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Fruiting Shrubs are Easy to Grow
Gardeners can’t live by vegetables alone; we need fruit, too. Shrubs that produce small fruits are easy to grow and provide many benefits. Here are two of my favorites.
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Summer Solstice in the Garden
Today is the longest day of the year--15 hours and 18 minutes to be exact. It is the official beginning of summer on the calendar, however, many of our gardens have already begun to produce summer bounty.
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Benefits of Going to Seed
Hot weather is no match for cool-season vegetables. What should a gardener do when plants go to seed before their time?
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Visit Your Local Botanic Garden
Last weekend was the You Can Grow It! Festival at the U.S. Botanic Garden. There was a good turnout and visitors got to pot up an herb plant and a carnivorous plant, view a beehive and taste honey, observe insect activity in the Butterfly Garden, smell the roses in the Rose Garden, enjoy the native blooms in the Regional Garden and then cool of in the Conservatory while enjoying the many plant collections from tropicals and medicinals to rare & endangered. There is always something going on at your local Botanic Garden or Arboretum--and an everchanging seasonal landscape--so find one near you and go visit!
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Harvest Nettle Seeds to Make a Tasty Condiment: Gomasio with Nettle Seeds & Sea Vegetables
With the onset of warm weather, I allow the nettle patch to flower and make seed. Since the seeds are edible, I like to harvest and dry them, which is a bit labor intensive, however well worth the effort. The way that I like to use them best is to combine them with sesame seeds and sea salt and sometimes, seaweed, to make an incredibly tasty and nutritive version of gomasio.
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Stock Up on Garlic Scapes Now
While farmers markets will be filled with fresh produce through the gardening season, some items have a limited run. Look for garlic scapes at markets now and grab a bunch to enjoy this season and through the winter.
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Nettles: Last Harvest until Fall
Once nettles flower and set seed, most sources say they are too bitter to eat and that the leaves become stringy and gritty with calcium oxalate. Right now I am after the seeds so I can make gomasio and also I want to cut them back so that I will have a fall crop.
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How to Grow Chile Peppers
From subtle to spicy these top ten pepper varieties are a sure bet for the timid, the fearless, and all those in between.
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Growing Tomatoes and Peppers in the Garden using Black Plastic Mulch
Oh boy did I open a can of worms when I started to do research on the pros and cons of using black plastic mulch! Yes, it does warm the soil, extend crops growing time, hold moisture in the soil and keep down a plethora of weeds. No, black plastic is not organic. Most black plastic eventually goes into the landfill in a season or two—unless you use one of the newer biodegradable or photo-degradable black plastic mulches.
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Herbs Rock in Little Rock!
The first weekend in May, the Herb Society of America held their annual conference in Little Rock, Arkansas. The theme was "Herbs Rock in Little Rock!" and indeed they do. The Little Rock and Ozark Units and the planning committee did a great job from herbal wreaths, homemade vinegars and shrubs as centerpieces to setting up a fun vendor space featuring all things herbal, a great lineup of speakers, dinner at the governor's mansion and three field trips.
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Plant Purple Vegetables for Good Health
3 commentsPurple vegetables add a lot of color to the garden, but they do much more. Here’s why planting purple is the best choice this season.
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Basic Vinaigrette & Variations
Vinaigrettes are so easy to make and are far better than store-bought bottled dressings. This is my "little black dress" dressing--my family's favorite--simple and tasteful.
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Salad Days
Spring is one of my favorite seasons--not just for the abounding, burgeoning green--the gustatory delights are bountiful too! There is nothing like a variety of fresh grown greens, just harvested, washed quickly and served immediately, dressed very simply. Right now, the palate is assuaged with all of the tastes since salad greens run the gamut from sweet to sour and bitter and are full of mineral salts.
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Mother Earth News Guide to Vegetable Gardening
If you’re a fan of Mother Earth News magazine, you’ll relish the new Guide to Vegetable Gardening. This book is a collection of dozens of vegetable growing articles, written by well-known experts, that first appeared in the magazine.
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Love Apples for Mother’s Day
It seems fitting to send out some special appreciation to mother’s this week. Instead of flowers, how about a beautiful bouquet of Love Apples with sentimental names?
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How to Grow the Flavor of the Year
Cucumbers have been around for more than 3,000 years, and they’re finally getting the recognition they deserve. Whether you grow full-size beauties or container-size munchers, you can grow the 2017 Flavor of the Year in your vegetable garden. Here’s how.
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Nettles Make Beautiful Soup!
There are so many wonderful things about spring--and it delights me to have fresh, mineral-rich and vitamin-laden green herbs pop up for us to bring into the kitchen and make those seasonal dishes that we can't have the rest of the year. Nettles are a favorite of mine, and while I quite savor a nettle spanakopita and a salsa verde made with nettle, chickweed, dandelion, and sorrel or oxalis--nettle soup is a great comfort food besides being a spring tonic.
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Cilantro Recipe: Mango Habanero Salsa with Cilantro
In my blog on Cilantro & Coriander, Herb of the Year 2017, I promised to post a recipe. Here is a bright and flavorful salsa that is great with chips, on a taco salad or quesadilla, and with anything from the grill!
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How to Avoid Herbicide Carryover
Do you use straw, grass clippings or animal manure in your vegetable garden? If so, you need to take steps to keep herbicide contamination from harming your plants.
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Seasonal Foods for Spring: Strawberries & Rhubarb
Besides the stirring of life in the garden, the welcome appearance of the harbingers of spring, other signs of the season are produce like fresh salad greens both cultivated and wild, leeks and spring onions, morels, asparagus, strawberries and rhubarb.
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