Sprouting Life Garden

Fruit trees!!! 🍎🍐🍑 🌱To have a garden is to believe in the future! 🌱 One of my biggest regrets when getting our property was not planting fruit trees right away. We didn't plan on being here as long as we have, so this Spring I found some 2-3 year old trees for cheap and decided to go for it. IM NOT A TREE EXPERT, but I did have fruit trees in Asheville and learned a few things. Some things not mentioned in the video that come to mind..... ❤️A sunny spot! On a slope is great! Make sure it drains well when you get a lot of rain. ❤️Check out what varieties grow well in your area ❤️Don't plant it too deep! About the depth of the root ball is fine. Just make the hole a lot wider. And gently press down around the tree to pack down the soil and remove air bubbles. ❤️ Give your tree some support while they're young! Once I apply mulch, we're going to makeshift a support system with chicken wire and some wood stakes that will help them survive these 3 kids 🤪 Any other tips for your fruit trees? I admittedly don't know much about pruning or pest management, so I'll be calling on my arborist friends (YouTube lol) to learn that when the time comes. Side note, last March I made a post about a dog running out in front of our car when we were restocking Tallow products in Floyd. And, in a wild round about way, found out the owner worked with my sister in Roanoke and she gave him to us! That's Banjo and he loves to sit with me in the garden, and take care of all the bunnies🤦🏼 . . . . . #growfoodnotlawns #roanokeva #growyourown

Grow your own Worm Castings!!! You can easily and cheaply grow your own organic fertilizer for your garden! You can buy a fancy worm bin, but it's really not necessary. Get a Rubbermaid type tote with a lid, it CANNOT be clear because worms like it dark! Drill some holes in the top. They like the outside temps to be around 50-85ish degrees. These are headed to the preschool for now, but when I get them back at the end of the year I plan to keep them in my laundry room or on our carport. Fill it with a rehydrated coconut coir brick, soil, damp newspaper and cardboard bits, leaves,etc. Not too wet! Cut up anything you would put in the compost and feed around once or twice a week. If there is food leftover at the end of the week you can feed it a little less. There shouldn't be a smell! Avoid citrus (they just don't like it), or any overly moldy things. No dairy or meat. We fed ours leftover fruit, coffee grounds, kale and cabbage bits. Usually the worms will adjust how much they reproduce to the size of their home, but you can always take some out and put them in the garden (or my brother will take a few when he goes fishing) if it looks a little full. Put the food on one side of the bin and the worms will migrate to it! Then I scoop out the poop on the other side. After a few weeks, you can start collecting the poop and put it directly on your plants! It's a great way to get the kids involved in a low maintenance pet. . . . . . . #growyourown #wormcastings #gardentips #teachyourkids #roanokeva #roanokegardeners #sproutinglifegarden #salemva

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for all your support this year! We started out a year ago in one store. Now we're at 8 stores around the area, we got our LLC and website truckin, I've been able to share my love of gardening on regular appearances of "All the Dirt", and have so many exciting new things in the works! People have come up to me or messaged me how our plants/products have changed their life for the better, and that means the absolute most. We have met so many wonderful new friends and I've been able to be at home with my kids, which is right where I want to be. But as much as I love being with them all the time, Mommy and Mama needed a night. So we're going to party hard in our PJs and probably be asleep by 10! This is what "deep in the trenches of small kids" parenting dreams are made of!!!😂 Cya next year❤️ . . . . #smallbusiness #roanokeva #sproutinglifegarden

Happy Halloween!!! 🎃 We're dropping some Tallow Barrier Balm and other skincare goodies goodies at @bocochiro @bryantorchardsfarmmarket this afternoon! It's a beautiful, warm day and we're blessed to be creating all natural goodness for you and your family! . . . . . #grassfedtallowskincare #roanokeva #tallowbarrierbalm #tallowdiapercream #tallowlipbalm #whippedtallowbalm #calendulasalve #tallowskincare

Testing out some new recipes and these Sourdough chocolate chip muffins were a hit with the biggest critic🤣. They're sweet, but not overly sweet. So moist and made with organic flour and avocado or coconut oil instead of vegetable oil. They freeze beautifully too! 4/$10. Sourdough has taken a backseat to the garden in recent months, but since we roll with the seasons on our little homestead, I'm amping up my sourdough baked goods this fall and winter (along with our skincare products of course). You can order through DMs here or email for porch pickup in Roanoke, and on our website we have a sourdough section with other goodies and pricing ❤️ www.sproutinglifegarden.com [email protected] . . . . . . #roanokeva #sourdough #sourdoughmuffins #homemade #eatrealfood

Garlic planting time! 🧄You still have some time to get it in the ground! A few things I didn't go over in the video.... With any garlic, when you separate the cloves and pick out the biggest ones to plant, leave the papery skin on. You can use garlic from the grocery store! Usually it's a softneck variety, which doesn't produce garlic scapes in the Spring that can be cut and cooked, but it will still grow! It is ready to harvest when the bottom three leaves are dry. It's important to cut the scape off of hardneck varieties in the Spring so the plant can focus its energy on growing a big bulb. Once it's harvested, it needs to cure in a dry place for a couple of weeks for longer storage. The softneck variety you can braid and it looks beautiful! Any other garlic questions? . . . . . . #roanokeva #growfoodnotlawns #garlicplanting #zone7b

BIG news for these technology deficient business owners🤣 We have a website where you can order straight from us and to celebrate, we're having a 20% off sale for the next week! Please check it out and if you've been on the fence about ordering, now is the time to do it! You can also order organic sourdough for local pickup or delivery. Thank you for all the support. We're growing and it's because of awesome local businesses believing in us and YOU! www.sproutinglifegarden.com . . . . #roanokeva #sproutinglifegarden #grassfedtallow #tallowskincare #tallowdiapercream #tallowlipbalm #supportsmallbusiness

Once you get one loofah you'll have enough seeds for years to come. After we shake out most of the seeds, we peel it and it's done! I usually cut them into two or three pieces to store. . . . . #loofah #luffa #growyourown #sproutinglifegarden #teachthechildren

We're having Sunday veggie garden dinner tonight! Potatoes, okra, tomatoes, cucumbers, cayenne peppers and corn all from the garden. Crowder peas (the only thing we bought) and our canned chow chow on the menu too. If you have too much okra on your hands, this is one way to preserve it. We love to bake okra too, but when we're feeling really Southern we fry it up 😂. My okra didn't do so well this year, but luckily we have extra frozen to supplement. The vacuum sealer isn't necessary, you can just use freezer bags, but it definitely helps it keep fresher longer. Also, when you take the okra out of the freezer, don't forget to bread it again before you fry. I've got a similar tip for greens, which I'll try to film soon! Happy preserving 🥫 . . . . . #okratips #freezingokra #dontpanicitsorganic #roanokeva #sproutinglifegarden

Just pressed juice😍 I'm glad our son insists on juicing because I don't always take the time nowadays. This is Atlas' blend last night. He loves picking out all the ingredients and pushing it through the juicer......it was beautiful and delicious. Beets and carrots from the garden Apples Lemon Blueberry

Here is a basic recipe for refrigerator pickles, taken from self proclaimed foodie....you can always half or 1/3 the recipe for smaller batches. Feel free to add other pickling spices or some red pepper flakes to heat it up a notch! 1. Wash your cucumbers and slice them into spears or circles. Pickling cucumbers are best, but smaller regular cucumbers will do just fine. Stack cucumbers, smashed garlic cloves, and peppercorns in mason jars. 2. Get your brine on the stove. Heat to boiling and pour over pickles, garlic and peppercorns. Make sure to cover cucumbers. 3. Let cool, cover and refrigerate. Let sit for one week then enjoy! 10-12 pickling cucumbers 4 cups water 2 cups white vinegar 2 tablespoons salt 1 teaspoon sugar big bunch of dill thick stems removed 1 head of garlic skins removed, cloves smashed peppercorn kernels  (about 10 peppercorns per jar, give or take) We're excited to try fermented pickles next for some good probiotics! We'll keep you posted on how it works out. . . . . . #refrigeratorpickles #cucumbers #roanokeva #dontpanicitsorganic #growyourown

Green beans are going crazy right now! Be sure to pick them often. Peas, flowers, etc are the same way. You end up getting more if you consistently pick! Also, it's not too late to put some green bean seeds in the ground ( I use bush varieties). They don't require a lot of space, grow quickly and easily and are so delicious fresh. . . . #gardentip #growfoodnotlawns #roanokegardeners #roanokeva #greenbeans #growyourown