When it’s safe to reuse pickle brine – and when it isn’t. Plus a zillion ideas for how to use that tasty leftover brine once all the pickles are eaten.
Reader Questions
Honest Reasons You Shouldn't Get Ducks
True talk – ducks aren’t for everyone. These are some of the reasons why they might not be right for you.
Reader Questions: February
I can’t let February sneak past without doing a reader question post. This month: fermentation lids, peppers that will ripen in the Northwest, litter for chicken coops and more. We also have Community Questions asking for suggestions, advice or resources for gardening in Central America and Florida. I’m not knowledgeable enough to answer, but maybe you can help?
Are LED Grow Lights Worth The Money?
Reader Chris wrote in several weeks ago, asking about LED Grow Lights. Have you revisited LED Grow Lights lately? I want to start some transplants earlier than usual this year, and my normal method of raising transplants won’t work. I need to invest in some grow lights and I really don’t want to buy fluorescent tubes…
Reader Questions: Expanding The Garden, Best Gardening Tools, Sand In The Chicken Coop & More
I’ve been sitting on a pile of Reader Questions for awhile. I love your questions – they’re the best source of inspiration and really help shape what I write about! It’s my experience that if one person has a question, 20,000 people have that question. And if I don’t have an answer – one of…
Help! Why Do My Canning Jars Keep Breaking? – Reader Question
It’s time for a reader question! Bay emailed to ask, “Help! My jars keep breaking when I put the wire basket in the boiling water. What am I doing wrong?” Thanks for the question, Bay. Let me guess – pickles? It’s almost always pickles. I’ve heard from several readers with this same jar breakage problem, and…
An Impromptu Gardening Q&A
Last night, I just wasn’t feeling inspired. I’ve been doing a lot of behind-the-scenes writing for the book (which is still months out but which is, terrifyingly, now available for pre-order), so my creative juices were running thin. So, I did what any self respecting modern writer would do – I took to Facebook to…
{Reader Question} Can You Homestead with Kids?
I received a question the other day from reader Andrea about how to keep up with a “homesteader” type lifestyle when you have kids. I would love to know where you were in this journey when you had babies and how you were able to keep up with it. We currently live a similar life (gardens, chickens,…
Help! Garden Anxiety! (Reader Question)
Sophie wrote to me a few days after I posted this photo on my Facebook page. She wanted to know if my garden had always looked this healthy. Hello! Quick question! Do you feel like your garden always looked this nice and healthy? Or did it take you time? Time to improve the soil, learn…
What Fruits And Veggies Will Grow In Shallow Soil? (Reader Question)
I have 1-foot high raised beds on my concrete soil. It’s really is that hard, filled with rocks and impossible to dig. I put in 2 grapes on a little arbor. What fruits and veggies will survive in such shallow soil? Thank you for any help you can share. – Sharon Hi Sharon. The quick…