Home Garden - Food Forest
A collection of stories from our urban homestead in Portland Oregon.
Our Home Garden Food Forest Stories
Root Pouch
Thriving Container Gardening with Root Pouch Grow Bags Grow a thriving container garden using grow bags from Root Pouch. These specialized garden containers are designed for optimal plant growth. Made from recycled materials that are BPA free and non-toxic. These...
Woodchips for Chicken Run
Keep Birds Healthy with Woodchips for Chicken Run Turn woodchips for a chicken run into the perfect mulch for gardens and a food forest. Wood chips are the best ground cover for chicken and duck runs due to being high in carbon and low cost. Source chips from...
How to Use a Garden Hoe
How to Use a Garden Hoe Like a Professional Pick the hoe for your garden. Stand firm, push, and pull the tool through the soil to transform the dirt into a luscious garden. Knowing how to use a garden hoe like a professional makes your days weeding, cultivating,...
Container Gardening
What is Container Gardening Container gardening is perfect for growing in small spaces or homesteaders that can never say no to one more plant, but lack additional ground. Containers come in all shapes and sizes, so match the right size pot to the vegetable, fruit,...
Harvest Root Vegetables
Harvest Root Vegetables from a Backyard Garden Everyone loves to harvest root vegetables from a backyard garden. These crops are a staple. We dedicate an entire bed to growing specific varieties of organic garlic for their tasty scapes and massive bulbs. Harvesting...
Watering Fruit Trees
Watering Fruit Trees in a Food Forest Watering fruit trees in a food forest requires a little planning when building a backyard orchard. Applying water to a couple of trees with a single hose is simple. Once you have a dozen or more trees and countless berry bushes...
Best Tools for Weeds
The Best Tools for Weeds in the Garden The best tools for weeds in the garden is the one that you have by your side when you see the weeds. However, when planning to work in the garden select the tool for the task at hand. Picking the right tool is half the battle. ...
Cultivating Tools
Cultivating Tools for Backyard and Market Gardeners Always use a cultivating tool to aerate the soil in the garden beds. The microorganisms that live in the soil and help your plants thrive appreciate the soil aerated and loose. The plant roots can quickly expand in...
Straw as a Mulch
Using Straw as a Mulch in the Garden Using straw as a mulch in the garden is a great way to use your animal bedding. Of course, you can apply straw straight from the bale to your garden beds as well if you need a good mulch material. The straw will keep the moisture...
Best Garden Fork
The Best Garden Fork for Backyard Gardeners The best garden fork is the Hoss Tools option. Also known as a digging fork or a spading fork these heavy-tined garden tools are perfect for many tasks around the garden. Easily harvest root vegetables and use it to move...
How to Clear a Vegetable Garden Full of Weeds
How to Clear a Vegetable Garden Full of Weeds Efficiently and Organically Learn how to clear a vegetable garden full of weeds and then follow gardening best practices so it never gets so bad again. Weeding organically means you are going to be doing real mechanical...
How to keep garden watered while on vacation
How to Keep Garden Watered While on Vacation, Build Systems Have a thriving garden in your backyard, but want to go away during the heat of the summer? When considering how to keep garden watered while on vacation consider building a irrigation system. Of course,...
Trellising Marionberry Vines
A simple system for trellising our marionberry vines to keep them off the ground to avoid plants rooting in the ground. Marionberries grow on second-year vines. It is important to remove the previous vines and manage the growth for the production of future fruit. A little management goes a long way for fruit production.
Propogating Marionberry Plants
Marionberry plants are super simple to propagate, even a toddler can help out.