Relying on Facebook for Gardening Information!

Where I started when I didn’t  know where to start. I always knew I wanted to have a vegetable garden; but when we finally bought a house with some land I didn’t know what to grow, how to grow it, and when to start. I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed because I knew most of what I would find online wouldn’t work here in Palmer due to our short summer and very long days. That’s when I turned to Facebook! I was in all sorts of Facebook groups, Read More …

A Tale of Two Interests: Resource Review of the Suburban Homestead YouTube Channel

The Stomach of Necessity The quickest way to someone’s heart is through their stomach. As someone who has worn many hats in the field of healthcare, and has passed a human anatomy class, I take issue with this phrase. However, as someone who spends the better part of their time either thinking or talking about food, I could not agree more. I began the process of learning to cook at the age of about 10. I was fed up with canned green bean casserole, and determined to exert more control Read More …

Love Cloves? Read Growing Great Garlic

“It  is not a ‘garlic gospel,’ nor it is another garlic cookbook. It does answer most of the questions that no one could answer for me fifteen years ago when I began to grow garlic.’ -Ron L Engeland, Growing Great Garlic (p. xi) Engeland is a content expert as a “founding farmer” at Filaree Garlic Farm in North-Central Washington State. This book, published in 1991, seeks to educate organic gardeners and small famers about best practices in garlic production. Although this is a broad goal and the content often leans Read More …

Growing Garlic in Alaska

Growing beautiful and tasty garlic in Southcentral Alaska is easy and fun! I now grow so much that I have enjoyed giving it as gifts. The dried bunches are very cute tied with a bow.   The Alaska Botanical Garden performs a growing garlic class each fall. I thoroughly enjoyed this class. Much of the information in this post, I gleaned from that class and through my own experience. I also recommended the book Growing Great Garlic: The Definitive Guide for Organic Gardeners and Small Farmers by Ron L. Engeland Read More …