'Country life has its conveniences,' he would sometimes say. 'You sit on the verandah and you drink tea, while your ducks swim on the pond, there is a delicious smell everywhere, and . . . and the gooseberries are growing.' ~Anton Chekhov Read More
I always thought green beans were just that: ordinary green beans? no difference in any of them, except for the very thin and expensive French Haricots Vert that I dearly love. As Fate would have it, I was recently proved wrong, resulting in a delightful and tasteful experience. Now my first green bean ?love? has an equal. Read More
I have had bits and pieces of information about using rock dust in the garden scattered among my garden notes and in my books for years. Recently some neurotransmitters in my brain finally worked together and I had a really big DUH! about why I should use rock dust in my garden, and what it can do. It is all so very simple to me, finally. Read More
Brambles (caning fruits) can pose some basic problems. The first is that they flop all over, making it difficult to harvest the berries; the second is the suckers they send out for new canes, competing for nutrients and often growing all over the place. Another problem is how airflow affects mildew and moldy berries. Read More
Magnesium is at the core of the chlorophyll molecule, and an essential ingredient for healthy plants, and the animals (including humans) that eat those plants. All living organisms depend on magnesium in all types of cells, body tissues and organs for a variety of functions. Magnesium in human and animal bodies is important in regulating muscle and nerve functions, and half the magnesium in humans is found in our bones. Read More
The various species of juniper grow as shrubs and small trees throughout North America as well as the Middle East. The seed cones look like berries and most are edible. All of the species of juniper grow berries but some are considered just too bitter to eat. Many also have medicinal properties. Read More
Now is the time in most zones to get garlic and shallots planted for next year?s harvest. The price of garlic in the grocery stores is fairly reasonable so many folks do not grow their own. But, buying garlic at the grocer?s limits you to the taste of one or two common varieties, whereas growing your own opens doors to the many and varied tastes of garlic. The last count I knew, there were over 600 varieties of garlic available, ranging from a very sweet roasting garlic to a fiery, pungent garlic that sears your taste buds. Shallots are always expensive at the grocery stores, and too easy to grow not to grow your own. Read More
Last fall I received a gift package containing 2 jars of beautiful claret colored homemade jelly, made from Beach Plums. I had never heard of them! The taste was outstanding and I wanted some for my own garden. Since I am just starting a small fruiting garden area and still selecting fruits to grow, I started researching all I could find out about beach plums. Read More
There are a number of variations on the legend of the Four Thieves and how they survived the Black Plague. The common thread throughout the stories is an herbal mix that enabled these men to survive a pandemic that killed millions people in the mid 1300s. By all accounts, it was the worst pandemic in recorded history, but some, like the Four Thieves, survived and lived to tell the tale of how they did. Read More
The Shasta Daisy is one of the backbones of a perennial border, with long lasting 3 inch wide sparkling white blooms and yellow centers on sturdy stems that grow up to 40? tall, flowering in June through September. The flowers make wonderful cut flowers, and in the landscape they attract bees and butterflies. Read More
Almost any gardener who has driven along a coastal highway in the southeastern United States has caught a glimpse of the indigenous wild sea oats along the sand dunes. If you have walked along those beaches, you will have seen signs that picking sea oats (or any part thereof, including seeds) is against the law in several states, and carries a hefty fine. Read More
Why build a hoop house? As gardeners, we are always looking for ways to get a jump-start on spring planting, hoping we won?t have a late freeze. Mother Nature sometimes has her own ideas, and we are not always lucky. Finally we think it is safe and we plant out our precious seedlings. Unfortunately we are just as apt to catch the dreaded, unexpected weather forecast? and in sheer panic mode, we haul out all the extra sheets, blankets and anything else we can use to cover our plants. Read More
With the increasing popularity of local foods, many of us are returning to the edible plants of our childhood memories. We may remember visiting Grandpa and going for a walk in the fields to pick wild blackberries in August, or visiting Grandma who had the most luscious strawberries in her garden. Even after many years, we still carry the memory of the aroma and sweet taste of that just-picked, perfectly ripe fruit. Read More
Backyard fruit production is another step in providing abundant healthy foods right at our fingertips. You?d be surprised at the many ways to maximize fruits on a small growing space! Read More
The first benefit to the home gardener is the opportunity to grow and use some of the magnificent garlic varieties seldom, if ever, found in the supermarkets and rarely even at farmer's markets or roadside stands. Out of over 600 sub-varieties, only 2 are commonly found in grocery stores. If you like cooking and eating garlic, expand your repertoire! Read More
Sulfur is necessary for all living cells, but humans and animals only get it from plants. In plants, sulfur is essential for nitrogen-fixing nodules on legumes, and necessary in the formation of chlorophyll. Plants use sulfur in the processes of producing proteins, amino acids, enzymes and vitamins. Sulfur also helps the plant's resistance to disease, aids in growth, and in seed formation. Read More
All fruits and vegetables can be easily measured for Brix. So you ask: What is Brix? Why should Brix matter to me? The answer is that Brix measurements tell us how flavorful and nutritious our foods are, or could be. Read More
Fall in the Southeastern U.S. means a different smell in the air, cool crisp nights that equal great sleeping weather, drives up to the Appalachian Mountains to see the "leaves" and small roadside stands selling apples, fresh apple cider, colorful potted mums, pumpkins of all sizes and the southern favorite striped cushaw squash displayed on straw bales dotted along the winding roads. Read More
Every gardener knows there are vagaries of weather following the first warm days in early spring, but not all gardeners know their names, or that they have names, and why. Old-timers in the Appalachians know there are several named "winters" following winter, and Blackberry Winter is perhaps the best known. There is also Dogwood Winter, Locust Winter, Whippoorwill Winter, Redbud Winter and even Linsey-Woolsey Britches Winter. Read More
Growing up in south Florida, we often ate dinner at Chinese restaurants where we would sometimes be served a dessert that was a white, almost gelatinous blob called a Lychee, presented in a clear syrup. I was not impressed. Then as a young adult I was invited to dinner with a couple who served fresh lychees from their own trees and I was hooked! Read More
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