Can we talk about winter? Or more specifically, the vegetables of winter? Don’t get me wrong; I love summer vegetables. There’s nothing like a sun-ripened tomato in your salad or biting into sweet corn on the cob. But summer vegetables are the darlings of the gardening world. They get all the press, all the glory, and all the adoring fans.
I’m going to guess you might be a little surprised to find Disney World mentioned in the first sentence of a post about hydroponic produce. The theme park and entertainment empire are much better known for princesses, anthropomorphic mice, and the live-action movie version of Mulan, which I thought was an okay movie. However, there are plenty of reviewers on Rotten Tomatoes who very much disagree with me.
When I started my very first vegetable garden, I must have lingered in my garden center’s aisles for over an hour trying to figure out what were the tools needed to start a garden. I was overcome with analysis paralysis – that thing that happens when there are too many options (usually in flashy colors) and in this case with some kind of lite rock music playing in the background. I ended up buying more than I needed and years later I have unopened tools still collecting dust in my garage.
As a mom of a busy toddler, I know the struggle to come up with quick healthy meals, so I have a lot of love for anything I can throw on a baking sheet like this roasted butternut squash and onions dish. While the squash and onions are roasting, you can make the rice, and then toss it together for a complete vegetarian meal.
Usually by the time fall rolls around, we gardeners start thinking about cleaning up the soil, putting the tools away for the season, and daydreaming about buying seeds for next year. Rarely do we think about planting vegetables in the fall. That’s unfortunate.
I know… “Salad” is not the first thing that comes to mind when many people think of delicious garden produce. My first memories of salad are tasteless iceberg lettuce and flavor-free tomatoes with ranch dressing as the only thing making them edible. But growing your own salad? It’s next-level goodness. It’s not hard either. Easy container gardening for beginners and even experienced gardeners is where it’s at!
I remember being a child in the 80s, the hey-day for prepackaged, and preserved snacks. If it wasn’t stuffed with cream filling, it was covered in Day-Glo orange cheese-flavored “product.” It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Nowadays, with more information available at our fingertips, people have become more conscious and informed about what exactly is in the food we eat. Because of this, organic planting and gardening continues to rise in popularity, and it’s here to stay!
I love harvesting herbs. I love the aromas that slowly drift through the air as I pinch off a sprig of sweet basil or earthy sage. And nothing fills the home with intoxicating scents like fresh rosemary and garlic in a bit of olive oil over a low flame on the stovetop.
You can find an all-purpose cleaner, all-purpose flour, all-purpose anything, really. It’s nice that way. All your needs get taken care of with one item. It’s true for plant fertilizer, too. You don’t need to buy one for your tomatoes, one for your carrots, another for your herbs, and so on. Even better, the best all-purpose plant fertilizer is free! Or at least cheap.
It’s one thing to figure out how to start a vegetable garden from scratch if you have a big ole pile of cash in your wallet and no credit card bills sitting unopened on your table. You buy a pre-fabricated raised bed or three, purchase oversized bags of finely-tuned vegetable garden soil, grab your favorite vegetable seedlings from the garden store, spring for that gorgeous gardening tool set, and you’re good to go.
