How glorious is this weather?! It feels amazing to be out in the garden or down at the allotment when the sun is shining, the birds are singing and our well loved little seeds have sprung into life, with the promise of fresh produce soon to come. There are lots of jobs to be done …
Gardening Jobs For April
Firstly, apologies that this post is a little late. I normally post about the month’s gardening jobs at the beginning of the month… half term pushed all of this back and so did Spring itself! It’s finally arrived and I am currently spending the majority of the day outside planting and weeding. A Glorious Month! …
Self Sufficiency Update
Spring has truly arrived! Yesterday the clocks went forward, the evenings are now longer and the garden has started to wake and burst into life. Everything feels great! We have been so busy over the last few weeks preparing for the upcoming season. Regular readers of my blog will know that we have been striving …
Gardening Jobs For March
What a difference a few days can make! Last week the whole of Great Britain was under a thick blanket of snow. The Beast From The East arrived with fury. Sub-zero temperatures, Several feet of snow fell within a few hours and plumbers seemed to be very busy fixing frozen boilers (ours included!) But, today …
Gardening Jobs For February
We are now into the second month of the year! The days are slowly getting longer and more sunshine is filling our gardens. The weather can still be cold and wet. We had snow this morning, but the excitement of nearing Spring is growing. There are lots of gardening jobs for February and if completed …
Putting My Best Boot Forward- Making Progress Towards Self Sufficiency
You may have seen my post introducing #BestBootForward last week. I spoke about taking our first few baby steps towards living a more self sufficient lifestyle and why we want to take on the challenge. You can read my first entry for #BestBootForward here. A post shared by The Newhouse Family blog (@thenewhousefamily) on Jan …
Gardening Jobs For January
It’s cold, wet and often frosty outside in the garden in January, but there are still lots of jobs that need doing ready for the year ahead. I always find January a tricky month. I want to start getting outside and excitement takes over as I start deciding what I want to plant for the …
Turn That Garden Frown Upside Down
It’s so easy for your garden to become sad and neglected. Especially in the cold, dark, dingy months. Yet if people come round your house, one of the main things they’ll comment on is your garden, unless it’s looking a little sad, then they’ll probably skip over it. But your garden should be a haven …
5 Ways To Make Sure The Outside Of Your House Isn’t Letting Your Property Down
We all spend ample time looking after the interiors of our homes to make sure that they are looking their best. However when it comes to the outside of our homes it can sometimes be quite a different story. Tending to the maintenance and development of the outside of our homes can very easily fall …
5 Beginner’s Tips For Growing Your Own Vegetables
Growing your own vegetables is a great way to provide healthy and hearty meals for the family. It’s good for the environment, makes the most of your garden and means that you always have fresh vegetables to hand to add to your dishes. Many people are put off growing their own veg because they think …
How To Enjoy Your Garden… Without Any Hard Work
Most families simply don’t have time to maintain an attractive garden. For one thing, you can’t turn your back on the kids for a second! Children want to play, not watch you on your knees digging out weeds. And by the time the weekend comes along, all you’ve got the energy for is lazing out …
Old MacDonald Had An Urban Mini-Farm
One of the best ways families can go green is by growing their own organic veggies. But did you also know that it’s also possible to raise your own chickens so that you can enjoy fresh eggs too? You just need to set up your own little urban farm! It doesn’t matter if you don’t …
Grow Your Own Veg: Common problems solved
Some of you will have been following our journey living a more self sufficient lifestyle. This summer we have been working hard growing lots of yummy fruit and vegetables. Most with success, but we have fallen on our backsides a few times with some hiccups. Just yesterday, all of my brussel sprouts fell victim to …
My Essentials List For Gardener’s World Live 2017
It’s time for BBC Gardener’s World Live 2017 at the Birmingham NEC, and this year’s event is set to be bigger (and greener!) than ever before. Gardener’s World are celebrating a superb 50th anniversary and there are plenty of celebrations in store for all of those visiting the magnificent gardening event this weekend (Thursday 15th June – …