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Wandering in Place
In the quiet corner of my backyard in Westport, Connecticut, sits a humble compost heap—my ever-evolving monument to patience, decay, and renewal. Framed by upright logs and wrapped in garden …
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Can You Eat Green Tomatoes Raw or Are They Toxic?
Can you eat green tomatoes? Raw? Cooked? Diced into a salsa? Oh, this question is as old as time. What else would we bicker about at our gardening clubs, if …
Beautiful, Low-Water Use Plants for Your Garden
Every gardener knows, there will come a time each summer when water is precious – for some, that time is the entire gardening season. During those times, you know the …
The California Wonder Pepper That Followed Me Home
What I remember most about the California State Fair in the 1960s isn’t the rides, the midway games, or even the smell of corn dogs drifting through the Summer air. …
Gardening with Kids is a Blessing
I like to think that I've done my job as a gardener to at least inspire curiosity in my daughter about gardening. Gardening with kids isn't always pretty, but it's …
How to Be a Happy Food Gardener
I’ve read more self-help books than I care to admit. Some were helpful, some were forgettable, and a few were written with such certainty that I half expected the author …
Marinated BBQ Chicken Kabobs with Pineapple & Bacon
Making kabobs for a backyard party is easy and oh-so rewarding! After marinating, assemble these kabobs with a mixture of sweet, tangy and spicy ingredients that will be grilled to …
Cheers to My Personal Tomato Favorites
Every tomato gardener eventually reaches a point where the question changes.
It’s no longer, “Can I grow tomatoes?”
It becomes, “Which tomatoes do I always want in my garden?”
This chapter is my …
Boosting Yield Without Sacrificing Flavor
There comes a moment—usually right around midsummer—when every tomato gardener asks the same question:
How do I get more tomatoes… without turning them bland, watery, or forgettable?
Because here’s the hard truth:
It’s …
Tomatoes for Sauces, Canning, and Preserving
There’s a moment every tomato gardener knows well.
You walk into the kitchen carrying what you think is a reasonable harvest…
and realize you now own far more tomatoes than any household …
