I love orchids and have had tons of different varieties over the years. Owl orchids and monkey orchids are two of my favorites! Despite my love for orchids, I have definitely made a lot of mistakes when growing them. One of those mistakes is providing too much sunlight. Many orchids are low-light plants. In nature,...
When your chickens stop laying eggs, it can be a real mystery and a huge bummer at breakfast time. Egg production in your flock can decrease for a number of reasons. In this article, we’ll explore why it is you suddenly aren’t getting any eggs from your birds. Why your chickens stop laying eggs The...
Concerns about a global recession are growing louder and louder, and it’s certainly of special interest to people who work in industries likely to be hardest hit by a recession. Those of us who lived through the 2008 economic collapse know just how harrowing it was to watch jobs be lost and retirements wiped out,...
Rabbits are a big part of my homestead – I keep rabbits for their ability to graze down grass and weeds and provide an endless supply of usable manure for the garden. I like having them as pets too. If you’re thinking about breeding your rabbit or already have a pregnant rabbit in your care,...
For those of us who love our chickens, we want to go out of our way to keep chickens warm in the winter. It’s true that, as chicken keepers, we are responsible for keeping our poultry safe and warm in the wintertime, but there are right and wrong ways to do that. In this article,...
Fall is the best season. The garden gets harvested and finishes up for the year, the leaves change, days get shorter, warm weather clothes come out – pretty much all my favorite stuff happens in the fall. Maybe my favorite thing about fall is the changing of the leaves, and my favorites are the trees...
Cucumbers (and of course, cucamelons) are one of my favorite plants to grow every summer, so it’s definitely a little bit troubling to see my cucumbers develop odd symptoms and not thrive. White spots on cucumber leaves are one well-known problem among cucumber growers. It is primarily a cosmetic issue, but it can hinder the...
For gardeners who love growing lavender, there’s nothing worse than a dying lavender plant. We pour all this effort into growing a beautiful, fragrant lavender plant, only to make some kind of mistake and watch it slowly wilt and perish. If you’ve noticed your lavender plant isn’t doing too well, don’t fret, but do take...
The north-facing side of my house is shrouded in shade for most of the day, so what do I plant? Hostas. But for years, my hostas would be covered in holes, especially as the summer wore on. It drove me nuts seeing those large, thick, deep green leaves covered in holes like that. Through research...
Lavender is one of those plants that surprise gardeners when it fails to thrive. It’s so hardy and tolerant of abuse that seeing a drooping, wilting lavender plant is a pretty rare occurrence. But if you are experiencing lavender drooping, take no offense: it can be caused by a few different reasons, some of which...
I’ve heard it time and time again: my peace lily is getting way too big, how do I go about dividing a peace lily? Peace lilies are an evergreen, tropical plant that, in the wild, thrives growing on the forest floor. In captivity, they thrive simply as house plants. Peace lilies are a favorite of...
I’ve gotten this question many times: why are my tomato leaves turning white? I grow tomatoes every year and have personally experienced just about every possible problem they can throw at you, including their leaves turning white. The good news is that the most common causes of leaf whitening on tomatoes are easily walked back...
