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The knowledge that grows the garden

Feeding plans, the fundamentals, a full ebook library: from your first pot on the balcony to a working Harvestead.

The Harvestead Course
September · Early fall

Your monthly Learn plan: lessons and jobs picked for this point in the season.

Extend the season and read the numbers.

September is when a season extension decision is still useful and a records review is still actionable. Both compound into next year.

Read these, in this order

  1. 1Season-extension structuresBuilding & crafting · Four extra weeks for the cost of a cover.
  2. 2Cost per bed-foot: the number under everythingGrowing to sell · Find out which beds actually paid.
  3. 3Root cellars, cold rooms, and winter storage cropsPreserving the harvest · Storage crops need a place to go.
  4. 4Cover cropsSoil · Sow now or the beds sit bare all winter.
  5. 5Records and the season reviewGrowing to sell · The records review that writes next year's plan.
Do now:Cover tender crops · Sow cover crops · Review yield per bed

Next month: Put the garden to bed properly.

Companion course

The Harvestead Course

Eight guided modules with a printable workbook: learn, plan, plant, track, share.

Open the course
Play & learn

Harvestead Game Zone

Have some fun while learning. Soil, frost, and crop basics stick faster as a game.

Play a round
Quick help

What's wrong with my plant?

Start with the symptom you can see — yellow leaves, spots, wilting, white coating, chewed holes, rot, or stunted growth — and get organic-first guidance.

Diagnose now

Browse by topic

103 lessons

10 lessons

Gardening fundamentals

Zones, frost math, sunlight, soil, watering, rotation, and companions.

Browse fundamentals
6 lessons

Seeds & starts

Where to find seeds, how to read a packet, start indoors, direct sow, and save your own.

Browse seeds & starts
7 lessons

Soil

Texture, pH, organic matter, compost, mulch, and cover crops.

Browse soil basics
8 lessons

Pest control

Identify, prevent, and treat. Organic-first, soil- and pollinator-safe.

Browse pest control
8 lessons

Fertilizer & feeding

What to feed, when to feed, and how to tell you're feeding too much.

Browse feeding basics

Crop, fruit & herb profiles

Sun, spacing, days to maturity, companions, pests, and feeding plans.

Browse crop profiles
8 lessons

Building & crafting

Beds, trellises, bins, coops, rain barrels. What to build and how.

Browse building projects
6 lessons

Growing to sell

Cost per bed-foot, crop returns, bed turns, harvest flow, outlets, and season records.

Browse growing to sell
6 lessons

Preserving the harvest

Canning, pickles, fermentation, dehydrating, freezing, and cold storage.

Browse preserving
7 lessons

Irrigation & water

Drip, soaker, timers, rain catchment, and greywater. Every drop where it counts.

Browse irrigation
10 lessons

Crop-by-crop guides

Corn, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, beans, greens, roots, and alliums. Each linked to its crop profile.

Browse crop guides
12 lessons

Beneficial insects & pollinators

Native bees, bumble and mason bees, lady beetles, lacewings, parasitic wasps, predatory mites and nematodes. The bugs that pollinate and defend your garden.

Browse beneficial insects
9 lessons

Birds, livestock & the ground crew

Birds, bats, toads and snakes, chickens and ducks, guinea fowl, rabbits, honey bees, farm dogs and cats, worms, and season-long habitat.

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6 lessons

Honey & natural sweeteners

Raw honey, maple and birch sap, sorghum cane, stevia leaf, fruit syrups, and how to swap them in the kitchen.

Browse sweeteners

Charts & quick reference

Zones, frost dates, companion planting, spacing, soil pH, compost ratios, and rotation families.

Browse the charts

The Library

Our ebooks for every stage, plus hand-picked books to keep on the shelf.

Browse the Library