Feb 24, 2012 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} Growing Stevia

Back in 2007, we started our first adventure into growing stevia. We had heard about this naturally sweet plant and just had to try it out. We’re avid iced tea drinkers, and we like it sweet. So we end up going through a whole lot of sugar in a month. Although the iced tea still ends up being a bit healthier than a bunch of sodas, it still ends up being a bunch of empty calories we consume, not to... read more

Feb 17, 2012 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} Jump start on spring

The world around us has finally begun to thaw and I no longer need to wear long underwear, two shirts, a sweater and two pairs of socks when I’m inside our house. Seriously, it was COLD around here for the last few weeks — and I am so, so glad that it’s staying above freezing now. That doesn’t actually mean that our rain barrels have thawed yet from their solid ice status, but at... read more

Feb 10, 2012 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} GrowVeg Garden Planning Software

Happy Friday! This has been a rather long week for me as I’ve been trying to finally get a cold out of my system — and get Mackenzie over the same cold which was really not a fun one (sore throat, runny nose, congestion, hacking cough). But the weekend is quickly approaching which is always a good thing around here! After I was going around and seeking out plans for garden inspiration last... read more

Feb 3, 2012 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} Garden Planning Pinspiration

There have been some really useful things coming across my screen lately when it comes to planning your garden for spring — which I know will be just around the corner despite this wildly cold spell we are having here in Germany right now. Thinking of spring and seeing the tulips I planted indoors coming up while it’s about 0°F outside is really keeping me going…not to mention all the... read more

Jan 27, 2012 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} The Organic Gardeners Handbook

Have you ever awakened one morning to find your plants covered in strange little black bumps? Or sprayed the aphids from your plants for the 100th time but still don’t seem to ever successfully be rid of them? Would you like to know how to once and for all deal with insects and diseases of all shapes and sizes on your plants with natural and organic methods without searching online for hours? How... read more

Jan 20, 2012 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} Why Heirloom is Worth It

As you may recall, I recently went into a long dissertation about why heirloom seeds are important to our future when I was mentioned the Seed Savers Exchange. But if you’re not really sure what an heirloom seed or plant actually is, let me break it down for you. Heirloom seeds are those which have been passed down from generation to generation. They may be plants which have been growing in your... read more

Jan 13, 2012 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} Our fall/winter garden

It’s been a few weeks since you were last able to peek into our garden…and there have actually been some noteworthy changes. We’ve had unusually warm weather here for the last few weeks, with only one brief freeze while we were gone (not that we’re sad about missing that). I know the the warm spell won’t last forever because the weather in Germany has been anything but... read more

Jan 6, 2012 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} Square Foot Gardening

My dearest fellow gardeners, Welcome to a new year of gardening! Whether you’ve been gardening for a while or are just getting started or have never even planted one seed in your life, I have a feeling that 2012 is going to be an outstanding year. Today I wanted to share a a quick email with you from an NOH reader who has given me some real inspiration for my gardens, both in our courtyard and behind... read more

Dec 9, 2011 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} Seed Savers Exchange

Seeds. They are the life-force of your garden. Without seeds, most of the plants in our garden would cease to exist — whether you are planting seeds yourself or using store-bought seedlings — and in turn, life would become far more complicated since qe depend on plants for far more than just food. Now you might not realize it, but more and more GMO products are creeping into the food supply... read more

Dec 2, 2011 Posted by Tiffany

{Garden Life} No Ordinary Canning Jars

Over the last few years, I have mentioned my love of canning several times and shown everyone my oh-so-European glass-lid canning jars. Once I decided I was going to start canning in Germany, it really did take me quite a few months to adjust to the idea of canning in these things. I grew up canning with my mom in Ball and Mason jars — and I was pretty sure that I’d read somewhere that these... read more