Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
This is the time of year when everything in the garden asks for attention, and I’ve been trying to give it—methodically, but with the sort of flexibility that weather and plants tend to demand. I started in the orchard, where the copper fungicide and dormant oil went on just before the buds began to swell. It’s always a gamble with the timing, but I think we got it right this season. From there, I moved on to the blueberries. These original plants have been with us eight years now and are going strong, so I’ve started propagating new ones from young wood. It’s a slow sort of satisfaction, watching something take root.
Horticultural Oil: amzn.to/3Z9L2fe
Copper Fungicide Garden Spray: amzn.to/4jLYXjX
There’s also the matter of the wild grape and rose vines—tenacious things, always needing a firm hand. Between cuttings and rootings, I’ve been experimenting with dogwoods too. The flowering ones, native, the kind that look like snow in the spring. They’re hard to get started, but it feels worthwhile, especially when you’re trying to edge out the Bradford pears.
Out back, I’m giving the hard ground a second chance. Sunflowers are my helpers here, loosening up the soil for the pumpkins I’ll plant among them. They do more than look pretty—they pull up what’s buried too deep for anything else. The perennials are spreading steadily: strawberries, black-eyed Susans, and sweet potatoes. These are the kinds of plants that give back year after year, if you take care of them. And they’re easy to share, which might be the best part.
I’ve been putting together a propagation area, small but tidy, with an eye toward the occasional farm stand. Not a big production—just the plants I’ve grown myself, from cuttings and slips and seed. Preparing for the pop-up is a job in itself, with labels to write and pots to fill, but it’s honest work. And it’s good to think these plants might find their way into other gardens, where they’ll keep going long after the stand comes down.
---------------
👕 Shop Our Merch: bonfire.com/store/1870smerch
🌻 HOSS Garden Tools & Seeds: shrsl.com/33ehp (Promo Code SHOP1870 for free seeds!)
🌱 MIGardener: migardener.com/1870
🌺 GREENSTALK Vertical Gardens: greenstalkgarden.com/?rstr=SHOP1870 (Promo Code SHOP1870 for $10 off!)
🥫 FORJARS Canning Lids: forjars.co/?sca_ref=1911228.45BY9FFxdg (Promo Code SHOP1870 to get 10% off)
🍃 HARVEST Right Freeze Dryers: affiliates.harvestright.com/1182.html
🔦 OLIGHT Flashlights: bit.ly/3z6daku (Promo Code SHOP1870 for 10% off!)
🛒 Our Favorite AMAZON Finds: amzn.to/3ihSgZP
---------------
Mailing Address:
That 1870's Homestead
P.O. Box 179
Newport, MI 48166
---------------
✅ Connect with Us 🐐
YouTube: youtube.com/@1870s
Facebook: facebook.com/1870sHomestead
Instagram: instagram.com/that_1870s_homestead
Pinterest: pinterest.com/that1870s
EMAIL: that1870shomestead@gmail.com
---------------
Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links - at no additional cost to you. We will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase, after clicking through the links. ♥ Todd & Rachel
---------------
00:00 Orchard Treatments and Pest Control
04:11 Blueberry Propagation
08:11 Dogwood Tree Cuttings
12:01 Sunflowers for Soil and Pumpkins
16:11 Growing Perennials
20:13 Sharing and Propagating Plants
25:50 Plant Propagation Area
30:04 Pop Up Farm Stand Prep
This is the time of year when everything in the garden asks for attention, and I’ve been trying to give it—methodically, but with the sort of flexibility that weather and plants tend to demand. I started in the orchard, where the copper fungicide and dormant oil went on just before the buds began to swell. It’s always a gamble with the timing, but I think we got it right this season. From there, I moved on to the blueberries. These original plants have been with us eight years now and are going strong, so I’ve started propagating new ones from young wood. It’s a slow sort of satisfaction, watching something take root.
Horticultural Oil: amzn.to/3Z9L2fe
Copper Fungicide Garden Spray: amzn.to/4jLYXjX
There’s also the matter of the wild grape and rose vines—tenacious things, always needing a firm hand. Between cuttings and rootings, I’ve been experimenting with dogwoods too. The flowering ones, native, the kind that look like snow in the spring. They’re hard to get started, but it feels worthwhile, especially when you’re trying to edge out the Bradford pears.
Out back, I’m giving the hard ground a second chance. Sunflowers are my helpers here, loosening up the soil for the pumpkins I’ll plant among them. They do more than look pretty—they pull up what’s buried too deep for anything else. The perennials are spreading steadily: strawberries, black-eyed Susans, and sweet potatoes. These are the kinds of plants that give back year after year, if you take care of them. And they’re easy to share, which might be the best part.
I’ve been putting together a propagation area, small but tidy, with an eye toward the occasional farm stand. Not a big production—just the plants I’ve grown myself, from cuttings and slips and seed. Preparing for the pop-up is a job in itself, with labels to write and pots to fill, but it’s honest work. And it’s good to think these plants might find their way into other gardens, where they’ll keep going long after the stand comes down.
---------------
👕 Shop Our Merch: bonfire.com/store/1870smerch
🌻 HOSS Garden Tools & Seeds: shrsl.com/33ehp (Promo Code SHOP1870 for free seeds!)
🌱 MIGardener: migardener.com/1870
🌺 GREENSTALK Vertical Gardens: greenstalkgarden.com/?rstr=SHOP1870 (Promo Code SHOP1870 for $10 off!)
🥫 FORJARS Canning Lids: forjars.co/?sca_ref=1911228.45BY9FFxdg (Promo Code SHOP1870 to get 10% off)
🍃 HARVEST Right Freeze Dryers: affiliates.harvestright.com/1182.html
🔦 OLIGHT Flashlights: bit.ly/3z6daku (Promo Code SHOP1870 for 10% off!)
🛒 Our Favorite AMAZON Finds: amzn.to/3ihSgZP
---------------
Mailing Address:
That 1870's Homestead
P.O. Box 179
Newport, MI 48166
---------------
✅ Connect with Us 🐐
YouTube: youtube.com/@1870s
Facebook: facebook.com/1870sHomestead
Instagram: instagram.com/that_1870s_homestead
Pinterest: pinterest.com/that1870s
EMAIL: that1870shomestead@gmail.com
---------------
Please note that some of the links above are affiliate links - at no additional cost to you. We will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase, after clicking through the links. ♥ Todd & Rachel
---------------
00:00 Orchard Treatments and Pest Control
04:11 Blueberry Propagation
08:11 Dogwood Tree Cuttings
12:01 Sunflowers for Soil and Pumpkins
16:11 Growing Perennials
20:13 Sharing and Propagating Plants
25:50 Plant Propagation Area
30:04 Pop Up Farm Stand Prep
