Gardening 

You can successfully grow plants anywhere…

All you need to successfully grow plants are three elements:

light, nutrients and water.

If you are new to gardening, a seasoned gardener or a Plant “Angel of Death,” I can help you.

NEW: Seed Starting Guide

Do you know how to grow plants from seed successfully?

Growing plants, particularly vegetables and herbs, is a fundamental piece of building a resilient life. There is nothing like growing healthy plants and harvesting produce and herbs in the late summer and autumn.  

This FREE Seed Starting Guide will walk you through my process for growing vegetables and herbs from seed successfully. You do not need expensive equipment!

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Blue Ribbon Articles and Podcast Episodes

Intro to Rain Gutter Grow Systems

This is one of our most popular posts on Small Scale Life. In my experience, I have found that gardeners struggle to water plants routinely, especially if that person works a job away from home for extended periods of time (i.e., sales, transportation, medical positions or public service positions).  I have found a method of gardening that meets all of these needs.  This method is a type of Wicking Beds called Rain Gutter Grow Systems, and in this post, I am going to introduce you to these systems.  

Vertical Garden 101: Introduction to Vertical Gardening

 Space is always a premium in gardens, especially when you are a renter.  I had to get creative using space to grow food, and one creative way to expand is to capitalize the unused airspace.  This post is an introduction to vertical gardening, and additional articles will cover how I built and maintain the vertical gardens I am used in 2016.

How to Build Vertical Garden Planters

In this post and episode, I will discuss the following topics:

  • What is a vertical garden?
  • Benefits and challenges of vertical garden planters
  • Materials needed to build vertical garden planters
  • Step-by-step guide for building vertical garden planters

How to Prune Tomatoes to Improve Production

In our small gardens, I am here to grow produce, not leaves and branches.  I can’t eat those!  One way to increase your tomato production is by pruning tomatoes.  In this episode, I am going to discuss how to prune tomatoes to improve the health of your plants and to grow more tomatoes.  Buckle up, buttercup, because we are going to talk about aggressively pruning those plants!

Urban Farming Advice 

Michael Bell and Scott Hebert return to discuss urban farming advice and best practices. Topics discussed during this podcast includes their farms, their markets, typical yields, watering crops, harvesting product, successfully marketing products and potentially expanding their operations.

Urban Farming with Michael Bell

Inspired by some of my heroes including Gary Vee, Curtis Stone and JM Fortier, Michael is carving out his organic footprint in a quiet spot six miles from down Downtown Dallas.  It is pretty cool talking with Michael, and I learned a lot from him.  Whether it is starting your own small business (not necessarily urban farming) or getting fit, I think there is something for everyone in these next two podcasts!

Latest Harvest from the Garden

7 Steps to Winterize Your Garden – S2E26

7 Steps to Winterize Your Garden – S2E26

by | Oct 28, 2017 | , ,

https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/b0fd18a6-4edd-4b76-b0fd-8c7916d10787/e2378c90-44a8-4eca-b794-96ee6eeb1605.mp3 Download (28 MB, 28 mins 44 secs) A chill is in the air.  The winds have blown the leaves off the trees, and the nights are getting short.  Here in...

Fall Garden Update: Pest Patrol – S2E23

Fall Garden Update: Pest Patrol – S2E23

by | Oct 4, 2017 | , ,

https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/b0fd18a6-4edd-4b76-b0fd-8c7916d10787/7582de5e-869f-4e75-b0a6-0f21460a4d9b.mp3 Download (28 MB, 26 mins 29 secs) Welcome to October!  Over the past two days, we have gotten over two inches of rain here in Minnesota.  The rain...

Fall Garden Update – S2E21

Fall Garden Update – S2E21

by | Sep 21, 2017 | , ,

https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/b0fd18a6-4edd-4b76-b0fd-8c7916d10787/7e81f906-f6f8-4887-b4e3-4051f3c817e3.mp3 Download (29 MB, 27 mins 16 secs)  Yaaaarrrrrr!  Time to walk the plank, maties!  It's National Talk like a Pirate Day this week at Small Scale Life,...

Garden Update – Week of 8/28/17

Garden Update – Week of 8/28/17

by | Aug 28, 2017 |

For the first time this season, I am finally writing and podcasting a Garden Update for the Week of 8/28/17.  This is the first garden update from Minneapolis, and it is the first garden update using my iPhone 7. Of course, you can watch the Garden Update on the Small...