This is the complete guide to indoor seed starting. From beginning to end, everything that you need to know about how to start seeds indoors.

this is a blog post on growing and harvesting saffron at home. Saffron is a spice used to color a common dish called paella. It can be used to color drinks and food like rice or meat dishes as well. It is one of the world’s most expensive spices. Commonly used in Asia, North Africa, […]

This at-home soil pH test will show you the pH of your soil using only ingredients from your kitchen (no special equipment needed!).

Ramps or wild leeks are usually just that...wild. They're foraged in the early spring, by people who happen to know a "secret" patch, usually somewhere on public land. More often than not, your "secret spot"

Growing peanuts at home in recycled plastic containers is a rewarding and environmentally friendly way to enjoy the taste of freshly harvested peanuts right from your own garden. This beginner's guide will walk you through the steps of cultivating peanuts in recycled plastic containers, providing you with a satisfying gardening…

Add fresh colors and flavors to any meal with an edible flower garden. Follow these tips to harvest, store, and prepare edible flowers for culinary use.

Our recommended garden storage ideas include clever ways conceal bins, tidy tools and repurpose household objects into clever shelving.

A good windbreak can make all the difference - for your house, for your garden, for being outside comfortably. It's important to protect natural windbreaks and integrate new ones in the design of your property and garden - different types in various places. In my permaculture garden I have designed edible windbreaks, and at my parent's place, their windbreak is the natural tea tree foreshore reserve. Both have great habitat value for native species and the people living there. Natural windbreak on coastal foreshore (Image: Morag Gamble) The picture above is part of the natural windbreak between my parent's house and the Gippsland Lakes. It is essential during the gale force winds often coming off the Bass Strait. Sometimes standing down on this beach you really have to lean into the wind to stop from being blown over. In many parts of the island people cleared the foreshore to get the views, but this not only destroys the ecological value, it destabilises the coastline and it makes living next to the water much more difficult with the winds and salt spray. You can even have an edible garden behind a windbreak like this. The regular uprights of the trunks of the young tea trees (Melaleuca spp) in the foreshore reserve, and the multiple layers, break the wind rapidly, and even with just a thickness in some places of 10-15 metres a huge difference can be felt. Even if it is really blowing down at the beach, back up near the house and orchard, it is calm. The winds can come powering across Lake Victoria to Raymond Island. I'm so happy to have the beautiful protective wildlife reserve along the foreshore. It also means that the people with houses along the water do not own the waterfront. There complete access for anyone to walk along and enjoy. (Image: Morag Gamble) The coastline is retreating on this part of the island. I've been coming here for about 40 years and I estimate there has been at least a 2 metre erosion of the coast, more on Harrington Point - which is no longer visible here as a point. The foreshore reserve trees are also critical in holding the sandy soils together, but also as they die back and fall to collect sand on the wavy days. The washed up seaweed also acts as a buffer and sand collector. Where the trees have been cleared they have had to build rock/concrete walls. (Image: Morag Gamble) I planted up windbreaks early in the development of my home in subtropical Queensland to protect my house and main garden particularly from the strong south westerlies - the storm winds. I focussed on natives from the local landcare nursery such as lilly pillies and grey myrtle - not highly flammable, dense leaves and evergreen. They are now 3-4 metres tall and quite bushy. They deflect the winds wonderfully, but are located to allow the more gentle breezes to flow through this living space. The dense foliage of the lilly pillies and grey myrtles provide great western shade in the afternoon as well as filter the strong storm winds. From my observations at the Island, lots of uprights help a lot, as well as dense small foliage. The shape of the windbreak scoops the wind up and over the house. The bonus too is that the lilly pilly (Syzygium spp) fruit is edible and the grey myrtle/cinnamon myrtle (Backhousia myrlifolia) leaves make a lovely tea. Delicious edible lilly pillies - raw, sauces, preserves, baking... The Grey Myrtle has lovely foliage - dense green with slightly red new growth. These new leaves are my favourite parts to harvest for teas and flavouring in soups and curries (a kind of nutmeg, cinnamon aroma) Backhousea myrtifolia, Grey Myrtle, is a good windbreak plant in this region - and an Australian native from the rainforest margins. (Image source: 1 million women) My windbreak also shades our house in the afternoon making the hot summers more tolerable on the verandah. This is important to me, because it means we can use this outdoor space - our main living room and homeschool classroom for most of the day. I love the windbreak too because these trees are full of a diversity of birds, and just sitting outside while I work, I am surrounded by birdlife and birdsong. I usually plant temporary in-garden windbreaks to help new vegetable gardens areas become established. I often use Canna edulis or lemongrass because they grow quickly and are easy to manage and remove later. As well as wind protection, these plants also provide afternoon shade for young vegetables and other perennials. Once the perennial kitchen garden system is up and running, I phase out the extent of the canna and lemongrass, move it elsewhere, mulch it, eat it .... Canna edulis has large leaves that grow quickly and provide great shade, protection and mulch, as well as food - a great multifunctional permaculture plant in this climate. (Image: Morag Gamble) The Canna is visible at the top of the picture - the contour row helped to act as a windbreak, sun break, but also as a vegetative terrace, source of mulch, source of food, and great addition to compost, no-dig garden layers and the chicken yard. (Image: Morag Gamble) Designing a windbreak to be multi-functional is the key - to provide wind protection, to provide shade, to provide food, fodder, mulch, timber, habitat, and other resources. I am also very careful to select species near my house that have low flammability and are recommended. More information is coming soon about the windbreaks at my place on my Our Permaculture Life youtube channel. I am making a short information clip to upload.

How to Grow CHILLIES at Home!: This is a simplified step-by-step photographic instructable on how to grow your own chilli peppers at home!Chillies are extremely simple to grow at home, and don't require any fancy gardening equipment. Since a single plant can give you upto a hundr…

Growing vegetables and fruits in the home garden is rewarding, but many people are put off by the backbreaking work involved at the start of the growing season. Perennial edibles are the answer to this

Learn how to propagate herbs like rosemary, mint, basil, and more with our expert advice. From propagating in water to directly in a growing medium, here's how to create new plants from one parent plant.

You'll love growing your own ginger at home. Growing store bought ginger is easy, and anyone can do it at home starting with a simple small piece of fresh ginger. This simple to grow plant

Growing vegetables and fruits in the home garden is rewarding, but many people are put off by the backbreaking work involved at the start of the growing season. Perennial edibles are the answer to this

Learn exactly how to grow ginger at home in our comprehensive guide to growing ginger in your edible garden. It's easy and rewarding!

Topping the list of nutrient dense foods, Watercress is a nutritional powerhouse which you can grow easily at home. Here's all you need to know.

Best vegetable and herb plants available at your local organic edible garden nursery. Grow your own home garden with the best varieties.

Learn how to regrow food from scraps including onions, herbs, potatoes, lettuce, celery, ginger, garlic. It is easy and will help your grocery budget!

There are many interesting colors and flavors of herbs available if you just go beyond the more common and popular options.

Here are five household items that can stand in for cheesecloth in a pinch. These cheesecloth alternatives are likely close at hand in your house.

I think we can all agree, low maintenance plants are easier to maintain. Imagine growing vegetables that require just about the same amount of care as

Cow manure is considered one of the best garden amendments. At least it used to be. Here's how manure in the garden may actually destroy your soil.

Hollyhock is completely edible - leaves, roots, flowers, seeds - not just an amazing looking flower, common in many cottage gardens.

Lovage plants tend to be large and productive in the home garden. Thankfully it is easy to use lovage for a multitude of dishes.

You'll love growing your own ginger at home. Growing store bought ginger is easy, and anyone can do it at home starting with a simple small piece of fresh ginger. This simple to grow plant

Growing edible houseplants is fun and rewarding to bring the garden inside. Not only do these plants add a touch of greenery to your home décor, but they also

From debunking GMO misconceptions to optimizing space for vegetable cultivation, this article uncovers the reality behind homegrown veggies.

For many people, fashion and clothes are a way to express their personality, showcase their creativity, and add some fun and color to their lives. But what you might not realize is that what you wear can seriously affect your image - especially as you get older.

When it comes to culinary herbs, most of us are familiar with eating the pungent-tasting root herb, ginger. This tropical plant has become a regular ingredient in many of our recipes. But can you eat ginger leaves? The good news is that ginger leaves are edible and just as delicious as the ginger rhizome. Ginger ... Read more

Soybeans are annual crops that grow and produce their harvest and then die off at the end of the growing season. Soybean plants are relatively easy to grow and are similar to known varieties of...

With minimal care, this perennial vegetable will keep you supplied with onions for years.

Cardoon. It’s beautiful, enormous, and edible. This vegetable is less common--but straightforward to grow in a home garden or an edible landscape.

The ideal temperature for the rooting of the cuttings of pomegranate is 20 degrees Centigrade or 68 degrees Fahrenheit. It is better to take cuttings in the morning and use these cuttings for propagation purposes as soon as possible.

A great question came in to Ask Gardenerd this week:

Whether you are gluten intolerant, or you simply cannot grow wheat where you are, there are several plant that you can grow and turn in to flour. Home grown

You'll love growing your own ginger at home. Growing store bought ginger is easy, and anyone can do it at home starting with a simple small piece of fresh ginger. This simple to grow plant

Are you tired of spending money on expensive fertilizers that claim to give your plants amazing growth, but end up disappointing you? Prepare yourself for…