Let’s talk about beans. Dry beans, green beans, snap beans, bush beans, pole beans … there’s no shortage of beans. But what’s the best way to preserve beans? I love beans. They’re fun to grow, they’re actually quite beautiful on the vine, they make great garden companions, and beans are super versatile in the kitchen. […]
Using manure as fertilizer is not new. Commercial farms have done it for ages. But given that most of us home gardeners don’t have the same space or tools as commercial farms, it can feel a little daunting to determine how to use animal manure as fertilizer. Should you use it fresh? Does it matter […]
Micro-gardening? Yeah, it’s pretty much what it sounds like, although micro-gardening indoors is somewhat of a variation on the original design. The idea of micro-gardening began as a way to deal with food insecurity and lack of access to healthy, fresh foods. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) describes micro-gardening as […]
Learning to start canning your own foods is an exciting time! Most folks start out with water bath canning goods like jellies and syrups, and then move up to the big canning tools like a pressure canner for broths, sauces, and meats. Whether you’re learning how to can, or just need canning tools to create […]
They lower the risk of type 2 diabetes, help prevent cancer, have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, act as an antiviral, improve gut bacteria, and that’s just the beginning. There’s no denying the health benefits of cruciferous vegetables. In the kitchen, you can sauté, steam, roast, and grill them. You can enjoy them raw. Add them […]
Cilantro shares a long history with humanity. Seeds of the herb were scattered in the tomb of King Tutankhamun. They were found in caves inhabited 8,000 years ago in Israel. The herb appears in ancient texts from Greece and Rome. And while a lot has changed, I’d be willing to bet that if we could […]
I’m a fairly independent human, who likes to avoid asking anyone for help. I’m that girl at the grocery store, who uses a wrapping paper tube from the stationery aisle to nudge paper towels off the high shelf. So when it comes to pruning fruit trees, the extendable pruning saw (sometimes called a “pole saw”) is a favorite of mine for garden cleanup.
Some years, everything comes together. The temperature is just right, the humidity is perfect, your watering system is spot on, the pests leave your garden alone while the bees and butterflies pollinate all your veggies, and you have the most bountiful garden ever. But once you start harvesting, you have to figure out what to […]
I don’t know about you, but as a beginner, not very serious gardener, I used to go to the store, look at the seeds, and just pick the vegetables and herbs I liked. I didn’t give much thought to whether or not it was too late to plant tomato seeds in July or if my garden had enough sun for eggplants to grow. Certainly, I had some luck and once in a while would pick something easy to grow (yay for radishes!) but I also had my share of disappointments. In fact, I mostly had disappointments in those early days.
As a kid, I was committed to saving vegetable seeds from every vegetable on my dinner plate. I loved the idea that food could make more food and in a weird way, vegetables could live forever. My parents had to gently break it to me, however, that cooked vegetable seeds would not fare well in the mini paper dirt cups lining our windowsill.
