Read the original post "Guinness Chocolate Cake" on A Modern Homestead. This classic Guinness Chocolate Cake is moist, tender, and has a deep chocolate flavor highlighted by the beer. Topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting, this dessert might just be your new go-to for St. Patrick’s Day! Make this with all-purpose einkorn flour or any AP wheat. If you like chocolate cake, then this recipe... Read More The post "Guinness Chocolate Cake" appeared first on A Modern Homestead.

Come learn how to make a large, durable, inexpensive DIY gopher basket to protect your plants – including fruit trees, shrubs, or ornamental trees! This guide will explore the pros and cons between chicken wire and hardware cloth, the types of trees that are most prone to gopher damage, planting tips, and more. I’ve also included a demonstration video at the end of this article. We live and garden in an area where gophers are rampant. They’ve killed many of our fruit trees over the years – but never one that was planted in a DIY gopher basket we made ourselves! NOTE: This post was originally published in April 2021 but significantly updated since. “I want to eat your trees.” Disclosure: Homestead and Chill is reader-supported. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.  What is a Gopher Basket? A gopher basket (also known as a gopher cage) is a protective wire mesh enclosure designed to protect plant roots from underground pests like gophers, voles and moles. The basket is put in the planting hole first and then the tree or shrub is planted inside. Some roots can grow beyond the basket too. Gardeners can either make homemade gopher baskets, or purchase pre-made gopher baskets that come in a variety of sizes. Most pre-made gopher baskets are made from chicken wire, while I always recommend making DIY baskets from hardware cloth. (See the pros and cons of both options below.) A fig tree with gopher activity all around it. Gophers LOVE fig roots! What kind of fruit trees do gophers like to eat most? Gophers are particularly fond of young fruit trees with tender roots. Over the years, we’ve found that fig trees are their absolute favorite, followed by apples and avocados. They’ll also eat stone fruit (e.g. apricots, plums, nectarines, peaches, and cherries) along with pears, persimmons, loquats or other fruit trees when given the chance. Some gardeners occasionally report gopher damage to young citrus trees, though we’ve personally never had issues with ours. Citrus roots are bitter (especially as they mature) making them more naturally gopher-resistant than other fruit trees – though not guaranteed, especially if food resources are scarce. Pineapple guava (my favorite cold-hardy fruiting shrub) is another good gopher-resistant option. This young apple tree was looking wilted… gave it a wiggle and it easily pulled right up out of the ground. Gophers had eaten the entire root system down to a stub. Signs of Gopher Damage on Trees  Gophers use their long, sharp front teeth to chew through roots, vegetation, bark, and the base of tree trunks (aka the crown). They leave tell-tale dirt mounds and holes around their shallow burrows and tunnel systems. Depending on the age of the plant and the extent of chewing done, gopher damage can range from minor stress to deadly. Young plants and trees with small, tender root systems are the most vulnerable. Trees under attack by gophers may exhibit yellowing leaves, unseasonal leaf drop, or wilting. Less obvious symptoms include reduced vigor, especially for mature trees and plants. You may also see chew marks around the base of the tree trunk, above or just below the soil level. Gophers have killed several of our young fruit trees, chewing them down to nothing but a stump with no roots left at all. What’s left of the roots of a young apple tree that gophers just killed… not much. RELATED: Cages are just one way we battle gophers on our homestead – but never use poison! Come see 7 non-toxic ways to control gophers, including how to protect raised beds, traps, or other deterrents. We also try to choose plenty of gopher resistant plants in our landscape. DIY vs Pre-Made Baskets (Hardware Cloth vs Chicken Wire) I always plant our most susceptible fruit trees (like figs) in DIY hardware cloth gopher baskets. They’re basically foolproof! Yet sometimes we use quality pre-made chicken wire baskets like these 5-gallon baskets or the 15-gallon size too. However I do NOT recommend the thinner mesh “speed baskets”, especially for trees. Here are some factors (pros and cons) to consider between the two: Effectiveness: Dense and strong, hardware cloth offers the best protection against gophers. They also can’t fit through its tiny holes. In contrast, determined gophers can chew through chicken wire or other more flimsy mesh wire, and small gophers or voles may be able to fit through the holes in chicken wire too. Cost: If you need several gopher baskets, it’s typically more cost-effective to buy a roll hardware cloth and make your own compared to the cost of quality pre-made baskets. Time and Effort: It takes more time and effort to make DIY gopher baskets, so we’ll often use pre-made cages when we’re planting many plants at one time (particularly if they’re not gopher-favorites.) Durability: Galvanized hardware cloth will not rust or degrade over time, while chicken wire or other types of pre-made baskets will (sometimes within just a couple of years). Root Restriction: Hardware cloth gopher baskets may restrict root growth more than than chicken wire – explored more below. When we first moved to our new homestead, we planted dozens of new fruit trees. We used DIY hardware cloth baskets for many of them, but got lazy and planted others in pre-made chicken wire baskets. Four years later, gophers have killed at least 5 of the trees that were in chicken wire baskets – and this is what the baskets look like when we dug them up: chewed full of holes! Do Gopher Baskets Restrict Plant Roots? Gopher baskets may slightly restrict root growth or lead to root binding, depending on the type of tree, basket size, and wire material they’re made of.  Because it doesn’t degrade and has smaller holes, hardware cloth gopher baskets will restrict roots to a greater degree than chicken wire baskets, which will eventually break down and let the trees “break free” after a few years (but also leaves them more vulnerable to gophers). Note that it isn’t necessarily a bad thing! Personally, we gladly accept the trade-off of potentially smaller trees vs being destroyed by gophers. Plus we make generously-sized baskets, and grow many dwarf or semi-dwarf fruit tree varieties that more readily adapt to small spaces. A tree planted in the ground within a gopher basket will still be happier than those confined to a pot or container. Here’s the size basket I typically make for 5-gallon trees or pots – with plenty of room to grow! How to Make a Homemade Gopher Basket Materials and Supplies Wire mesh material of choice. Use galvanized hardware cloth with ¼” or ½” openings for durable, long-lasting protection. Gophers can fit through holes as small as one inch, potentially even ¾”. A two or three-foot tall roll of wire works perfectly. Stainless steel is another great option, though not as affordable. If you want the cage to break down as the tree matures (as discussed above) you can use chicken wire, though it isn’t recommended for areas with persistent and abundant gophers. Galvanized wire (16 to 20 gauge) and/or heavy-duty zip ties for securing the basket together  Wire snips or aviation snips  Work gloves – hardware cloth can be sharp and pokey to work with! DIY Gopher Basket Size Before getting started, take note of the tree pot size. The finished gopher basket should be several inches larger than the tree root ball in all directions, or about twice the size of the pot or rootball. In my experience, our DIY gopher baskets end up being about 24 to 30” wide and just under 2 feet deep for a 15-gallon pot. Scale down as needed for smaller plants.  The height of the finished gopher basket should also extend a few inches above the soil line for maximum protection! A DIY gopher basket for a 15 gallon pot Instructions 1) Make a Wire Cylinder Use metal snips to cut the hardware cloth into a cylinder of the desired size. I wrap the wire wide around the tree pot to get a good visual before I cut. Cut it a little larger than the final cage will be, allowing for a few inches of overlap where the two ends will meet.   Curl the wire into a cylinder shape (it won’t have a bottom at this point) and secure it together using cut pieces of galvanized wire, twisting the wire to secure it in place. You could also use strong zip ties but they could eventually break, so I recommend adding at least a few pieces of wire too. PRO TIP: Because it can be difficult to dig a planting hole with totally straight sides, I recommend overlapping the sides of the wire in a way that makes the basket slightly wider at the top and a few inches more narrow at the bottom. That way, the basket will fit nicely in your planting hole. Note how the hardware cloth is overlapped more at the bottom of the cage, making the opening wider at the top and more narrow at the bottom. I didn’t have a roll of wire handy when we made this particular basket, so I secured it with zip ties AND tucked a few loops of the hardware cloth around itself. 2) Form or Add a Bottom If you started with 3-foot tall hardware cloth, bend and fold the bottom 12” to 16” towards the center of the basket. This will leave you with a basket just under 2 feet tall. I find it easiest to fold a 4-6” wide section over at a time, moving around the rim of the basket to repeat the process until it has several folds that overlap and completely cover the bottom. If you started with 2-foot tall hardware cloth, follow the same process but only fold over about 3 or 4 inches of the bottom towards the center. Then, cut another piece of hardware cloth to cover the bottom hole (large enough to offer a few inches of overlap all around). I like to add the bottom to the inside the basket, pressing it down (or even standing on it) to make the hardware cloth catch and lock in place. Now pinch the bottom folds together, and make sure everything is nice and tight with no large gaps. To do so, I’ve found it’s easiest to stand inside the basket and use my weight and feet to push and squish everything into place. Then add several wire ties or zip ties to hold the bottom together. Focus on areas that seem prone to gapping.  It’s kind of hard to see, but I added a square piece inside the bottom to cover the hole (and then climbed inside to press it flat and into the sides). Done! Ready for planting. How to Plant a Tree in a Gopher Basket Dig a hole two to three times wider than the tree pot and root ball, and deep enough to fit the gopher basket Place the gopher basket to the planting hole, and check the height. The basket should extend a few inches above grade (also accounting for settling or mulch). Adjust the planting hole if needed, and try to keep the basket fairly level. Set the tree (still in the pot) inside the basket to evaluate the depth compared to the surrounding soil level. Then, take the tree back out and add enough soil to the bottom of the basket so that once the tree is inside, the crown (base of the trunk) will be just slightly above ground level. (Do not bury the trunk of the tree). Carefully remove the tree from its pot and place the root ball centered in the gopher basket. Backfill soil around the tree, taking care to keep it standing straight. If your DIY gopher basket is extra-tall, you can bend it inward slightly to create a dome over the top of the rootball. Thoroughly water the tree. Add 2 to 4 inches of organic mulch around the base of the tree, but not directly against the tree trunk. Stand back and admire your hard work! RELATED: For more details, come read our best practices for planting trees – or learn about the importance of thinning fruit trees to grow larger, more flavorful fruit! Here’s a video from our old urban homestead – making a gopher cage and planting a loquat tree. Check out minutes 2-13 to watch me sizing and making the homemade gopher basket, then installing it in the planting hole. The second half of the video is more focused on planting trees, how we amend the soil, etc. At the very end, you can see it all planted, mulched, and the cage just above the soil. And that is how to make a homemade gopher basket. These things have been a lifesaver in our garden, literally! If you also live in an area where pesky gophers rule the subterranean land, I highly recommend planting trees in gopher baskets too. Please let me know if you have any questions, and leave a review below if you found this post helpful. May your trees be happy, healthy, and safe from gophers! Don’t miss these related articles: How to Plant a Tree: Best Practices for Success Choosing the Best Fruit Trees for Your Garden How to Build a Raised Garden Bed How to Kill or Remove Grass, and Grow Food Not Lawns! Turn Your Yard into a Certified Wildlife Habitat Did you enjoy this article? Want to hear more? Stay in touch! Sign up below to receive weekly updates on new posts from Homestead and Chill. Print How to Make a DIY Gopher Basket Learn how to make a large, durable, inexpensive DIY gopher basket to protect your plants – including fruit trees, shrubs, or ornamental trees. I've also included tips for planting a tree in a gopher basket. EquipmentWire snips or aviation snips Work gloves (hardware cloth can be sharp and pokey) Ingredients1 roll wire mesh fencing. I recommend 2 or 3 foot tall galvanized hardware cloth with ½” openings for durable, long-lasting protection. Chicken wire will degrade with time, and voles or small gophers may be able to fit through the holes. (We've also had gophers chew through chicken wire).Galvanized wire (16 to 20 gauge) and/or heavy-duty zip ties for securing the basket together  InstructionsDIY Gopher Basket SizeBefore getting started, take note of the tree pot size. The finished gopher basket should be several inches larger than the tree root ball in all directions, or about twice the size of the pot or rootball. The height of the finished gopher basket should also extend a few inches above the soil line for maximum protection!Making the BasketCut the hardware cloth or wire mesh to the desired basket size, allowing for several inches of overlap where the ends will meet. (I wrap the wire wide around the tree pot to get a good visual before I cut.) Curl the wire into a cylinder shape (it won’t have a bottom yet) and secure it together using cut pieces of galvanized wire, twisting the wire to secure it in place. You could also use strong zip ties but they could eventually break, so I recommend adding at least a few pieces of wire too. Because it can be difficult to dig a planting hole with totally straight sides, I recommend overlapping the sides of the wire in a way that makes the basket slightly wider at the top and a few inches more narrow at the bottom. Depending on the height of wire you're using (2 vs 3 ft) and the desired height of your finished basket, either bend lower portion of the fencing inward to create a bottom, or cut out a separate piece of hardware cloth to cover the bottom. When using 2 foot tall hardware cloth, I usually bend a few inches of the bottom, and then press another peice of hardware cloth inside the basket to cover the bottom. Pinch the bottom folds together to ensure everything is tight with no large gaps. I’ve found it's best to stand inside the basket and use my weight and feet to push and squish everything into place. Then add several wire ties or zip ties to hold the bottom together. Focus on areas that seem prone to gapping.  Planting in a Gopher BasketDig a hole two to three times wider than the tree pot and root ball, large and deep enough to fit the gopher basket inside.Place the gopher basket to the planting hole and check the height. The basket should extend a few inches above grade (also accounting for settling or mulch).  Set the tree (still in the pot) inside the basket to evaluate the depth compared to the surrounding soil level. Then, take the tree back out and add enough soil to the bottom of the basket so that once the tree is inside, the crown (base of the trunk) will be just slightly above ground level. (Do not bury the trunk of the tree).Carefully remove the tree from its pot and place the root ball centered in the gopher basket. Backfill soil around the tree, taking care to keep it standing straight. If your homemade gopher basket is extra-tall, you can bend it inward slightly to create a dome over the top of the rootball.Thoroughly water the tree. Add 2-4″ of organic mulch around the base of the tree, but not directly against the tree trunk. The post How to Make a DIY Gopher Basket for Fruit Trees appeared first on Homestead and Chill.

Read the original post "Whole Grain Einkorn Irish Soda Bread" on A Modern Homestead. This simple Irish soda bread recipe is made with whole grain and all-purpose einkorn flour. Hearty, delicious, and perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! Also included are the instructions for making a sweet Irish soda bread with raisins and sugar! Quick and Easy Irish Soda Bread Traditionally, Irish soda bread is a no-yeast bread that uses... Read More The post "Whole Grain Einkorn Irish Soda Bread" appeared first on A Modern Homestead.

Come learn why and how to harden off seedlings. It’s an easy but essential step to strengthen seedlings that were started indoors, in a greenhouse, or other protected location before they’re planted outdoors. Hardening off seedlings helps prevent transplant shock, and ensure they make a smooth, successful transition to their new home – your garden. Think of it as a simple, free bit of insurance for your plants! NOTE: This post was originally published in March 2019 but significantly updated since. The final day of hardening off for this big group of fall seedlings, all ready to transplant What is Hardening Off? Hardening off seedlings is the gradual process of preparing indoor-raised seedlings to be planted outside (usually over the period of a week or longer). The goal is to slowly acclimate them to outdoor conditions to reduce stress, help the seedlings become more strong and resilient, and thereby increase their success in the garden. Why Harden Off Seedlings? When started indoors, seedlings are very sheltered and protected. They likely haven’t been exposed to extreme temperature swings, strong winds, rain, or even direct sun. So, if they’re quickly moved from inside to outdoors without a proper transition period, they can easily get damaged (bend, break, wilt, etc) or experience transplant shock. Transplant shock is a state of stress or trauma that a plant may experience after being transplanted. According to Purdue University, it can result in failure to root, slowed growth, permanent stunting, or even plant death. A tomato seedling in a state of transplant shock. Photo courtesy of Houzz A tomato seedling with a broken stem, thanks to strong winds RELATED: Potting up seedlings is an another essential step to prevent the plants from becoming root bound and stunted. See our top tips for success in this Seed Starting 101 guide. While Seedlings Are Still Inside Many gardeners associate hardening off with the week or two before transplanting seedlings outside (when you gradually start taking them outside), yet there are a number of steps you can take even earlier to help strengthen your seedlings and prepare them for the transition too. Use a Fan Indoors Shortly after they sprout (about two weeks after germination), we start hardening off our indoor seedlings by using an oscillating fan on low to create a gentle wind. The airflow makes seedlings rapidly strengthen their stems in response to the movement, helping them get ready for natural wind outdoors. PRO TIP: Place the fan close enough that it makes the seedlings wiggle and dance a bit, but not so strong that they totally bend over! We usually start using the fan for just a few hours at a time (this oscillating fan has a handy timer), and rotate the trays every few days so the seedlings get even airflow from all directions. Reduce Heat If you used a seedling heat mat, be sure to wean your seedlings off of heat at least a couple weeks before they go outside. I suggest using a heat mat with a thermostat control so you can slowly reduce the temperature over a couple weeks. PRO TIP: We typically use heat mats during germination but remove them right after the seedlings sprout – unless extra heat is absolutely necessary (e.g. when we started seeds in a very cold greenhouse or shed during the winter). Even seedlings started in a greenhouse need a bit of hardening off. We had to use heat mats and lights in ours since it got more shade during the winter. How to Harden Off Seedlings About 7 to 10 days before your area’s last frost date (or before you intend to plant seedlings outside) start bringing them on short field trips outside to gradually expose them to direct sun, wind, and temperature changes. Try to start on a day with mild, calm weather conditions. Key Tips for Success: Gradual exposure: On the first day, set the seedlings outside in a shady, protected location for only a couple hours. Gradually increase the length of time and sun exposure each following day. Protect from sun and wind: Avoid direct sun or strong wind early on, which can damage or even kill tender seedlings. Introduce them to partial sun on day three or four. Protect from frost: Towards the end of the hardening off process, we start leaving our seedlings out into the evening hours so they can experience cooler temperatures too – but be sure to protect them from frost! Don’t forget to bring the seedlings back in overnight. I usually set an alarm on my phone as a reminder. Water: Seedlings will often dry out faster when outdoors compared to indoors, so keep an eye on the soil moisture level and provide water as needed. Watch out for animals, birds, or other pests. My friend forgot her seedlings were outside, let her chickens out, and they ate them ALL. Devastating! So, protect your seedlings with wire fencing, insect netting, or other means if necessary Once the seedlings can handle being in direct sun all day without wilting, they are ready for planting. PRO TIP: The hardening off process doesn’t need to be perfect, especially if you’re away from home during the day. Just do your best! Some hardening off is better than none. It’s also okay to skip a day if the weather is particularly bad, or if life happens. Simply resume the next day. Trays of seedlings out on their second day of hardening off, in a shady portion of the yard. Towards the end of the hardening off process, we put the seedling trays out in full sun, often times on or near the bed they’re going to be planted in. In this photo, we had just harvested all the remaining kohlrabi, radishes, and greens from the bed that needed to be cleared for the next round of plants. Tips for Planting Day Before transplanting seedlings, check the weather forecast for the coming week. Try to plant seedlings on a mild, calm day (preferably one with several days of good weather ahead). Be prepared to protect your seedlings during harsh conditions over the next couple of weeks. For instance, we usually cover our raised beds with hoops and insect netting to protect small tender seedlings from the wild birds that love to eat them. Then, we can swap out the insect netting for shade cloth or frost cloth if needed too. See our complete guide on transplanting seedlings here, including how we like to amend our soil first. We’d planned to transplant out tender greens and flowers on March 3rd, but decided to wait a week after seeing this forecast. The forecast got even worse – with 2 inches of rain plus 30 mph winds one day. That kind of weather has the potential to break and damage seedlings, even if they’re hardened off. An unexpected late frost came through and severely damaged this young squash plant. We should have covered it with frost cloth! And that’s how to harden off seedlings. Congratulations! With your love and care, your fragile baby seedlings have now blossomed into well-adjusted, strong teenagers – ready to take on the world. I hope you found this post helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions in the comments below. Thanks for reading, and happy planting! Don’t miss these related posts: How and When to Thin Seedlings: Tips for Fast Healthy Growth Garden Companion Planting Chart, Plans, and Benefits How to Build a DIY Raised Garden Bed: Step-by-Step Guide Potting Up Seedlings: What, Why, When & How Did you enjoy this article? Want to hear more? Stay in touch! Sign up below to receive weekly updates on new posts from Homestead and Chill. The post How to Harden Off Seedlings: Tips to Prevent Transplant Shock appeared first on Homestead and Chill.

Read the original post "Creamy Potato Leek Soup" on A Modern Homestead. Thick and creamy, this classic Potato Leek Soup is full of the rich flavors of potatoes, leeks, bacon, and chicken stock. Blended to perfection, this dish is best served with a side of crusty bread topped with a thick layer of butter. I love a big one-pot meal during the fall through spring months. It’s a great... Read More The post "Creamy Potato Leek Soup" appeared first on A Modern Homestead.