I grew up in New England and moved to South Carolina in 1995. After sixteen years, I bought a house with room for a very large garden. I live on 1/3 acre of land and currently have 21 large raised beds (totaling 750 square feet of garden!), 3 grape vines, and 6 fruit trees. Gardening in the South is very different from what I’ve been used to! I have to contend with oppressive heat and a plethora of insects, but the extremely long growing season is fantastic. The garden has become my sanctuary.
I learned quite a bit after my first season through researching gardening topics and talking to local gardeners and farmers, but mostly via old-fashioned trial and error. I’ve also learned how to can and preserve my harvests, while learning how to increase production on the land I have available. My goal is to be as self-sufficient as possible, incorporating old-fashioned homesteading principles into my urban home and life.
Join me as I share what I have learned – and am still learning – by signing up for my posts of all things homesteading and gardening, sprinkled with a few poignant garden memories.
Prime planting season schedule: From April through October, I post Monday, Wednesday, Friday – and sometimes an extra post or two, if I have a lot to share! On Mondays, I’ll post a weekly garden update, seasoned with pictures of what’s happening in my Sanctuary Garden. Other happenings at my homestead will be under Homestead Happenings. And, as the season progresses, watch for my Sanctuary Spotlight in which I will highlight a fruit or vegetable from seed to skillet, including recipe links. (My own recipes will be highlighted under the Recipe category.)
Off-Season schedule: From November through March, I post Tuesday and Thursday. If I have something special or extra to share, I will do an occasional Sunday post.
I hope my site will encourage you to start your own garden or expand your homestead, while learning from my mistakes, as well as my successes.
Follow me on Facebook, and share your garden story or post a question. You can also contact me at sanctuarygardener@gmail.com.
Happy gardening!
Sanctuary Gardener 
It was great watching your progress on Facebook, this just took you up several notches! 🙂
Thanks. I can’t wait until I can start uploading pictures of my 2013 garden! I run outside daily now, looking for the first seedlings to bust through the dirt!
I am very proud of you . You have done a great job. I wish you nothing but success with this project. Maybe someday you will be growing crops in Jerusalem.
Ooh…growing crops in Israel. Never thought of that. Give me a spot of land in the Jordan valley!
You have a really nice blog, like it 🙂
I love your garden and a great good luck for your planting,
I’m growing tomatoes and sometimes, I know, it’s so hard 🙂
Best wishes,
Alice
Thank you!
🙂
Came across your blog looking for info on the cucumber with a white flower…first time I’ve seen one, too. Newbie gardener on James Island. Husband and I are growing exclusively in containers.
Glad you found me! Yes, that was the first time I’d seen a white cucumber flower, too. Pretty wild, huh?
Gardening in containers is still gardening! I have quite a few containers, in addition to my raised beds. I’m all for extending the growing space.
As for being a newbie, you’ll learn quickly just by doing. But feel free to browse around my site for info and pictures. And if you have a question, send it my way. If I don’t know the answer, I’ll find out for you! A gardener can never learn too much! 🙂