Ponds and water features add a wonderful layer of interest to your garden, indoors or out, but they can look a little bare if nothing grows in them. In fact, a water feature won't thrive to its full ...
How to Improve Your Landscape Hydrology to Minimize Fire Risks
The word hydrology wasn’t part of my vocabulary until I started homesteading. I had a vague understanding of the water cycles like rainfall, runoff, reservoirs, water tables, and such. I also got that ...
How to Make Powdered Spices Easily at Home
I love to use a mortar and pestle to make powdered spice mixes for meals. When the pestle pounds seeds from coriander, mustard, cumin, cardamom, and more -- the aroma is absolutely intoxicating! It’s ...
How to Winterize Your Sprinkler System the Right Way
Without proper preparation, the sprinkler system that kept your plants alive all year could be damaged by freezing temperatures. Sprinkler systems aren’t designed to withstand a deep freeze, so you ...
Landscaping Techniques You Can Use to Reduce Risk of Fire
I know we all had a good laugh over the idea of raking forests to prevent fires. My favorite spoof of that gross understatement of what it takes to prevent fires was the woman who took a video of ...
The Best Way to Deal With the Dreaded Goat Head Weed
From a plant perspective, goat head weed (Tribulus terrestris) is a superhero. The fruits are covered with sharp spines or barbs that help it spread quickly. It has a deep taproot, grows in bad soil, ...
Growing Okra: Best Varieties, Planting Guide, Care, Problems, and Harvest
Growing okra isn't always the first choice for a vegetable garden. It has a bad reputation on the dinner table for being bland and slimy, and it isn't well known outside of the South. But if you ...
14 Mosquito Repellent Plants That Really Keep Them Away
Just when the weather turns warmer and you want to spend more time outside, that's when mosquitoes start to plague your backyard barbeques. These frustrating bugs are annoying, but they also pose ...
7 Best Smoke Detectors for Every Home
Being caught in a house fire is extremely frightening and can have deadly consequences. However, when you have a fully functioning smoke detector installed in your home, you and your family will be ...