By Christine Miller

The seed catalogs have arrived and the glamorous part of planning the garden - choosing what to plant - is in full swing. But let's not forget the garden soil! After all, the soil is your plants' food, and your garden plants will only be as healthy as the soil you plant them in. Therefore we are proud to present the beginning gardener's top ten soil dos! Look for the beginning gardener's top ten soil don'ts in the next issue.

TOP TEN SOIL DOS

DO educate yourself about the living soil's organisms and ecosystem.
While soil is a combination of rock particles, organic matter, water, and air, the living soil is also home to a host of microscopic plants and animals, and worms and other insects in various stages of development. These soil flora (plants) and fauna (animals) play an important role in breaking down rock and organic matter into minerals and nutrients in a form usable by the plants. A healthy soil is not sterile; it supports a balance of these organisms in order for your garden plants to thrive.
Quick study: Soils and Soil Microorganisms
Lifetime learning: Pay Dirt by J. I. Rodale

DO start a compost pile.
Compost, according to Webster's, is "a mixture that consists largely of decayed organic matter and is used for fertilizing and conditioning land." Healthy, living garden soil needs to be amended with decayed organic matter on an ongoing basis. Compost replenishes nutrients the soil organisms and plants need to thrive; it improves the physical structure of the soil by making clay soils lighter and sandy soils denser; it improves a dry soil's ability to hold water and a wet soil's ability to drain water; it provides important checks and balances for disease organisms or pests - the list goes on and on.
Quick study: Black Gold in Them Thar Piles
Lifetime learning: The Rodale Book of Composting by Grace Gershuny

DO have your soil tested.
A soil test will tell you the level of your soil's pH, its mineral content, and how much organic matter it contains. Garden plants thrive at a soil pH of about 6.2. to 7.0, because that is the range where soil nutrients are most accessible to the plants' roots. Garden plants also need certain amounts of important minerals such as calcium or phosphorus, and of course, optimum levels of the previously discussed organic matter. Many soils are outside of the ideal ranges of pH, minerals, and humus (organic matter) and will need amending for garden plants to thrive. Soil tests are relatively inexpensive ($10) through your local cooperative extension, or ask at your local garden center.
Quick study: Get a Soil Test, Organic Gardening Magazine
Alternative Soil Testing Laboratories

DO improve the nutrition of your soil.
If your soil test shows deficiencies in important minerals, do amend the soil to bring those nutrients in the optimum range for garden plants to thrive. Poor soil produces poor plants, and poor plants are more susceptible to disease and insect attack, besides not being as healthful for your family.
Quick study: Web Sites on Soil Testing and Nutrient Management
Lifetime learning: Rodale's Successful Organic Gardening: Improving the Soil by Erin Hynes

DO improve the texture of your soil.
Soil texture refers to the sizes and amounts of rock particles (stones down to sand or clay pieces); organic matter, including living organisms; and water, nutrients, and air. Soil texture determines how well a soil can take up and retain water, nutrients, and air; all necessary components for the life of soil organisms as well as garden plants. The ideal soil texture is about 40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay, with generous amounts of organic matter. Add compost to improve the texture of all soil types, and till or dig to break up hard or compacted soils. The earthworms and your plants' roots will thank you.
Quick study: Building Fertile Soil
Lifetime learning: Rodale's Successful Organic Gardening: Improving the Soil by Erin Hynes

DO plant in raised beds whenever possible.
So many advantages, so little space: (1) raised beds quickly build up healthy and deep topsoil; (2) raised beds improve soil drainage in areas where saturated soil is a problem; (3) raised beds keep you from walking in your garden, thus preventing soil compaction; (4) raised beds warm up earlier in the spring, lengthening your growing season; (5) raised beds allow plants to be spaced a little closer together, increasing your per square foot yield; (6) soil health can be monitored and controlled more easily bed by bed; (7) raised beds conserve water, compost, and nutrients, since they are applied as needed bed by bed; (8) raised beds are a barrier to soil-borne pests or diseases; (9) raised beds eliminate the need for digging up sod, double-digging soil, and other back-breaking soil preparation; and (10) raised beds are closer to the gardener, thus daily garden chores are less straining to the gardener's back.
Quick study: Raised Bed Gardening
Build Your Own Raised Garden Beds
Lifetime learning: The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Edward C. Smith

DO plan a weed barrier.
Weeds thrive in all that healthy soil just as garden plants do. If you do not plan a weed barrier, the weeds can quickly overtake your garden plants, and even in a modest-sized garden can soon outstrip your ability to keep up with them. I am speaking from experience here! Then all your hard work in the spring will be undone. Common weed barriers are mulch and black mesh fabric specifically sold as weed barrier.
Quick study: Weed Solutions, Organic Gardening Magazine
Lifetime Learning: Rodale's Successful Organic Gardening: Controlling Weeds by Erin Hynes

DO plan a watering system.
Unless you live in an area with gentle rains every week without fail, you will need a watering system to tide you over the dry spells. Hand-watering each bed works, but it is labor intensive. We like the soaker hose drip system. Water amounts can be tailored for each bed; it keeps water out of the paths, thus cutting down on muddy messes; and since soaker hoses water the soil, not the plants, it cuts down on the spread of plant diseases. If you live in a wet area, your plan will need to focus on garden drainage, a system of carrying excess water away from your beds.
Quick study: Drip Irrigation for Home Gardens

DO rotate your plants.
Garden plants can be grouped into families. The most common are nightshades, or tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes; squash; legumes, such as beans and peas; root crops, like carrots and beets; greens, such as lettuce or spinach; and the crucifers, like broccoli and cabbage. The idea is that if a bed was filled with tomatoes last year, do not fill it with tomatoes or other nightshade plants this year; plant squash or greens instead. There should be at least four growing seasons before tomatoes or another nightshade returns to that bed. This prevents family-specific diseases and pests from gaining a foothold in your garden beds, and also helps your soil nutrition remain balanced, by not having the same plants depleting the same nutrients year after year.
Lifetime learning: The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Edward C. Smith

DO rest your beds on the seventh year.
Following biblical wisdom is always a great idea. So that you don't lose your whole garden on the seventh year, plan to keep one seventh of your beds fallow each season, and rotate the fallow beds each year. This way you will always have beds in production but are not violating the biblical command to let the land rest. The year that your beds are fallow, let what grows of its own grow. God is smarter than me, and He must have had a good reason to command this, so I am not going to "tweak" His instructions.
Quick study: Leviticus 25:1-7

Three-Ring Binder-To have all of these helpful articles and resources at your convenience, print out the Homestead e-Newsletter, punch holes in it, and place in a three-ring binder. Anytime you need to refer to an article or recipe, it will be right at hand!

Toilet Paper Cardboard Centers-Cut in half crosswise and corral them in a tray of some kind (I've used cut-down cardboard boxes, lined with a plastic bag, plastic dishpans, an old roaster, etc.). Fill each half tube with a few spoonfuls of soil and plant your seeds. To transplant the seedlings outside, plant the tube and all. It functions as a nice protective collar for the baby seedling, before gradually breaking down into the soil. - Eleanor Joyce of PA

Time to Check the Seeds-If you have any seeds left over from last year, before you base your whole garden and harvest on them, test a few of them for germination. Place some of the seeds between two moist paper towels. Keep the paper towels damp and in a dark place to see how many seeds you may need for your planting. This is better than finding out too late!

Most Wonderful Time of the Year!-Not like the song goes! I am talking about the perfect time of the year to buy certain products. We all know that sales of certain items "cycle" during parts of the year.

During February, I have found that typical sale items are mattresses, sheets, comforters, sewing machines, heavy coats, work boots, and, at the end of the month, desktop computers. These are the products that retailers drop the prices on or have at lowest-of-the-year savings!

If you know of the cycle patterns for certain products and can help others save money, share them here with us! We want to hear what YOU know! Contact Carla@HomesteadBlogger.com and share some of your expertise and wisdom and we will print it right here next month!

By Lisa Barthuly

It's that time of year. We all sit down with paper and pencil in hand and start to map out and dream about this year's garden! Why not sit down with our children and do the same? A garden is wonderful family time and a great learning experience for young and old alike!

Cultivate a love of gardening with your children, no matter their age, by letting them participate in the family garden! Even better, give them their own - garden space this could be a container on the porch, a flowerbed, or even a section of a larger garden space that is all their own! Gather paper, pencil, and some gardening and seed catalogs and dream together! Let them choose what they want to plant, teach them to work the earth, plant their seeds, and care for them. This is their garden spot. They will delight in watching the seeds that they have planted grow under their care, and the look on their faces when they see the first sprig of green pop through the ground is priceless!

Children learn so much by doing and watching us. The time spent together is a gift in and of itself. Let them experiment. So what if they plant only daisies or petunias because they are pretty ones, or if their rows aren't perfect. After all, mine aren't either! It is the learning experience and time together that truly count. Even a 2-year-old can plant seeds for starters in a paper cup, dig in the dirt, and pick rocks out of the area, while the older children can help prepare the garden area, plant, weed, water, and PICK!

Now, if you are feeling creative or your children are a bit older, or have some gardening experience, why not try something a little different? If you happen to have the space, younger children would love the idea of a Sunflower House or Corn Fort! Plant the sunflowers in a square (with one open side for entry) or plant corn in square designs, 4-6 rows deep. These make for wonderful childhood hideaways and memories! A child who is a bit older might love to create a Butterfly Garden or a Hummingbird Garden! How about a Bean Tepee or a Morning Glory Fort? My children love to make their forts at the base of evergreens, and with some stumps or rocks they call it their fort. Maybe your children are the same? Maybe this summer they would enjoy a fort inside the garden area, or maybe they'd like to plant some flowers or veggies around their fort? I am just betting a Morning Glory Tepee would be a HUGE HIT and make a great place for tea parties! It's amazing all the things you and your children can do with dirt and sticks and seeds! You can find all kinds of ideas on the Internet or at the local library (see references below) or at HomesteadBlogger.com.

As we all begin to plan for the spring planting season, make it a family project, include the children, and they will love it! We include planting every year as part of our homeschool lessons, whether it's corn seed starts in paper cups or a full-scale garden. It is a teaching and learning experience every year! Enjoy this -season before the season - and plan on spending some time helping your children dream up their special garden! It makes for priceless memories. All wrapped up in the pure simplicity of A Child's Garden.

Some Great Books and Resources for Gardening with Children:
Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots by Sharon Lovejoy
Green Thumbs by Laurie Carlson
Beyond the Bean Seed by Nancy Allen Jurenka
JMG: Junior Master Gardener Handbook
Steps to a Bountiful Kids - Garden
The Children's Kitchen Garden: A Book of Gardening, Cooking and Learning
Great Gardens for Kids
A Child's Garden: Enchanting Outdoor Spaces for Children and Parents
Kids Garden! The Anytime, Anyplace Guide to Sowing and Growing Fun
Victory Gardens Kids Book

Lisa Barthuly resides in Washington with her husband, Marc, daughters Mercy and Cassandra, Cooter the dog, and Whitefoot the kitten. They recently moved to a new homestead, hope to be blessed with more children and critters, and have a cottage business selling all-natural soy and beeswax candles and other creations, Our Little Homestead Originals, that will be featured in our Merchant Village! You can get more information about Lisa's candles or read her writings at Our Little Homestead.

By Lisa Vitello

Whether you have acres to dedicate to a fruit and vegetable garden or just a small backyard, one of the simplest and most productive ways to grow your food is by utilizing a raised bed. The raised bed is easier to manage, will grow more food per square foot, and makes weeding a breeze. If you are a first-time gardener, try my one-bed method for a big harvest from a small area.

We built our raised bed frames out of redwood, ranging in size from 6x4x12 to 20x4x8, depending on what we wanted to grow in them. We placed these over ground that we had rototilled and amended with compost, fertilizer, and other minerals such as green sand and bonemeal. To this we added store-bought soil mix. Our favorite brand here on the North Coast is Organic Gardener, produced on McClellan Mountain, just east of us. Ask your local nursery what they would recommend for your area.

Because we grow a very large garden, we try to start many of our plants from seed. However, in this one-bed plan, buying plant starts shouldn't be too much of an expense. While you are at the nursery, browse around for catalogs or brochures on local growing conditions. Most nurseries will have these available. These ought to give you a good idea of what grows well in your area and when to plant. Also, don't be afraid to ask the employees questions. Most of them are there because they enjoy gardening, and they can be a gold mine of knowledge.

Let's assume you have constructed a 20-x4-x8- raised bed. A good combination of veggies would be something like lettuce and other salad fixin's, peas, pole beans, summer squash and strawberries. You will divide your raised bed into small parcels. Allow three feet for the lettuce and other salad veggies, four feet each for the beans, zucchini and strawberries and another three-foot section for the snap peas. That leaves you with six inches of space between each section.

The peas can be planted as seeds in the early spring. Buy the type that will climb up poles rather than the bush variety. That way, they will go up instead of spreading out and taking up too much room in your bed. One quick and easy way to create a natural 'trellis for your climbing peas is to use cut branches from trees. If you don't have any, ask someone you know who has trees to trim. They will probably be glad to get some of the cuttings off their hands.
 
The lettuce, green onions and other salad greens like parsley or spinach can be bought as plants and also planted in early spring. The same goes for the strawberries. Wait until later in the springtime to put in zucchini plants and the green beans as seeds. Again, use pole beans instead of the bush type so they can will climb up and take up less room. Pole beans are also more prolific.

When planting in a raised bed that has been prepared correctly, the soil will be so rich that plants or seeds can be placed closer together than is usually recommended on the seed package. When plants grow closer together, the leaves from each plant touch the other ones, creating shade underneath. Weeds cannot grow as profusely in that shade. This works best if you plant in a staggered triangle pattern rather than the typical straight rows.

Therefore, if the lettuce planting instructions say 12 inches apart, place them eight inches apart instead. If the seed instructions say to thin the seedlings so they are three inches apart, thin them two inches apart, and so on. As long as you have prepared nutrient rich soil in that bed and fertilize the plants, they will do just fine.

For those of you who are really short on space, you can still enjoy the pleasure of eating your own, homegrown food by planting a small salad garden in a half whiskey barrel. These barrels are normally available at your local nursery, but I've seen them for sale in local classifieds and usually at a lower price. So it pays to check around.

The most important thing to remember when planting in a barrel is that you must be sure to drill a couple of holes in the bottom for water drainage before you fill it with dirt. These barrels were made to hold liquid, and unless you give the water a way to drain, it will stay in the barrel and drown your plants. Trust me; we learned this the hard way.

Fill the barrel with planting soil, leaving about six inches of space at the top. Sprinkle some all-purpose vegetable fertilizer over it and work it in a little. For this mini-garden, we recommend one cherry tomato plant in the middle. Plant the lettuce in a circle around the tomato, then the onions in a circle around the lettuce, like a bull's eye. Alternate the green onions with herbs like parsley or cilantro for more variety. Carrots and sugar snap peas also do very well in a half barrel.

If you live in an area with very hot summers, be sure to look for lettuce varieties that resist bolting (going to seed). Keep the lettuce, onions and herbs going all summer long by cutting off what you want at the base rather than pulling out the entire plant. New growth will come back again and again.

I hope you can see the possibilities in planting a garden's worth of fruit and veggies in just one raised bed. This method will work even if you can create only a 10-foot bed. Just use your imagination. The most important thing is to go ahead and give it a try!

Lisa Vitello is a wife to Guy and mother to six great kids. She is the publisher of New Harvest, a bi-monthly newsletter for women in which all things homestead are shared. Growing and preserving food, backyard livestock, crafting, homekeeping, kitchen arts and other practical skills are discussed, along with lots of Titus 2 encouragement. Check out the New Harvest website or visit Lisa at her The Homestead Way of Life blog on HomesteadBlogger.com.

Congratulations to our February contest winners!

The winner for the best gardening or quilting article goes to Catherine Timmons for her articles on How to Select a Sewing Machine and Quilting Terminology. One of the first things a new quilter has is questions relating to what kind of sewing machine she needs for the job. Catherine does a fine job addressing what a quilter should look for in a machine and some helpful hints on making sure you will get the machine you need. Both of Catherine's articles provide a tremendous benefit to the beginning quilter. Thank you, Catherine, for sharing your quilting talent and expertise with us!

The 600th subscriber to the Homestead e-Newsletter and thus our contest winner is Anna T. from Ohio. Congratulations, Anna!

The winners each won a spa package from Shade Tree Cottage worth over $50!

Our March newsletter is going to talk about getting the land ready, pruning, starting seedlings, composting, and planting seeds. Do you have a tip or trick to share about starting the sowing season? Share your talents with us!

For home arts, we are going to tackle spring cleaning. We want you to share your homemade green detergent recipes, tips and tricks to keep the house clean, and ways to bring spring into our homes after a long winter. Do you have an environmentally friendly way of spring cleaning and organizing? Share it with us!

And we will also be having two winners again during March! One article will be selected, and its author as well as the 1,000th person to sign up for the Homestead e-Newsletter will each win a prize package of All Natural Soy Wax Candles from Our Little Homestead Originals! Lisa hand pours her natural soy wax and all-cotton-wicked candles with love. Enjoy the beauty of candles with no toxic chemicals or paraffins to fill the air in your home. Her candles leave no black soot and have lead-free wicks! Watch for her new store Our Little Homestead Originals soon in The Merchant Village, under construction but opening soon!

By Catherine Love

I love to grow things herbs, flowers, fruits, veggies! You name it, I want to grow it! Since my love of all things green and growing began over 20 years ago, I've had lots of different types of gardens: traditional rows of veggies, square foot gardens, raised beds of different sizes, formal and informal herb gardens. Yet my favorite way to grow things has always been in containers. There are several reasons for this. One, it's fast and easy. Just pick a pot or any container that will hold some soil and fill it up. Two, NO WEEDS! That's a great reason in my book. Three, you can move your containers around as need be, whether to take advantage of the sunlight or to dress up your patio or dining room table for a special evening. Right now I have two large potted rosemary plants on each side of my front porch and small pots of violas lined up on the steps. Just outside the back door I have a cluster of pots containing a Carolina jessamine (which is blooming!), a fairy rose, lemon thyme, rosemary, and a dormant lemongrass. Several of my potted herbs are spending the winter indoors in a sunny southern window. The corner of my kitchen has a grouping of bay, chives, myrtle, spearmint, fig ivy and a crimson passion vine. This is just a fraction of what I usually have potted up during more favorable growing seasons. Come springtime I will once again get spring fever and start filling up the containers!

Since we are in the process of moving to our new Urban Homestead apartment, I will be growing exclusively in containers for a while. I've got my stacks of pots and other containers ready to go to our new home. It's amazing how much just a pot or two of flowers or herbs does to add that welcoming touch to a porch or entryway.

Container gardening is simple. First, pick your container. You can choose from terracotta or plastic pots, window boxes, hanging baskets oh, just about anything you can put some soil in. Some of my favorite planters are old buckets, dishpans, teakettles and the like. I once had a garden in an old wringer washer it was really cute! A bushel basket lined with newspaper or plastic makes a nice lightweight container. I've grown tomatoes and other veggies in these. They are easy to move about and will last 2 to 3 seasons. The main thing to remember is that your plants need drainage unless you're making a water garden! If your container doesn't have holes in the bottom, put some in. If you have a container you really love that you can't or would rather not put holes in, either use a smaller container to plant in and then just slip that into your treasure or add a layer of rocks or pebbles in the bottom and drain off excess water as needed. Obviously the second method will work only with containers small enough for you to lift.

Soil mix is also important for your containers. Either buy a good quality potting soil or mix your own. I like to use Mel Bartholomew's suggested mix of 1 part peat moss, 1 part compost, and 1 part vermiculite. This makes a light, airy soil mix that holds moisture well.

Choosing plants for the containers is the fun part. Take a trip to a local nursery or garden center. You'll find more choices than you can imagine!

Some herbs that I've had good success growing in containers are
basil, bay, chives, cilantro, dill, lemon balm, lemongrass, marjoram, oregano, peppermint, scented geraniums, spearmint, thyme, and violas.

For the fruit and veggie plot (or rather pot), try some of the new varieties that are bred especially for pots or small space gardens. A few that come to mind are patio tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, dwarf fruit and citrus trees, top hat blueberries, and strawberries. Peruse the pages of those garden seed catalogs for choices galore!

Be sure to add a few containers of your favorite flowers, too. Geraniums are a standby here. I just love to see those pots of pretty pink or red geraniums lined up on my front steps. In the winter and early spring, I grow violas and pansies. They are a welcome sight on those dreary cold days!

If you need even more inspiration for getting started with your container gardens, a fun book that I've enjoyed gleaning ideas from is Planted Junk by Adam Caplin. In it you will find that you can indeed plant a garden in just about anything! Most of all, use your imagination and just have some good old gardening fun!

Catherine Love lives and gardens in Texas with her husband, Carl, and three daughters: Sarah, Hannah, and Cana. You read all about Catherine's urban homestead at Ramblings from the Urban Homestead Mama or on her blog at HomeschoolBlogger titled Tidbits from Texas.

By Susan Godfrey

It's that time of year where I start planning my spring gardens. We like to start some plants early indoors. We got tired of buying starter pots, so we decided to try our hand at making our own. This is a really easy process and VERY inexpensive. You can turn your old newspapers into biodegradable pots! You can make these up really fast, and BEST OF ALL you can plant them directly into your garden bed when the baby plant is ready to go in the ground!

Materials Needed:
Newspapers (no slick ads)
empty 12-oz. soda can

Instructions:
Tear the newspaper into strips about 2-3 inches taller than the pot size you want.

Roll the strip of newspaper around the soda can with excess height hanging below the bottom of the can

© copyright 2006 Susan Godfrey

Susan Godfrey is a stay-at-home wife to Marty and mother of two beautiful boys, Colt and Riley. Susan lives on a 37-acre farm in rural Texas, where she and her family raise chickens, grow a garden and try to be as self-sufficient as possible. When she's not homeschooling or taking care of farm chores, Susan likes to design websites, do graphic design, crochet, knit and scrapbook. She is also the author of the e-book Making Hand Milled Soap for Fun and Profit. Visit her bookstore located at Homestead Book Store or at her blogs Godfrey Homestead or DHC Farm.

An old pair of blue jeans has a lot of life left. They may be thin in some places but still have wear in others! To make a recycled blue jean quilt, begin by saving all of the old blue jeans or denim jumpers that your family no longer wears until you feel that you have enough to make a quilt. If you are in a hurry to do this project, then you can start by buying jeans from garage sales and thrift stores. I have seen jeans for as little as 10 to 25 cents a pair at garage sales.

When you have enough jeans collected, it is time to choose what size square to make. Usually I will choose one that is anywhere from 3 to 5 inches. Make a template, or pattern, of that size square out of a piece of cardboard, being sure to add an extra ¼ inch around the sides for seam allowances.

One of the first things to determine is how big you want your quilt and how many squares you need. I usually find a blanket, comforter, or quilt that I already own that is about the size I would like to make my quilt, and I measure it. If you take that width and divide it by the size of your squares, that will tell you how many squares you need (25 inch width divided by a 5 inch square = 5 squares across). Do the same for the length. Multiply the squares across by the squares down and that is the total number of squares to cut out. You will want approximately half the number of squares done in denim and half in a contrasting fabric. I tend to cut out more than I need just to make sure I have extra for any changes I may want to make as I make my quilt.

Next it is time to get the jeans ready. Cut open the legs of the jeans and then lay the material flat on the table and begin cutting out squares using your template. I like a little variety with my squares, so I cut out squares over pockets, or side seams, or over buttons on jumpers just to add a bit of cuteness. I have one quilt I made for one of my sons by taking an old pair of his baby bib overalls that had a little train embroidered on the bib section and cut a square with the train on it. It also had a neat little side pocket on one of the legs I was able to incorporate into a square. So have a little fun cutting out your denim squares!

The next step is to choose a contrasting fabric. I always think flannel goes great with denim. In my area Wal-Mart seems to consistently sell flannel fabric for $1 a yard. That could be a lot of quilt squares for a couple of dollars! If you're making a quilt for one of your children you could choose the plaid flannel prints for the boys or calico flannel print for the girls. Flannel is not the only fabric that works well; any cotton will do the job. So your choices for contrasting fabric are varied and many! Cut out all your contrasting squares.

Once all the squares are cut out, it is time to sew: one denim square, one contrasting square, and so on. Or you could come up with your own design. Once you start playing around with squares you will be amazed at all the variety!

For batting you can purchase batting from the fabric store or you can use an old blanket. I have done both. The backing fabric can be the contrasting fabric of your squares or a solid color that compliments the quilt. You may have to sew pieces of the backing fabric together if your quilt is on the larger size. I have also used sheets. When I used flannel as the contrasting fabric, I used a flat flannel sheet for the backing.

It is now time to assemble the quilt. When your quilt top is done, lay it flat on a large surface such as the floor or bed, with the right side facing up. Now take the backing piece of the quilt and place it with the right side of the fabric toward the right side of quilt top (right sides are facing each other). Now lay the batting on the top of this.

Pin the quilt, or better yet, sew it by hand with large basting stitches to hold the three layers together firmly. This is important, because you don't want the layers to slip around when you sew them together. Now take the quilt to your sewing machine and begin to sew around the edges, catching all 3 layers. Stop sewing well before reaching the area where you started so that you can turn your quilt right side out. Remove pins and basting stitches and turn right side out. You may need to push out the sewn edges and iron them a bit so everything lays flat.

Now iron the raw edges of the open area inward and, either by hand or machine, sew the opening closed.

The last step is to tie your quilt. Find a nice yarn that you like and a big needle. To tie your quilt, you pick evenly spaced spots on your quilt and sew down through all three layers and back up in close to the same spot. Cut your yarn and tie firmly. I usually tie twice. Now move on to the next spot. On a quilt made with squares this is fairly easy to do as you can put your ties where the corners meet. It is not necessary to do every row of squares, but you want enough places tied that your quilt can be washed and washed without the batting inside shifting around.

Once the tying is done your quilt is finished! What a great feeling to take something that still had life (those old blue jeans) and turn it into a useful and pretty item for your home!

Crystal Miller is the mother of 8. She and her husband, Tobin, live in western Washington. Crystal loves to write and encourage the homemaking, homesteading way of life! You can visit Crystal at her blog the Homemaking Homesteader or on her website The Family Homestead.

By Connie Peterson

As everyone is starting to gear up for spring by ordering seeds, perhaps it's time to consider heirloom over modern seeds. Many catalogs have heirloom seeds included in a section or carry only totally heirloom seeds.

Why have one over the other? Most of the modern ones are hybrids, crosses between several different kinds.

Consider the tomatoes. The modern tomato has been bred for storage and for travel. The tomato that you purchase in the store has been bred with a tough skin to handle all the travel without bruising and to be able to last 75 years without going bad or soft. The heirloom tomato is one that was bred by our ancestors for taste and taste alone. The only traveling this tomato saw was from garden to kitchen table or maybe to the relatives down the road.

Even if your tomato doesn't travel long distances, it still has that skin and last-ability to it that zaps the taste away.

And if you happen to like that tomato and want to raise more next year, being the self-sufficient person that you are, can you do it? Nope! Can a mule have babies? It's a hybrid just like your tomato! You might get some, but they certainly won't be like the parent!

Many companies out there have heirloom seeds, and they advertise that you can plant the children. They have no qualms about this being your first and last time to order, if you get seeds from your plants. That's part of why they are out there.

Some of those great companies are Victory Seeds,
Baker Creek, Hart Seed Company and Seed Savers. Seed Savers is one of the first to start selling heirloom seeds on a large scale.

And I know many of the folks on HomesteadBlogger.com have seeds and that they are willing to share. Talk to some people on this site - if they offer seeds, pay for the postage and perhaps a little bit more for their time and effort in sowing, raising, and collecting.

And soon, you will have your own seeds to collect. But that is another article to come!

By Catherine Timmons

APPLIQUE-Stitching a design onto a piece of fabric in layers.

BACKGROUND-The neutral fabric in your quilt. It's usually white or off-white. Not every quilt has a background fabric.

BACKING-The fabric on the wrong side of your finished quilt.

BASTING-The long stitches, pins, or plastic tacks used to hold together the quilt top, batting, and backing while you do the quilting. These are removed as you quilt or when you are done quilting.

BATT or BATTING-The inner layer of the quilt that provides depth and warmth. The most common battings are wool, cotton or polyester.

BIAS-The direction perfectly diagonal to the grain of the fabric. Anything with a curved edge must be cut on the bias of the fabric, because it is more flexible than the straight of the grain. Bindings are often cut on the bias because they are more durable.

BINDING-The narrow strip of fabric that encloses the raw edges of the finished quilt.

BLOCK-One design element of the quilt top. Pieces are sewn together to make a block and blocks are sewn together to make the quilt top. There are many different traditional quilt blocks, both appliquéd and pieced, or it can be completely new and original. They are usually square, and they can be made any size.

CRUTCH-A very helpful guide or mock up to help you remember the placement of your fabrics in your pattern. This can be done with real fabric or art supplies.

GRAIN or GRAINLINE-The threads that run parallel to the selvedge of the fabric are the straight of the grain; the threads that run across the width of the fabric are the cross grain. For most purposes in quilt making, either placement is acceptable. Borders are usually cut along the lengthwise grain because it stretches less.

PIECING-Sewing together smaller pieces of fabric to make a block or quilt top.

QUILTING-The stitches that hold together the three layers of the quilt. It is both decorative and functional. The quilting prevents the batting from disintegrating inside the layers.

SASHING and POSTS-The strips and the intersecting squares of fabric that separate blocks.

SCALE-Relative size, as in a fabric pattern.

SEAM ALLOWANCE-The edges of the quilt pieces. They provide a "margin" outside of your sewing so it doesn't unravel. ¼” seam allowances are standard for quilt making.

SELVEDGES-The tightly woven edges along the length of your fabric. NEVER use these in your quilt! They have higher shrinkage than the rest of the fabric.

SETTING-How the blocks or components of your quilt are arranged to make the quilt top.

TEMPLATE - A pattern for cutting quilt pieces, made of plastic, cardboard, or paper.

TOP-The quilt before you have put it together with the batting and backing.

VALUE-Lightness or darkness, usually relative to the rest of the quilt.

© copyright 2006 Catherine Timmons for Glory Quilts

Catherine Timmons lives in semi-rural Wisconsin with her husband and sons. She has been teaching quilt making classes and workshops for 13 years. Her website, Glory Quilts, offers information and articles for those interested in quilting or hosting a quilt retreat. She also blogs on HomesteadBlogger at Glory Quilts

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