This time of year is always rewarding; almost overnight things seem to morph from “expanse of wood chips” to “a zillion shades of green.” The days are getting long, temperatures are slowly warming, and perennials and quick-germinating herbs and flowers are responding by popping up everywhere. With a few notable exceptions (looking at you, bindweed), most…
Easy Vegetables
If Infomercials Targeted Gardeners
Do you have trouble getting your cabbage to head? Are you concerned about your cruciferous credibility? Have brassicas got you beat? Then you, my friend, need kale! Yes, kale! And not just any kale – you need Portuguese Kale. Now I know what you’re thinking, “how could I ever grow kale? Isn’t it a superfood? Aren’t superfoods only for super-gardeners?”
The Tartine: Your Formula For The Ultimate Easy Summer Sandwich
In the summer I follow a little formula that allows me to convert fresh-picked veg into easy open faced sandwich meals. The following formula will never go wrong in building a good summer tartine: Good bread + Good spreadable cheese + Cooked firm vegetable topping and/or fresh sliced ripe tomato + Fresh herbs = Delicious tartine.
The 5 Easiest Crops For The Spring Garden
Five easy, bomb-proof vegetables for the spring garden. Learn about three annuals and two perennials that will give you that master gardener glow with minimal work.
When and How to Harvest Kale Florets
Ok, here’s the deal. Kale, collards, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, cabbage, turnip, kohlrabi – all these amazing, diverse plants have been bred from the same wild cabbage ancestor. Kohlrabi was bred to make a juicy, swollen stem, and you’ll notice it tastes like broccoli stem because, well, botanically, it pretty much is. Brussels sprouts look like teeny…
Goals for 2015
I wasn’t going to do a “New Year’s Resolutions” post because, frankly, I’ve reached the age where I know nothing I say after three cocktails on December 31st is going to have any impact on my life or decisions on March 1st. I’ve learned that if something in my life needs improvement or change or more…
Seed Selection Made Very, Very Simple
Heather, a friend of mine and a fellow blogger over at Queen Bee Coupons, emailed me last week and said, I’m completely overwhelmed by the options in the seed catalogs. I just want you to tell me what to order. I want simple and I want a little bit of everything – a selection of…
The 5 Best Vegetables To Grow With Kids
I wrote the article below for the website of a local magazine called ParentMap about a month ago. It’s all aglow with the joys and benefits of gardening with kids, and these are many. But I gotta tell you, this past weekend I turned around to see my son standing in the raised bed I’d just been…