Category Archives: Square Foot Gardening

Permaculture Summer

Posted on June 26, 2017 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

To create your own permaculture summer: Start with a good variety of fruits, berries and herbs that pretty much take care of themselves year after year. Add to that background of growth, some tender green leaves (lettuce and spinach will … Continue reading →

Posted in Asparagus, Backyard Gardening, Blackberries, Blueberries, Chives, Container Gardening, Figs, Herbs, Lettuce, Oregano, Parsley, Permaculture, Raised Bed Gardening, Spinach, Square Foot Gardening, Strawberries, Sustainable, Thyme, Urban Farming | Leave a comment

Laissez-faire Farming

Posted on April 17, 2017 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

The threat of winter weather pushed right up to the last frost date for my area this year.  Add in my hectic schedule the past few weeks and the result is a late start on my spring garden, and some … Continue reading →

Posted in Backyard Gardening, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Lettuce, Oregano, Organic, Pro Tip, Raised Bed Gardening, Square Foot Gardening, Sustainable, Thrift | Leave a comment

Peeking at Presents

Posted on December 26, 2016 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

It is the day after Christmas and I wanted to peek at a couple of presents, patiently waiting their turn in the garden. We have had a few light freezes in the Raleigh area and at least one hard freeze … Continue reading →

Posted in Backyard Gardening, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Carrots, Heirloom Varieties, Parsnips, Raised Bed Gardening, Seasonal Eating, Square Foot Gardening, Sustainable, Urban Farming, Victory Garden | Leave a comment

Autumn Recess

Posted on November 23, 2016 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

Autumn has arrived in North Carolina, bringing with it the final harvest of bell peppers, roma tomatoes and serrano peppers. The herb garden has brushed off the first few light freezes and stands ready to make meals fragrant and savory … Continue reading →

Posted in AeroGarden, Backyard Gardening, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Basil, Bell Peppers, Carrots, Cilantro, Collards, French Tarragon, Herbs, Hydroponics, Indoor growing, Inventions, Kale, Kitchen Implements, Mulch, Non-GMO, Oregano, Organic, Parsley, Parsnips, Peppers, Pine Needles, Raised Bed Gardening, Roma Tomato, Sage, Seasonal Eating, Serrano Peppers, Square Foot Gardening, Sugar Snap Peas, Sustainable, Technology, Thyme, Urban Farming | Leave a comment

Collards – From Garden to Table

Posted on October 4, 2016 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

This year I grew the heirloom collards called Georgia Southern Creole, a pre-1880 southern variety that has done quite well overall. Growing organically means that some of the leaves were ventilated by a mid-summer cross-striped cabbage worm invasion (treated with … Continue reading →

Posted in Backyard Gardening, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Collards, Food Preparation, Heirloom Varieties, Raised Bed Gardening, Recipe, Square Foot Gardening, Sustainable, Urban Farming | Leave a comment

Fall Harvest Asparagus

Posted on October 2, 2016 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

This post comes after more than a year of researching every way I can think of and completely failing to find anything related to the matter at hand.  The matter at hand is the second growth of asparagus spears in … Continue reading →

Posted in Asparagus, Backyard Gardening, Chef John, Cherry Tomatoes, Food Preparation, Jersey Knight Asparagus, Kale, Morel Mushrooms, Mushrooms, Non-GMO, Permaculture, Purple Passion Asparagus, Raised Bed Gardening, Recipe, Square Foot Gardening, Sustainable, Urban Farming | Leave a comment

Herbal Remedy

Posted on September 20, 2016 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

My experiment with the front yard herb garden has come to a close. On Sunday I thinned my 150+ strawberry plants that were spread over two beds down to 32 first-year runners in one bed.  Back in April I wrote … Continue reading →

Posted in Backyard Gardening, Chives, French Tarragon, Front Yard Gardening, Herbs, Oregano, Parsley, Raised Bed Gardening, Rosemary, Sage, Square Foot Gardening, Thyme | Leave a comment

Getting Wired in the Garden

Posted on September 5, 2016 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

Early this spring I had high hopes when I reworked my square foot grids with outdoor nylon rope.  It lasted only 2 seasons. The needles and leaves are a results of Hurricane Hermine’s winds coming through earlier this weekend, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Backyard Gardening, Kaizen, Pro Tip, Raised Bed Gardening, Square Foot Gardening, Sustainable | Leave a comment

Easy Decision Dinner

Posted on September 3, 2016 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

Egg scrambles for dinner with almost any leftover veggies in the fridge is a quick and easy decision for nights that lack a dinner plan. I had a small bunch of kale leftover after an Italian soup earlier in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Backyard Gardening, Food Porn, Food Preparation, French Tarragon, Kale, Morel Mushrooms, Mushrooms, Raised Bed Gardening, Roma Tomato, Slow Food, Square Foot Gardening, Sustainable | Leave a comment

July Garden Update

Posted on July 12, 2016 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

Under the best of circumstances July is an awkward time for the garden. Spring greens (spinach, lettuce, cilantro) still in the garden have bolted or browned, strawberries have stopped producing anything but dozens of straggly runners and asparagus has transmogrified … Continue reading →

Posted in Backyard Gardening, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Cherry Tomatoes, Companion Planting, Hartman's Yellow Gooseberry Tomato, Heirloom Varieties, Mortgage Lifter Tomato, Non-GMO, Organic, Paste Tomato, Raised Bed Gardening, Roma Tomato, Slicing Tomatoes, Square Foot Gardening, Sustainable, Tomatoes, Zucchini | Leave a comment

Roma Wasn’t Built In a Day

Posted on July 9, 2016 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

Roma math: A decent batch of homemade tomato sauce with enough to freeze or can for future use requires a minimum of 15-20 lbs of roma tomatoes. The average day on the urban farm (with 16 roma tomato plants in … Continue reading →

Posted in Backyard Gardening, Food Preparation, Food Preservation, Paste Tomato, Pro Tip, Raised Bed Gardening, Resources, Roma Tomato, Square Foot Gardening, Sustainable, Tomatoes, Urban Farming | Leave a comment

Food With a Story – Mortgage Lifter

Posted on June 28, 2016 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

When was the last time you ate a tomato and considered the intrigue and controversy surrounding it’s provenance? This big guy, sold by Baker Creek under the name Mortgage Lifter is almost ready to harvest and when I save the … Continue reading →

Posted in Backyard Gardening, Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, Farmer Facts, Heirloom Varieties, Mortgage Lifter Tomato, Non-GMO, Organic, Raised Bed Gardening, Slicing Tomatoes, Square Foot Gardening, Sustainable, Tomatoes, Urban Farming | Leave a comment

Towering Tomatoes

Posted on June 18, 2016 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

The view standing next to my Hartman’s Yellow Gooseberry Tomato. The view a few steps back.  This tomato plant has already over taken the 8 foot bamboo support pole and I need a step ladder to access the top with … Continue reading →

Posted in Backyard Gardening, Cherry Tomatoes, Hartman's Yellow Gooseberry Tomato, Heirloom Varieties, Organic, Raised Bed Gardening, Square Foot Gardening, Tomatoes, Urban Farming | 2 Comments

Seeing Red (And Green)

Posted on May 1, 2016 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

Today’s garden science lesson:  pill bugs can produce offspring up to 3 times per year and they like strawberries.  Not all of the strawberries, of course, just a pill bug sized sampling of each. I picked berries between the intermittent … Continue reading →

Posted in #NoFilters, Backyard Gardening, Pests, Raised Bed Gardening, Square Foot Gardening, Strawberries, Sugar Ann Snap Peas, Sustainable, Urban Farming | Leave a comment

I Break For Blossoms

Posted on April 23, 2016 by NearlyHomeGrown.com

I took a break between tending to existing plantings (pruning, mulching, thinning, tying up) and starting on seeding new plantings (cilantro, cucumber, edamame, squash and zucchini) to enjoy the blossoms that beginning to pop up around my garden. Sugar Ann … Continue reading →

Posted in Backyard Gardening, Cherry Tomatoes, Raised Bed Gardening, Square Foot Gardening, Sugar Snap Peas | Leave a comment