How a Fetus Made Me Appreciate Our Vegetable Garden »
There’s nothing that can disrupt life like a baby, with the possible exception of a third baby (crazy parents of 3+ children know what I’m talking about). Just when you think you have the whole parenting thing figured out, along comes another personality to care and nurture for that is, conveniently, nothing like any of [Read More...]
Juicing for Better Health »
The new year always begins with proclamations of ways we can improve and promises we make to ourselves to achieve these resolutions. Many focus around personal health and weight loss. My family is no different. Recently, my brother watched the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Deadwhich demonstrates the weight loss achieved by Joe Cross through [Read More...]
A Gentle Introduction to Herb Gardening… »
Will 2013 be the year you start an herb garden? Have you been overwhelmed and confused when you approach the project? There are so many books written on the subject, and it may seem as if growing herbs is somehow difficult, expensive, exhausting and just too much trouble! I am here to tell you that none of [Read More...]
Top 5 Gardening (and Growing/Food Culture) Trends of 2013, Broadly, Probably. »
Remember that time this didn’t happen? So with that impending doom safely behind us (and the History Channel now scurrying to fill their time slots), we can look forward to the joys and excitements of 2013. According to the Garden Media Group (apparently this title actually comes from the Vedic calendar), 2013 is officially the [Read More...]
Grow Your Own Healing Herbal Teas »
The weather has grown colder and winter is just about upon us in Upstate New York. Though the snow may be falling, we still enjoy the riches our garden brings through the vegetables we were able to put up for winter. We also are fortunate to have dried herbs to use as a seasoning. However, [Read More...]
This Hegemony Tastes Like Corporate Lobbying: Heirloom Seeds and Genetically-Modified Seeds »
So for a little while now I’ve been trying to do a write-up on the differences between heirloom seeds and genetically-modified seeds. And darn it, if the thing wasn’t becoming something way too much like an exposé. I mean, how could it not? Each side positions itself as Gandhi and the other as something apocalyptic… [Read More...]
The pleasures of a hoop house… »
Just a pretty picture… We’ve already had a little snow here… and the temps at night have been below freezing, and yet, I can walk out to the hoop house and bring in fixings for a fresh salad. What a blessing! This can be achieved in a simple cold frame, too, which can even be made [Read More...]
Canning clingstone peaches without sugar… »
My husband and I went to a grocery store several days ago. When we walked in the door, I saw a LOT of peaches sitting there in crates, and the sign said 25 cents a pound. My mouth dropped open, and I asked an employee if they were really 25 cents a pound. Yep. She [Read More...]
The Thoroughly Pleasing Pumpkin »
My husband Bruce announced he wanted to make his own pumpkin puree—he already had the instructions laid out—so when we spotted pie pumpkins at the farmers market, we made a beeline for them. Bruce has made puree twice now, and both efforts have been easy and successful. A friend once told me it was messy [Read More...]
“Perpetual” Swiss Chard in the Hoop House »
I love Swiss Chard. It tastes a lot like spinach. Spinach is lovely stuff, certainly, but you have to plant it early, very early, and then when the weather heats us, zap! It bolts quickly! We have Swiss Chard to eat all year long by using this method: I plant it in rows, 12 inches [Read More...]