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Category: garden

The Story of a Seed

  • By - DiyGarden
  • Posted on

I believe that the story of a seed holds wonder and creation within itself. Looking at one little seed it can be hard to believe that there is life just waiting to burst forth. To me it doesn’t matter what life is inside, it can be a flower, vegetable or herb. I love the way God created a seed, let me explain more here. Within that little seed it has all it needs for the first few weeks to take care of itself. Give it a little dirt and water and then stand back it can take care of the rest. We have learned to do the menial jobs of taking care of the seeds that we plant and at just the right time the beauty from the seed emerges and is the reward for all hard work we have done.

Seedlings

I have shared with you in the past that I don’t have a green house but I do have a grow room. My gardening zone is 8a and that is only important in my story because it tells you that I start my seeds on January 1st. I did that this year and as of this writing it is now January 31st. I have planted a lot of seeds and I now have a lot of seedlings! It makes my heart so happy I could spend all day in my grow room with my seedlings. I’m transplanting them into larger containers and just now am adding to the soil a little bone meal to help with the transplanting shock. The seed didn’t need anything from me except for dirt and water up to this point.

Plants

Now most of my plants have their true leaves; which means leaves that will look and function like the leaves the plant will have for the rest of its life. I will transplant them usually into larger containers to keep them in until it is time for them to go into the ground. At this time I usually use a little fertilizer to keep them healthy until it is time for them to go outside.

P.S. I shot a video a few years back explaining how old a seed can be before it’s not viable anymore. Feel free to take a look.

Here is to your homesteading dreams,

Shawn

Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I will earn an affiliate commission if you click through the link and finalize a purchase.

The Best DIY Soil Sifter

  • By - DiyGarden
  • Posted on

Soil sifters…you are a gardener, aren’t you? See, I know you are a gardener because nobody else will get the thrill of a soil sifter like us gardeners. I have tried so many different ways of getting large chunks of bark, small gravel pieces and rock hard soil that is bonded together out of my soil! I’ve used a plastic fork to rake the chunks out of my way , I’ve spent hours picking large wood pieces out of the soil. Some might say go get some seed starter mix. I never seem to have that when I’m ready to start seeds. I always have chunky soil laying around somewhere.

The Dream Is Real

I’ve been bringing up the idea to Ron about needing a soil sifter for awhile. So, this winter as I’m getting everything out to start seeds I sighed to Ron again about needing one. I was happily surprised as he started to gather the materials and fulfilled the soil sifter dream that I have had.

Building the Soil Sifter

Most of the things we build are from scraps that Ron has from other projects and this is no different. The wood was from his pile of lumber. He did buy a fresh roll of screen that would work for the project. If you are handy with a saw to cut your wood to the length you want; know how to use a stapler and a screw gun then you can make your very own DIY Soil Sifter. I will leave you in the capable hands of the guy who built me mine. Check out the video he created while putting together my DIY soil sifter. I’m going to have to paint it! What color do you think? Red, yellow, blue?

I would love it if you built one and sent me a video showing me! So, happy seed starting, I know it might be early for some of you all but I know the dream is real for all of us.

Here is to your homesteading dreams,

Shawn

Beautiful Garden Seeds

  • By - DiyGarden
  • Posted on

Garden Seeds

I dream about beautiful garden seeds do you? It’s in the air, do you feel it? There is frost in the forecast and a tingle in my fingers. The garden catalogs are here and decisions are being made. Well, at least for the most part, I’m not making any decisions. Like I mentioned in my last video, I have old seeds and have wondered if they will germinate. So, does the age of a seed matter? It’s a question I’m really asking myself because a lot of my seeds are old but I will be sprouting them to help find the seeds that are in the best condition.

When to Start Garden Seeds

The question of when to start seeds is hard to answer since it depends on where you live. I am in zone 8a. If you aren’t sure what a zone is or how it pertains to your garden all you have to do is google garden zone by zip code and you will find out what your hardiness zone is. This is information that will help you know when you can plant in the Spring and also how late in the season your garden will survive. Think of it as your first and last frost dates.

What Garden Seeds to Start

I’m a simple person and enjoy the simple things of life so when I’m asked the question of what should I grow? My answer is always what do you eat? I’ll tell you more about it here. We love lettuces, tomatoes, and peppers. There are other things that we like such as eggplant and celery but we stay away from things we don’t care for such as okra and squash. We wouldn’t eat those and I won’t give up the space for that while others may.

However, there is one thing that I plant now that I never use to and that is flowers. They are so pretty and add so much to the garden both in looks and with drawing in pollinators. These pollinators are so important to the garden and having a successful crop.

Show and Tell

If you want to see how I start my seeds please check out my YouTube video here. You will see how simple it is and what a great reward comes from one little seed.

Let me know what seeds you are starting.

Here is to your homesteading dreams,

Shawn

New beginnings

New Beginnings

  • By - DiyGarden
  • Posted on

New Home

New Beginning

Happy New Year and welcome to new beginnings! Can you believe that 2022 has come to an end and 2023 is finally here. I don’t know if I’m happy or sad about that fact. You see, 2022 was full. I had some major surgery this past summer and I am feeling so much better but it was a two to three month recovery. And during all of that we sold our old home and had to move into a rental which we are still at. It took awhile but we have found a nice little piece of property with a project of a home on it. Believe me, I will be sharing a lot about it!

New Garden

The worst of news is also the best of news when it comes to my garden. It will be a new garden and I’m excited about this but the work this will bring is also overwhelming. Setting up a garden for me means to create an accessible garden which we are building with raised beds using metal water troughs for the most part. All of this means creating new soil, learning the best places to plant things and just creating my garden.

New Animals

new animals
new animals

I can’t have a garden without having my chickens, bunnies and worms. These little buddies of mine are so important to me for building and maintaining my garden. The name of this blog might be Our DIY Garden we will have plenty of animals to take care because they are so important to the garden and building compost. While I won’t get into it to much right now we will talk about how each animal will have dual jobs which I’m excited about.

So, we have talked about the new beginnings of 2023. Right now, I’m not sure if I should be excited about the new home, the new garden and the new animals that 2023 are bringing. But I do know one thing, all of it is coming. So, I’m inviting you to come along with me and see how the changes happen.