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Botanical Waters (Aguas Frescas): Celebrate the Season with Flavorful Healthy Beverages
We are having hot weather, which means we should be hydrating a lot. I'm harvesting the mints and monardas and lemon balm and these herbs are wonderfully refreshing when infused in water. Add a little fresh seasonal fruit--and you have a fiesta in a glass--full of vitamins and minerals and delicious! I call these herb-and-fruit-infusions botanical waters or flavored waters.
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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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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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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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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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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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Just Released: Cilantro & Coriander, Herb of the Year 2017
Every year the International Herb Association chooses an herb of the year to feature, as well as publishes a book on the selected herb so we can all get to know the particular herb up close and personal. This year we celebrate cilantro & coriander (one is the herb leaf and the other is the herb seed--both from the same plant--so we get two for one this year!)
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Vegetable Seeds for Easter Baskets
Let the Easter bunny plant the seeds of gardening by adding a few vegetable seed packets to the basket this year.
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Insect Pest Warning System for Vegetable Gardeners
Wouldn't it be nice to know when to expect an invasion of insect pests to your vegetable garden? Then The Big Bug Hunt needs you!
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Strawberry Shrub
In my travels down South lately, I've been doing programs on capturing the essence of herbs. One easy, seasonal recipe that I have been preparing with an enthusiastic response is strawberry shrub with lemon balm. It is simple, mouthwatering and a perfect blend of seasonal flavors.
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The Foodscape Revolution
If you’ve been relegating your fruits, vegetables and herbs to the backyard garden, it’s time to rethink that vegetable gardening approach. Foodscaping is the vegetable gardening trend that encourages gardeners to mix edible plants with ornamentals throughout the landscape.
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Sponges Make Seed Sprouting Seem Like Magic
2 commentsSeeds can sprout just about anywhere, even on colorful sponges. This easy indoor gardening project is a fun way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, Easter and other spring holidays.
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Shed Stress with a Beautiful Backyard Escape
Erika Kotite’s new book, She Sheds: A Room of Your Own, will help you imagine a beautiful retreat in your own backyard. The 23 featured sheds will inspire you to turn an ordinary shed into a small sanctuary.
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Hudson Valley Starts Center for Seed Stewardship
1 commentAfter 12 years as Hudson Valley Seed Library, the company has a new name, new logo and a new nonprofit dedicated to protecting our seed resources.
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Homemade Kombucha Know-how
1 commentWhether you’ve been enjoying kombucha for years or you’re new to the idea of drinking fermented sweet tea, The Big Book of Kombucha is your complete guide to the art of brewing and enjoying this healthful beverage.
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All Hail Kale for 2017
The National Garden Bureau has spoken and named 2017 the Year of the Brassica. Now’s the time to start planning how to celebrate all the delicious nutritious cole crops in your vegetable garden this spring.
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Cilantro & Coriander, Herb of the Year 2017
This year we celebrate Cilantro & Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) as Herb of the Year 2017. The leaf of the coriander plant is known as cilantro throughout much of the western world. It is often called coriander leaf and Chinese parsley in other parts of the globe. The seed is known as coriander and has been used as a spice--from as far back as the ancient Egyptians and was mentioned in the Bible. It's time to order your seed to have it in time for early spring planting!
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Share the Gardening Love
Now’s the time to help kids get connected, just not to the latest technology. Pull the plug and take the American Horticultural Society’s pledge to find ways to share your love of gardening with the children in your life.
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Seed Catalogs for 2017
My first seed catalog for 2017 arrived before Christmas. I enjoy sitting by the woodstove with the catalogs and perusing the photos and descriptions of mouthwatering herbs, vegetables and fruits, dreaming of this year's garden-to-be. Admittedly, I have been receiving fewer catalogs every year since I tend not to order from many of them--and I am sure seed companies need to save the expense of printing and shipping color catalogs to folks who don't place orders. Here are a few that I will be ordering from soon--as well as a few that I order from online.
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