Front Garden Back Forty
Old knowledge. New season. Same good ground.
This site is for people who grow food seriously. Home gardeners working intensively in a small space. Small farmers managing land at scale. The knowledge here comes from four generations of farming the same ground, and countless generations of farming practices developed over time. It comes from tested, practical, methods that are built around what actually works. You’ll find easy-to-follow guides on how to improve your results, and guidance on where to look for more information. Most of all, this is a way of sharing the knowledge and experience gathered over decades of working with the soil.
Good soil is not bought. It is built, season after season, through decisions about what you add, what you disturb, and what you leave alone. Start here if you want to understand what your ground is actually doing — and how to make it more productive over time. Explore Soil Building →
Starting seeds indoors is straightforward when you understand what seeds actually need: the right soil temperature, the right light, the right timing. This is where you’ll find the schedules, the troubleshooting, and the variety guidance to get transplant-ready plants consistently. Explore Seed Starting →
More food from the same ground. Spacing, succession planting, trellising, intensive beds — the practices that separate a productive garden from a busy one. Explore High-Yield Growing →
The harvest doesn’t end at the garden gate. Canning, fermentation, root cellaring, dehydrating — putting food up the right way so it’s there in February when you need it. Explore Food Preservation →
Cold frames, row cover, low tunnels, and the varieties bred to push past the first frost. More growing season without a greenhouse. Explore Season Extension →