SHIFTING ROOTS

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Everything You Need To Know to Make Beautiful Natural Dyed Easter Eggs

February 19, 2020

Looking for a way to dye Easter eggs without food colouring or a kit? Look no further! There are lots of natural food dyes in your refrigerator and pantry. I’ll show you how the best ways to get pink, orange, yellow, blue and green eggs using vegetables and spices that you likely already have on hand.

Are you someone who likes a project with predictable results and simple directions?  This post is not for you.  Are you someone who likes surprises and is willing to experiment?  Carry on my friend.

Recently I went a little bit crazy and was determined to find the best natural Easter egg dyes.  Over 2 dozen tries later I bring to you this comprehensive, no-nonsense guide to natural Easter egg dyes.

[Read more…]
Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

26 Comments
Filed Under: DIY, Easter, Zero Waste Tagged: Beets, blackberries, cabbage, chokecherries, dye, Easter, easter eggs, food dye, Juice, Kale, natural dye, raspberries, saskatoon berries, spice dye, Spinach, turmeric, zero waste

Cheesy Eggs on Toast: the Perfect Post-Easter Breakfast

March 5, 2019

Let’s imagine for a moment that you went a little bit crazy for an experiment this Easter and somehow managed to dye over 24 hard boiled eggs. . .

What do you do with them?

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

5 Comments
Filed Under: Easter, Recipes, Simple & Easy Tagged: breakfast, Brunch, cheese, Easter, easy, Eggs, hardboiled eggs, simple and easy, toast

Easter Cupcakes with Mini-Egg Buttercream Icing

March 28, 2018

I am obsessed with Cadbury mini eggs.  If I could only have one candy in my easter basket, mini eggs are it.  While I love a bird’s nest treat as much as the next person, when I saw the local cupcake store come out with mini egg buttercream icing, I knew I had to make my own version.

They’re really easy to make and I can guarantee that the kids (or kids at heart) in your life will gobble up these cupcakes fast.  Or at least the icing. . . because what kid actually eats the cupcake?

This post contains affiliate links.  If you purchase something from one of my links I earn a couple of pennies at no extra cost to you.

If you love Cadbury mini eggs you'll love these easy Easter cupcakes! Your kids will devour the buttercream icing and you'll enjoy a different Easter dessert idea that isn't a bird's nest. Try these fun treats and watch them disappear! #Easter #Easterbaking #Eastercupcakes #baking #cupcakes #minieggs #Cadburyminieggs #Easterrecipe #holidaycupcake #funtreats #forkids [Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

1 Comment
Filed Under: Baking, Easter Tagged: Baking, Cupcakes, dessert, Easter, Easter recipes, mini eggs

Best Ever Garlic Lime Fish Tacos

April 13, 2017

Can you believe it’s almost Easter?  I don’t know where the time has gone, but I swear last time I looked I was just finishing up February break.  For those of you looking for something meatless to make soon, I bring you this tasty Good-Friday-appropriate-recipe, which also happens to be a huge favourite in our house: Garlic Lime Fish Tacos!

fish tacos [Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

5 Comments
Filed Under: Easter, Recipes Tagged: avocado, coleslaw, Easter, fish, fish tacos, garlic, Good Friday, lime, mexican, taco tuesday, tacos

The Best Secret Spots to Find Crocuses in Saskatchewan

April 12, 2017

Whether you call them Pasque flowers, April Fools, or Ears of the Earth, now is the perfect time to hunt crocuses in Saskatchewan.  Crocuses typically appear shortly after the snow melts, sometime around April 1st-21st.  Blooms only last for two weeks, so the window to see them is short.

[Read more…]

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

9 Comments
Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged: crocus, Easter, finding, grasslands, Humboldt, Lake Diefenbaker, Meewasin Trail, Mt. Carmel, nature, planting, prairie, Qu'Appelle Valley, Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, spring

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

Recent Posts

  • How to Grow Eucalyptus for Cut Flowers (Even in a Short Growing Season!)
  • 26 Best Flowers to Grow for Dried Flower Arrangements
  • 17 Perennial Flowers That Love Shade
  • How to Design a Cut Flower Garden in Raised Beds
  • How to Start a Cut Flower Garden

Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Privacy Policy

Currently trying to embrace the snow. . . ⁠ ⁠ Currently trying to embrace the snow. . . ⁠
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Do any of you watch gardeners on YouTube who grow in way warmer climates than yours?  Basically, almost all of the YouTubers I watch garden somewhere warmer than I do, except for the one in Alaska.  The first time my husband introduced me to the world of gardening vlogs, I just sat there fuming.  It was February.  It was -30.  And here I was watching people with green lawns starting their vegetable gardens. ⁠
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By now I've gotten used to it, and I actually really enjoy watching them while I've still got snow on the ground.  There's just something about living vicariously through someone else's garden.⁠
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If you also watch a lot of garden YouTube, who are your favourites?  Mine are @roots_and_refuge @you.cant.eat.the.grass @epicgardening @joshsattin @flowerhillfarmny ⁠
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P.S. I'm on YouTube too!  Subscribe for my longer-form content, how to videos, and (when it's warmer) vlogs and garden tours.
Growing a luffa sponge was possibly the most chall Growing a luffa sponge was possibly the most challenging and finicky thing I've taken on so far as a gardener in zone 3.  And all I got to show for it was 3 baby loofah sponges, which are so precious to me that I can't bare to actually use them. (Kind of defeats the point, doesn't it?)⁠⠀
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I'll be starting mine soon, so I though I would share some of the improvements to the growing process from last year.⁠⠀
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1. Plant in larger containers!! I thought I used large enough ones, but I sorely underestimated how big these plants would get indoors.  Once of my readers suggested buckets, and I think this is an excellent idea.⁠⠀
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2. Plant only 1 plant per container.  I thought loofah's would be like a cucumber or pumpkin or other vining squash where you plant in a hill.  The containers with two plants in them did not do as well as the single seed containers.⁠⠀
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3. Have a string for the vine to climb.  Cutting the vine off of my window screen was not fun.⁠⠀
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Will you try luffas this year?⁠⠀
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#luffasponge #loofahsponge #luffachallenge2012 #seedstarting #wintergardening #indoorgardening⁠⠀
Got the seed starting itch? There's some things y Got the seed starting itch?  There's some things you can actually seed start now and you won't end up with crazy leggy seedlings and endless problems.  In fact, these plants require that you start now, and need to be started in zone 3 by the end of February at the absolute latest.⁠
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I've already started some lisianthus and eucalyptus, and am waiting on my seed orders to start some more.⁠
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If you're starting a luffa sponge, make sure you have some sort of eventual plan for the vine.  last year mine went over my fall windows before I was able to take them outdoors.⁠
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P.S. I've actually never started onions from seed, so if anyone wants to chin in about their experience, feel free!
Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year? Growing eucalyptus for the first time this year?  A new post is on the blog to walk you through it.  While in theory eucalyptus is easy to grow, it's challenging in my zone 3 garden for three reasons: ⁠
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➡️It needs a long time to mature⁠
➡️I have a short growing season⁠
➡️I live in a cool climate, and eucalyptus grows better when its warm.⁠
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That said, you can see by this picture that it can be done!!⁠
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Are you growing eucalyptus this year?
Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums Oh friends, if any of my nice, curated photos sums up how this last week went, I think it's this one.  Babies crying, trying to stay calm, outwardly looking like it's all under control, but feeling very overwhelmed.⁠
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This post isn't gardening related, so feel free to scroll by if you're here only for the gardening content.⁠
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Thankfully it's January, and I keep reminding myself that the Internet will not break if I don't keep to my self-imposed posting schedule.  But it doesn't make a week full of teething-and-not-sleeping baby any easier. ⁠
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Felicity slept through the night for the first time ever last Monday, then proceeded to punish us with frequent wakings and terrible sleep until Saturday.  And as tough as this is in regular times, in Covid times its extra frustrating because I don't have my village.⁠
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I can't just call up another Mama friend and go for coffee at her house.  I can't take my son out for a Mommy-and-Dominic date because everything he'd want to do isn't really much of an option.  There's no playgroup or play place to just drop in on.  And forget just taking everybody out to get groceries just for a change of scenery.⁠
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I know people have way more serious problems than this, and I hope I don't sound whiny and entitled, it's not my intention.  Please know that I'm very grateful for my family and job and that so far we've been healthy. ⁠
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A lot of you who follow me do so in part because you are also juggling life with very little people through this strange time.  I hope that in occasionally sharing my struggles, it makes you feel better about your struggles. (You're struggling too sometimes. . . right?)
Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth deg Do you tend to plan out your garden to the nth degree, do you just wing it, or are you somewhere in-between?⁠
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I tend to plan it all out, and then when I actually get out in the field, so to speak, the plan changes a little bit. ⁠
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If you need a garden planner that's both pretty & practical, my garden planner is available in the ebooks section.  It's only $9 and has lots of upgrades from the previous planner.  Use code CANADA if you're Canadian to account for the exchange.⁠
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P.S. You can see exactly what you're getting in the video--no surprises. ⁠
P.P.S  I get my planner bound and printed at a printing place.  Lots of people just print their own and put the sheets in a binder.
Are you gardening in containers this year? When y Are you gardening in containers this year?  When you're shopping for vegetable seeds, look for varieties that have names with words like patio, tiny, small, etc.  While lots of vegetable varieties will do fine in a container, you'll have an easier time with ones that are specifically bred for that situation.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
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