Welcome to Seasonal Simple Life
Join me in creating a self-sufficient, sustainable life through gardening, preserving, and simple living.
Every season offers fresh opportunities to grow your skills and reconnect with nature’s rhythms. 
Latest Posts
How to Save Tomato Seeds
Tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetables in the whole wide world, not only among gourmets...
Channel Your Inner Oma: Simple Homemade Sauerkraut That Actually Tastes Amazing
Every autumn, when the sharp, tangy scent of fermenting cabbage fills the kitchen, you know winter comfort food season has officially begun. If you’ve been settling for mediocre store-bought sauerkraut, it’s time to discover how ridiculously simple it is to make your own at home. With just cabbage, salt, and a little patience, you can create sauerkraut that’s tangier, crunchier, and infinitely more satisfying than anything from a jar. This traditional German recipe requires no special equipment—just a bowl, some jars, and the willingness to knead some cabbage. Whether you’re piling it alongside creamy mashed potatoes, tucking it into a flaky strudel, or serving it as a wine-braised side dish, homemade sauerkraut transforms simple meals into something special. Watch this ancient preservation method work its magic right on your countertop, and channel your inner German Oma as you create jars of probiotic-rich goodness that will last all winter long. Once you see how easy it is, you’ll wonder why you ever bought it from the store.
From Orchard to Jar: 4 Heavenly Pear Jam Variations
When my colleague brought over two buckets of freshly harvested pears, I knew I wanted to create something special beyond classic pear jam. These four heavenly pear jam variations capture everything from warm autumn spices to bright summer flavours, each bringing its own unique character to your breakfast table. Try the velvety Pear Jam with Spices featuring vanilla, ginger, and cardamom for cosy autumn mornings. The Pear Jam with Rosemary offers a fresh, herbaceous twist that’s perfect for cheese boards. For something sophisticated, the Pear Jam with Riesling adds subtle fruitiness and depth. And the kid-friendly Pear-Blueberry Jam with Cinnamon combines three seasons in one jar. Each recipe follows the same simple process and uses just a handful of ingredients. Whether you’re working with freshly picked pears or windfall fruit that needs quick processing, these creative variations will help you preserve the harvest in delicious new ways.
From the Garden
Ultimate Guide to Crop Rotation in Vegetable Gardening
Crop rotation is a foundational practice for thriving vegetable gardens, designed to keep soil fertile, reduce pest and disease pressure, and boost overall harvests. Rather than planting the same crops in the same spot year after year—which can deplete nutrients and encourage pests and diseases that specialize in particular plant families—crop rotation moves different groups of vegetables around your beds in a planned sequence. By understanding how vegetables are grouped by botanical family or by their nutrient needs, you can create rotation plans that cycle legumes, leafy greens, fruiting crops, root vegetables and more across your garden space. The guide also offers practical layouts for 3- and 4-year rotation cycles, tips on implementing rotation in small gardens with raised beds or containers, and ways to integrate companion planting and cover crops to further enhance soil health and plant performance.
23 Common Vegetable Gardening Mistakes (And How to Fix Them!)
I’ve made every gardening mistake—planting in cold soil, overcrowding beds, overwatering. You don’t have to repeat them.
Start small and choose a sunny, well-drained spot. Know your hardiness zone before selecting plants. Wait for warm, dry soil before sowing. Weed thoroughly, respect plant spacing, and rotate crops annually to avoid depleting soil.
Water deeply but only when dry, then mulch thickly. Time your seed-starting right—too early makes leggy plants, too late means no harvest.
Most importantly? Relax. Something will always go wrong. Enjoy the sunshine, savor your harvest, and let your garden be your happy place.
Succession Planting Guide: Maximize Your Vegetable Garden Harvest Year-Round
Imagine having fresh vegetables from your garden throughout the entire growing season. With...
From the Pantry
Fermented lemons
When I first heard about fermented lemons, I wondered what you could use them for. After all, if...
Fermentation equipment
You wanna start fermenting and dread what you have to buy for it? No worries! The cool thing about...
Fermentation problems and what to do
Fermenting your vegetables is a marvellous way to preserve your harvest. Not only that but it can...
From the Kitchen
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Home and Hearth
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About Me
Imagine growing your own herbs on a windowsill, turning summer tomatoes into winter comfort, or creating your own gentle soaps with ingredients you can pronounce.
These aren’t impossible dreams—they’re your next small steps toward a more self-sufficient life.
Whether you’re planting your first seeds or you’ve been gardening for years, every season offers fresh opportunities to grow your skills, reduce your footprint, and reconnect with the natural rhythms that sustain us all.
Hi, I’m Angela, the “face” behind Seasonal Simple Life. Welcome to this blog!
Do you dream of creating a colourful and lively vegetable garden where you’ll cultivate all the vegetables you want?
Without chemistry but diversity and many tried and tested varieties that will fill your harvest basket with healthy and tasty fruit and vegetables?
In the evenings, the flavour of freshly cooked tomato sauce flows through the house; winter will come, eventually, and your pantry won’t fill on its own…
Do you want to live a seasonal simple life, decorate your house, craft things that make you happy and add beauty to your home?
Let’s do this together!
If you want to learn more about me, click here.