survival gardening

5 Tough Crops That Perform Well in Poor Soil

May 8, 2026 by Brandon Marcus Leave a Comment

Gardening does not always start with perfect dirt, and that reality surprises more people than it should. Millions of home gardeners work with rocky clay, sandy patches, or tired soil that has seen better decades. Instead of fighting nature, smart growers lean into crops that actually enjoy rough conditions and still deliver solid harvests. These…

7 Vegetables That Germinate Fast Even in Unpredictable Spring Weather

May 1, 2026 by Brandon Marcus Leave a Comment

Spring weather loves to keep gardeners guessing. One day brings warm sunshine, the next delivers chilly winds or surprise rain showers that seem determined to slow everything down. Yet some vegetables refuse to play by those rules and push through the soil with impressive speed. These fast-germinating crops offer a reliable way to kick off…

The Calorie King: Why Potatoes are the Highest ROI Crop for Budget Growers

April 13, 2026 by Brandon Marcus Leave a Comment

The crown for the most practical, high-impact crop does not go to flashy heirloom tomatoes or trendy microgreens. It belongs to a humble, dirt-loving powerhouse that quietly outperforms nearly everything else in the garden. Potatoes pack serious calorie density, deliver impressive yields, and demand surprisingly little upfront investment, which makes them a dream for anyone…

How To Get Free Seeds From The Government by Amanda Blankenship Seeds might seem like a small expense, but any seasoned…
Should I Use Enviro Ice On My Plants? by Kathryn Vercillo Every week, I receive food from Hungryroot. It's a great…
From Trash to Treasure: Transform Shredded Paper Into Garden Gold by Amanda Blankenship Should you use shredded paper as garden mulch? It might…
What Happens to Plants If You Use Enviro Ice on Them? by Amanda Blankenship About a year ago, I wrote our first article about…

7 Things Garden Centers Often Mark Down Before Fall

Garden centers start changing gears as summer winds down, and that shift can create some surprisingly good bargains. Plants that looked like premium purchases in June may suddenly land on the clearance rack, while pots, garden supplies, and seasonal merchandise can get price cuts as stores make room for fall inventory. That does not mean…

Should You Save Seeds From Grocery Store Produce? Sometimes It Works, Sometimes It Doesn’t

That tomato from the grocery store could become next summer’s tomato plant, but it could also become a very elaborate science experiment with leaves and no decent fruit. Grocery store produce sometimes contains perfectly viable seeds, yet the seed’s ability to grow tells only part of the story. The bigger question involves what kind of…

9 Popular Garden Purchases Frugal Gardeners Can Usually Skip

Gardening can turn into an expensive hobby remarkably fast. A few seed packets become a cart full of gadgets, specialty mixes, decorative containers, and tools that promise to make every tomato, flower, and cucumber perform like a champion. The good news is that plants rarely care how much money gets spent on them. A decent…

Your Garden Hose Could Be Quietly Adding to Your Water Bill

A garden hose can look perfectly innocent while quietly sending money down the drain. A worn washer, loose connection, damaged fitting, or hose left running longer than necessary can turn an ordinary watering session into an easy-to-miss source of water waste. The sneaky part comes from where many hose leaks happen: right at the spigot….