My Homeful Life

Designing a Food Forest in a Temperate Environment: A Step-by-Step Guide (Part 2) An in depth look at site selection Have you read Part 1- OVERVIEW? Read it now . Site selection can make or break a garden! There are a lot of things to consider, but it’s doable with a little planning. There is only one spot on my ¼ acre block suitable for a food forest so site selection is not difficult. However I can study the site for a whole year first to really understand it under all seasons and conditions. This will help me design a better food forest. I have made several observations so far, I will cover them in detail here. Sunlight  In Australia we get a lot of sun! And that sun is very harsh due to our thin ozone layer and lack of pollution. We have one of the highest UV ratings in the world. SOOOOOO when you hear a UK gardener say “full sun” or “summer crop” they do not mean Australian sun!! Technically full sun is 6 to 8 hours per day. In Canberra on the summer solstice we get...

Designing a Food Forest in a Temperate Environment: A Step-by-Step Guide (Part 1) "A food forest is not just about growing food; it is about growing relationships. It fosters connections between plants, animals, insects, and humans, creating a web of life that supports and sustains all living beings." - Food Forest Initiative Food forests have gained popularity in recent years for their ability to provide sustainable, diverse, and abundant food sources. These self-sustaining ecosystems mimic natural forests and can be designed to thrive in various climates, including temperate regions. I’ designing my food forest for my suburban backyard right now, here are the steps I have taken in brief to figure out the design. If you're interested in creating your own food forest in a temperate environment, please read on and comment. A food forest is a multi-layered agroforestry system that mimics the structure and function of a natural forest. It consists of seven distinct layers, e...

Salsa Garden, Pizza Garden, Salad Garden! *Disclaimer, I am a beginner living in a temperate environment (USDA Zone 9a equivalent). Square foot gardening is a fantastic way to grow a variety of herbs, vegetables, and fruits in limited spaces. One exciting aspect of this gardening method is the ability to create themed gardens. I’m exploring a few ideas here and I will update this post once the garden is in an growing!  Salsa Garden – Peppers, Chilies, Tomatoes, Onions, Basil etc.  A Salsa garden is perfect for those who love zesty flavors. Plant tomatoes, peppers, onions, and cilantro to create a vibrant mix of ingredients for homemade salsa. I basically already have this with my Tomato beds which you can see below, I could swap out the beans for peppers.  USE THE FREE PRINTABLE TO CREATE YOUR OWN SALSA GARDEN.  Pizza Garden – Tomatoes, Basil, Oregano, Mushrooms etc. A Pizza garden is sure to delight pizza enthusiasts. Grow tomatoes, basil, oregano, and bell peppers...

Preparing for your abundant Home Harvest: Eating, Cooking, Fermenting, Canning? Exploring Methods, Equipment, Cost, Skill, and Time Considerations. So I’ve planted all these fruits and veggies and I hope I will get a bumper crop, I might even get 400 bell peppers! That's a lot. So if it all goes to plan what am I going to do with all this food? We will eat some of it for sure, but what about the rest? How can I make sure it stays good to eat and where am I going to put it?  When it comes to preserving your home harvest of vegetables and herbs, there are a variety of methods to choose from. Each method has its own cost, skill level, time commitment, and equipment requirements. In this blog post, we'll explore some popular home preservation and storage methods and discuss their unique considerations. 1. Drying: This is the earliest form of preserving food, involves dehydrating vegetables and herbs using the sun or wind or a special machine (called a dehydrator). This method done ...

In this blog post, I will tell you step-by-step how I chose varieties and figured out the timing for my summer garden, and I have provided a PRINTABLE WORKSHEET if you want to do it too. As a beginner, I really hope I get a bountiful harvest using the Square Foot Method, fingers crossed!  This is the next step in the SUMMER GARDEN PLANNING using square foot method. If you haven't read the first blog post , please read it and fill in the worksheets before moving onto this post. Choosing Varieties: I have already chosen my main  crop and companion plants in thee last planning session (see this post). BUT there are like a million different varieties of tomatoes or peas or beans….and they have different planting timings. SOOOOO when it comes to choosing varieties for your summer garden, consider the climate, sunlight, and soil conditions in your area. The easiest way to do this is get seeds off of a gardener in your area that they have been saving for many years, this will ensure ...

I'm new to gardening and I’m going to try square foot gardening this summer, I’ve heard it is a great way for beginners to learn. Square foot gardening is a method of gardening that uses raised beds divided into one-foot squares. This makes it easy to plan and plant your garden, and it also helps to reduce weeds and pests. A guy called Mel Bartholomew came up with it and you can read all about it in his books . *Disclaimer, I am a beginner living in a temperate environment and I found these steps helpful. If you are not a novice in a temperate zone this may not be helpful. As my annual veggie gardens  in my front yard, I've decided to plant in a potager garden style. A potager garden is a traditional French garden that is divided into different sections for different types of plants, and tends to look more deliberate and neat than a traditional veggie garden. I'm planning to plant a variety of vegetables in my summer garden, including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and p...