Greetings, Rural Sprout readers, I got quite a few positive emails from readers in response to last week’s Sunday newsletter with my story about dad’s dandelion wine mishap. Our group here has quite a few new members, so I thought it was time for a little reintroduction of myself and
the standard Sunday newsletter, once the garden is closed for the season. Hi there, friend, my name is Tracey Besemer. I’m the Chief Editor and main contributor to Rural Sprout. I’m a middle-aged woman living happily with my kids and two cats, smack in the middle of Pennsylvania. I’ve got one kid out of the nest and married, and two more who are getting ready to fly (a
senior and a freshman in high school).  Like many kids of my generation, I grew up with divorced parents. Where my story deviates from the norm is that my dad was an off-grid homesteader for many, many years. I spent my weekends sans cable TV and microwaved Pop-Tarts in my dad’s log cabin and meandering around the woods on our ten acres.  It made for an interesting upbringing and instilled a lifelong love of independence, self-reliance, and the outdoors.Hence, all the garden and homestead advice. At the end of the season, when things quiet down and the frost has put a stop to gardening, the newsletter takes on a more homey feel. I often share anecdotes from my childhood on the homestead or tidbits of
life lessons I have learned (often the hard way - independence = stubborn, far too often). Don’t worry, there will always be the helpful articles you rely on, too. But our longtime readers love this format and look forward to it as a respite from gardening in the colder months of the year. After all, if Mother Nature insists on giving the soil a rest each year, we should follow her
example. So welcome to the off-season of Rural Sprout. I hope these Sunday missives become an anticipated addition to your weekend. I know I look forward to sharing them with you. Â
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Even if you've had your first frost, you can still grow vegetables in October. Let's break the list down by hardiness zone.
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Yes! You can freeze food in mason jars. Naturally, it's a bit different than using a plastic container. Learn how today!
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Whether you have a frost or a freeze warning on the way, you need to take these three steps to ensure your garden survives.
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Planting garlic is easy to do and well worth the wait for delicious cloves of flavorful garlic, grown right in your backyard.
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Orchids have a reputation for being hard to grow. Understanding how to fertilize orchids is the first step in banishing that myth!
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If you've been gardening for long, you've probably got a leaning tower of plastic nursery pots somewhere. Don't pitch them, reuse them!
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Four-season interest in a garden means growing ornamental grasses. But what about pruning them? Should you even bother?
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If you grow houseplants, especially these days, it's easy to be overwhelmed by all the gadgets, potions and gizmos that you're told you need. I've been keeping houseplants for three decades, and I can tell
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Are you planning on starting seeds this spring? Before you wait much longer, you'll want to see if any of your seeds fall on this list. Otherwise, you may end up staring at pots of
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Stop letting pumpkin puree take over your freezer. Pumpkin powder is easy to make, rehydrates in minutes and takes up 1/10th of the space.
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African violets are easy to grow, have the most charming blooms and take up far less space than other houseplants. Which means you can have more of them! But to enjoy continuous blooms and make
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To find out if you could benefit from a garden shed, ask yourself: Do my growing number of garden tools need a new home? There's your answer. Having clean tools, which all have their place,
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Anyone who gardens in even the slightest rural area can attest that there is no such thing as a deer-proof garden. These four-legged-munching-machines will graze, uninvited wherever you grow veggies, flowers or fruit. Oh, you
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Getting a clutch of chicks is always fun. I don't care how old you are; those sweet little peeping balls of fuzz melt even the hardest of hearts. But most of us only want chicks
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Fall is here! It's time to put away your gloves, put your garden tools in the shed and call it quits. Whether you had a banner of a year or a bummer of a harvest,
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Did you miss a newsletter or want to read a few for inspiration? Find past newsletters here. Don't forget to check out our Facebook page for daily updates. That's all for this week, Rural Sprout Readers. |
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