Ideas & Inspiration

Protecting Your Fruit Trees From Deer - 3D Electric Fence Unboxing & Setup Deer can set back a tree for years by damaging it or killing the tree altogether. One of the most popular ways to keep deer out of an orchard, garden, or food plot, is to use a 3D electric fence.

Beautiful and Functional Plants for your Cottage Garden

Beautiful and Functional Plants for Your Cottage Garden Cottage gardens are a popular choice for many homeowners who want to create a charming and inviting outdoor space. These gardens typically feature a mix of flowers, fruits, vegetables, and herbs, and are often designed to look informal and romantic.

Keep Apples Fresh Longer - apples in a basket

Keep Apples Fresh Longer - Proper Storage for Your Apple Harvest Make the most out of your crop by storing your apples properly. With the right conditions, apples can remain fresh for months – in some cases even up to a year! It starts with choosing a variety that stores well and then harvesting and storing with care. Even without a root cellar, apples can remain fresh for a surprisingly long time!

Thumbnail for video on Linear Food Forrest

Linear Food Forest | Permaculture for Farm or Yard | How it Can Be Applied Anywhere A linear food forest or linear permaculture design has so many applications! This method works well for larger homestead applications all the way down to small yards. Learn how Jane and Wink at EarthDance Farms use different tiers of crops under their fruit trees to create a permaculture design that also helps control water runoff. This design mimics a forest's edge and is ideal for low-maintenance and diverse yields!

Mowing Strawberry Plants When it's time to prune your strawberry patch, there are several options to consider for cutting back your strawberry plants. Andrew at the Howard Homestead utilized a push mower and bagger to prune his strawberry patch of 400 plants in less than 30 minutes!

See this Nova Elderberry's Growth in Just 1 Year We planted this Nova Elderberry one year ago in our demonstration garden at Stark Bro's as a bare-root plant. It is thriving with very minimal care. Its gorgeous shrub-like attributes make this a candidate for berry patch or landscape!

Watch now - a video on how to plant an columnar apple in a large pot

Growing Columnar Apple Trees in a Container Columnar apple trees, sometimes also referred to as urban fruit trees, spires, or colonnades, are fantastic fruit trees for small space growing!

Add These Fruits to Your Landscape Video Thumbnail

Top 5 Fruits to Add to Your Landscape Have you thought about adding berry plants or fruit trees to your landscape? This is referred to by many as foodscaping. Taking your traditional landscape and turning it into a food-producing growing space is an idea taking gardeners by storm.

Suburban Backyard Garden Tour Many gardeners may feel limited and intimidated by their space. Whether you're working with a blank canvas or wanting to add to the existing structures in your yard, there are a lot of factors to consider. We've found that simply observing what others do is a helpful starting point!

A cage around a tree and video icon to watch how to build a cage to keep deer off of fruit trees

Keeping Deer Off Your Fruit Trees There are several ways to consider protecting your young trees from deer. In this video, Andrew explains a simple yet effective DIY deer cage he built on his homestead to protect his young orchard.