Off The Grid News Better Ideas For Off The Grid Living

Building raised-bed gardens is a project suitable for experts and novices alike who are serious about growing high-quality vegetables, fruits, and herbs. One major reason serious gardeners use raised beds is because they allow you to bypass all the hardships ...

Biting into a fresh cool melon in the summer heat is an annual reward for all our hard gardening work. From whopping watermelons to tiny jelly melons and every size in between, there are many different flavors to enjoy. Muskmelons ...

Most of my vegetable garden space is devoted to practical pursuits—enough tomato plants to ensure a winter’s supply of canned tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, and salsa; green beans by the freezer bag full; and a variety of squash for the summer ...

Green beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) are among the most common vegetables people grow in the home garden. They produce a fine crop within sixty days, making them faster than many vegetable crops, and the beans can be eaten fresh, frozen, or ...

Gardening on the high plains of Colorado is an unpredictable effort. Last year, hail destroyed my pumpkins, flea beetles ravished my broccoli, and corn smut attacked my corn. This year, my strawberries are looking downright melancholy. Thankfully, I can always ...

Most of the time, I like my neighbors and they like me. We chat over the mailbox or sit on the back porch discussing politics, our kids, and our work. But come August, something mysterious happens. When my neighbors see ...

Since 1998, scientists, conservationists, and farmers have noticed an alarming trend. European honeybee populations are declining at rapid rates. Researchers believe several factors are at play here: viruses spread through the colonies, loss of habitat, migratory habits, and increased pesticide ...

Tired of the same old carrots, potatoes, and turnips? Try growing some rarer root vegetables that will introduce new tastes into your diet and help preserve America’s horticultural legacy. Seldom-grown root vegetables include skirret, scorzonera, salsify, and parsnip. Skirret (Sium ...

Einstein supposedly said, “If the bees disappeared from the surface of the Earth, man would have no more than four years left to live.” Whether Einstein really said this has never been verified, but the comment is provocative. Are we ...

Vegetable gardening is the most popular hobby in the United States. In addition to the pleasure gardening provides, many gardeners cite a desire for organic food as a motivation in vegetable gardening. Yet, plant diseases in the garden can thwart ...