We are all used to planting veggies season after season, but what if I told you there is a plant you can seed once and harvest for years?

Asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) plants only need a place of their own. After that, the seeds will yield crop for 10-15 years with almost no work on your part. It’s worth saying that such plants, that will grow year after year are called perennial.

Soil

To plant it, choose a spot that has some sunlight with a 6.5 – 7.5 pH, well drained soil. Keep in mind asparagus will shade other nearby plants so give it a place of its own. Make sure the soil is very well drained. If you have a clay soil, try planting your asparagus on a hillside or even on the hill top.

I know that a 7.0 soil pH is hard to achieve, especially in the south of the USA where the soil is acid by nature… You’ll have to lime it well before you start planting.

Clean the soil of any grass or weeds, especially any couch grass, because such weeds cannot be removed once you plant the asparagus.

Have you decided to go on the road of growing your own vegetables at home? Are you starting to create a miniature container garden? Well, one of the first things you have to take into consideration is that healthy food grows in dirt fertilized with natural fertilizers.

You have improved your nutrition with nothing if you feed your garden with chemicals. It is just like going to the supermarket and buying the cheapest or the shiniest and tasteless products.

Best choice for the health of container grown vegetables, which shall also insure improved productivity and quality of the resulting products, would be to use natural fertilizers.

Compost is the result of industrial processing of garbage. Many think that it shall become the base for the fuel of the future. Many think that the word refers only to alternative answers for the production of fuel.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, let me announce the good news. Compost is an industrially obtained but natural product, highly used nowadays as the base for natural fertilizers. It is obtained by rather complicated technological processes and it is also rather expensive as a final product, found on the market.

I know this may sound puzzling to you and that you’re probably wondering: money? What do you mean by making it work for me?

Money is a means, not an end. Ever heard that? I’m sure you agree that you can set any ultimate goals in this life, except money. Happiness, friends, a great family – these are all GREAT things to want… But not money.

So here’s a thought (and it’s based on the recent financial freedom current I’ve been hearing about more and more lately):

Why not treat money like a slave? Why not have it work for you?

We all know that money is in the habit of enslaving people. It’s just that powerful for poor men and women who lose sight of what’s really important in life.

I can’t blame them… You can’t stay neutral when it comes to money. You either enslave money or money enslaves you. It has such an emotional charge that it’s hard to stat apathetic to it.

So, back to the question in the title: how do you make money work for you?

photo: keetsa.com

If you live in an apartment, you’re probably dreaming of the day you’ll have a house somewhere quiet. Most likely you’re already dreaming about the backyard, how big it will be and how you’ll organize it.

But until then, you can’t let the passion for gardening fade away. Even if you have the smallest of balconies, you can still grow your own vegetables and be self-sufficient.

Here are a few dos and dont’s pertaining to growing vegetables in small places. Don’t start anything until you read and reread this article. It may very well save you some time and… money.

Do set a budget

Did you know that, more often than not, the costs for starting and maintaining an apartment garden are higher than an outdoor garden? Plan your indoor garden in advance to avoid unnecessary surprises.
While an indoor garden can save you money in the long run because it will provide you with free food, you need an initial investment to reap the rewards.

Do use pots and containers

I don’t know if this sounds complicated or not to you, but the truth is it isn’t. You have two choices:

1. You buy them
2. You catch them

Sure, the first choice is the most reasonable one. After all, catching bees sounds like a dangerous endeavor, even if it’s free.

Buying bees

Buying bees is the best way to start. However, there are a few pitfalls.

The biggest problem is that you may end up with a hive that may have a disease. If you bought it from another bee keeper, he himself may not know of this disease.

Because of this, if you don’t want to spend the time catching them, the safest way is to buy them from an established supplier. The supplier will guarantee that the bees are healthy and he will ship them right at your home.

Catching bees

Catching bees is probably the fun part and it’s THE way to go if you’re really self sufficient. After all, being self sufficient is all about cutting costs and not relying on companies and corporations, right?