
4 Easy Steps to Add Fermented Foods to Your Diet
Fermented foods are a traditional food that have slowly been phased out of the American diet for convenience. This is a shame because fermented foods contain probiotics to nourish your gut. They help aid your digestion and absorption of vitamins and minerals. Fermentation also increases certain vitamins and nutrients in foods. Fermented foods are basically foods that have been preserved by a controlled exposure to bacteria or yeast. The bacteria breaks down sugars and carbohydrates and creates acids, gases, and/or alcohols that preserve the food for longer periods of time. Fermented dairy is usually referred to as ...Read More
