Sunflower Rescue

We found volunteer sunflower sprouts growing in between the sidewalk. It was such a random thing to see that at first I thought they were just weeds.

But as the sprouts continued to grow taller, I inspected their leaves and told Travis, “I think these are sunflowers!” 😲🌻

I didn’t even know sunflowers could grow in such a tight space. Haha! But some plants are known to grow just about anywhere, I suppose. 😄

I do wonder if we hadn’t of “rescued” the random sunflower sprouts, could they have survived growing in between the sidewalk?

We did have two sprouts that needed more time to grow their roots, so I’ve been giving them some TLC in a repurposed honey jar.

This morning, I checked the sprouts, and one is finally ready to go in a pot of soil. Once it outgrows it’s pot, I will transplant it into a grow bag.

We have five of the volunteer sunflower sprouts currently growing in our garden beds.

They weren’t too happy about being transplanted, but after a few days and some good rainy days, they perked up and are now happy and thriving in the garden!

So, where did the volunteer sunflowers come from? My winter bird feeder! 😂

The birds/squirrels must’ve dropped the seeds, and once the weather warmed up, the sunflower seeds germinated! 😲🌻

What makes this sunflower rescue story even funnier is I said I wasn’t going to grow sunflowers this year.

We grew beautiful sunflowers last year, but I didn’t think we’d have the space for it this gardening season because we needed the room for our grow bags.

I guess the sunflowers said, “Make room for us!” 😂🌻 #sunflowerswin

💜 XO

P.S.—the feature image is of one of our sunflowers from last year.

Patterns in the Garden

A math discovery at a local greenhouse…

Gardening Season is Here!

Excited to grow more edible crops and take another step toward urban homesteading!

Maple Sugaring

Learning all about maple sugaring for a homeschool nature science class!

Gardening Season is Here!

We usually get our last frost around mid-May, so I was eager to get started on gardening season!

This year, we are being more intential to grow foods we can eat. Travis and I have been learning about urban homesteading for about three years now, so we are excited to put some of what we’ve learned so far to practice! 🥰👩🏽‍🌾

Last year, I had planned on starting seeds indoors for the 2026 gardening season, but life happened and I didn’t get follow through with that plan.

It’s all good, though, because we ended up buying starts from local garden (small) businesses! Heavy emphasis on the “small business,” as I always love supporting local when I can 😊

To get us started, we bought the following plant starts: green bell pepper, sweet banana peppers, jalapeños, cherry tomatoes, bush greens, carrots, celery, and strawberries.

We’re also growing seeds (some of those seed packets you see in the above photos). And this year, we are growing all of our fruits, herbs, and veggies in grow bags.

The flowers will be grown in the garden bed, as companions for the veggies in the grow bags, or in flower pots.

We live in a small house that comes with a very small garden, and after last year’s (kinda) failed attempt at growing foods, I decided grow bags will be more efficient.

I should also mention I am very thankful our home has a front garden space and a back patio for more growing space. 😊🙏🏽

Grow bags are definitely the way to grow when you’re working with a small space!

💜 XO

Maple Sugaring

Learning all about maple sugaring for a homeschool nature science class!

The Time Change is Kicking My Butt

DST has me feeling like I’m in a brain fog. 😭

Happy Friday!

4 small joys from this week…

So, The Institute of Urban Homesteading closed in May 2026. They have a LOT of useful resources on their website (which will stay up for a while longer). I'll be downloading some of those resources, but I suggest folks check them out while they are still on the Net!

Articles include:

- #Permaculture Principles
- Lead in Your Soil
- Colony Collapse Disorder
- #Chloramine
- Kitchen Botany
- #SeedSaving
- #CompostTea
- Ruby’s Magic Mulch Recipe
- Good Dirt 2016
- Urban Homesteading DIY Guide

FMI:
https://iuhoakland.com/articles/

#SolarPunkSunday #UrbanGardening #UrbanHomesteading #GardeningResources

This roof will be the end of me #022

https://video.katehildenbrand.com/w/fXqh6Pnti3hoavgnvhaPJ5

The blackberries won this round #021

https://video.katehildenbrand.com/w/i7UCBz89xNMXWBDsTwDwq8