How-to Solutions
It may be too cold to get out in the garden, but you can get a jump-start on spring by starting your own seeds indoors.
Visit the Living the Country Life forums to share solutions and get help from other country dwellers with great ideas.
Adding compost to your gardens is one of the best ways to improve the structure and fertility of your soil.
Local garden centers are great, but catalogs are another option for buying seeds and plants.
Raised beds are an attractive and practical solution for any size yard. They're neat compartments that tame rampant plants and solve bad soil problems.
Take a trip to your local hardware store, and you'll find racks of shovels of nearly every size and shape imaginable. Before buying a shovel, think about how you're going to use it.
With a zero-turn mower, you can cut both your mowing time and your trimming time.
Listen to today's program for tips on safely sharpening your mower blades, and recommendations for how often to do it.
Manual post hole diggers look like two shovels connected to each other with a circular collection area. When you're shopping for one, product manager Erin Fisher says to keep in mind how big of a hole you'll be creating.
A Global Positioning System may sound high-tech, but it's a great way to help manage your acreage.
Although hoes, rakes, trowels, and other tools should ideally be cleaned after every use, most gardeners skip this important step. However, it's essential to take the time to clean your gardening tools before putting them into winter storage.
Farmer's markets are a great way for city residents and non-gardeners to get fresh produce straight from the grower. For acreage owners, this can mean extra income.
Listen to today's program to learn which snakes are harmless, which are poisonous, and how to safely get rid of them.
Tree squirrels provide entertainment and enjoyment for many rural homeowners, but they can become a nuisance.
With a dock on your pond, you've got a place to dangle your feet in the water and get your line even closer to the fish.
If you have some land that's grown nothing but weeds the past few years, it's possible to turn it into a productive pasture.
If you've got several acres of pasture with nothing on it, chances are a local farmer might be interested in renting it.
One of the drawbacks of living in the country is that you leave behind the luxury of city services. However, installing a dry hydrant can help to provide the protection you need in the event of an emergency.
- Buying an acreage: Auctions
- Buying an acreage: Insurance
- Buying an acreage: Covenants and zoning
- Buying an acreage: Property tax issues
- Buying an acreage: Trash disposal
