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NPK Simplified – Backyard Food Growing

NPK Simplified – Backyard Food Growing

What is NPK? Nitrogen – Phosphorous – Potassium Most fertilizers and soil amendments show this formula somewhere predominantly on their packaging. This shows the ratio of the three most important plant nutrients. Potassium has a “K” because of it’s name “Kalium” on the periodic table of elements. These three elements are fundamental to the development of … Read more

Fiskars 18″ PowerGear Loppers – Backyard Food Growing

Fiskars 18″ PowerGear Loppers – Backyard Food Growing

Fiskars produces a wide range of tools for a multitude of different jobs around the yard. This is another one of my favourite choices. The PowerGear loppers. This handy little set of 18″ bypass loppers is very lightweight, easy to use and very tough. They are perfect for people with limited strength, small jobs and … Read more

Attract Hummingbirds and Butterflies – Backyard Food Growing

Attract Hummingbirds and Butterflies – Backyard Food Growing

Monarch Butterfly All great gardens have a high amount of diversity with many different plants all with different habits and purposes. When you’re planning your food garden, also plan a little space, if you can for some flowering perennials and annuals. Rufous Hummingbird The purpose of this is to attract pollinators. It’s not only bees … Read more

Big Fat Worm on Basil – Backyard Food Growing

Big Fat Worm on Basil – Backyard Food Growing

So I caved and actually bought a couple of basil plants from the store (Walmart), I just wanted more of it and the season was passing quickly.  There wasn’t enough time to sprout more seeds. I’m sure you already know that there’s never too much basil! This is another lesson in why it’s always better … Read more

How to Grow Potatoes in Bags – Backyard Food Growing

How to Grow Potatoes in Bags – Backyard Food Growing

It’s easy to think that growing potatoes would be impossible in a small space, but it’s really so easy and tidy when you use growing bag designed just for growing potatoes. You don’t even need that much space and you don’t need any ground to dig in either. This is another great way to grow some … Read more

How to Grow Grapes in Containers – Backyard Food Growing

How to Grow Grapes in Containers – Backyard Food Growing

Grapes are most often seen growing in long rows in vast hillside fields, lined up perfectly on the sun baked valleys and hills in many, many places in many countries. It would be easy to assume that it’s impossible to have a grape vine growing in a small space or even in a container. This … Read more

How to Grow Cherry Trees in Containers – Backyard Food Growing

How to Grow Cherry Trees in Containers – Backyard Food Growing

Cherry trees can definitely be grown in containers too, use a toy tub or a larger container in depth and diameter. Dwarf cherry trees are quite tolerant to the restricted environment of a container as long as they get the right care. When you purchase your young tree, choose varieties that are suitable to your … Read more

8 Steps to Growing Great Tomatoes – Backyard Food Growing

8 Steps to Growing Great Tomatoes – Backyard Food Growing

Step 1: When you’re at the nursery, always choose the shortest and most stocky young plant you can find. The short stocky, thick stemmed seedlings are grown with care under very close proximity UV lighting. The short thick young plants show that the little sprouts didn’t have to reach for the light as they were … Read more

Perennials That Need to Be Cut Down in Fall – Backyard Food Growing

Perennials That Need to Be Cut Down in Fall – Backyard Food Growing

As the gardening season nears the end and the flowers have faded, most perennials get a little straggly looking and not so pretty anymore. Some perennials and many herbaceous plants like to be cut down in the fall due to mildew and other issues in rainy areas.  There are also some perennials that prefer to be … Read more