Taking Stock – Seeds, Successes and More
Take time to take inventory and make a list of supplies needed for the coming growing season.
Best Sand for Storage
Beach sand is very smooth, which interferes with drainage and air circulation, and it’s full of salts and who knows what else.
Flour, water, salt and starter are the only ingredients in this loaf. Long rise (4 hours with turns every 1/2 hour), and then overnight refrigeration make this loaf great.
Sourdough Bread – Why It’s Better Than Yeast
I've been making bread for 25 years, but I've always been afraid of sourdough starter. Pretty sure I would kill it from neglect, so I limited myself to packaged yeast...until yesterday. Maybe it's a New Year's Resolution. Maybe it's courage, or blissful ignorance, but yesterday I made my first loaf of sourdough bread and have left over starter in the fridge. It's a thing of beauty. With all the gluten intolerance in the world now, one can't help but question…
Many varieties of cauliflower exist. Experimentation is the key to success.
Ask Gardenerd: Big Cauliflower – No Head
We got a question at Ask Gardenerd this week from Jeff: "I'm having trouble with cauliflower - the plants are not flowering. Is there anything I can do to encourage flowering? By the way, I planted broccoli as well and it's doing fine. Thanks, Jeff" You're not alone, Jeff. This is typical of places that don't have really cold temperatures in fall or winter. Cauliflower needs low temps to set a head, so in warm-winter climates you often get Jurassic…
Gardening New Year’s Resolutions
Instead of making resolutions, how about making a list of a few hopes and aspirations for the year?
Mostly started from nursery transplants to make it easy for beginning gardeners. We did plant seeds for radishes and carrots though.
Toddler Garden
It's important for kids to know where their food comes from, so here at Gardenerd we like to start them young. Really young, in the case of this recent garden installation. A two-year-old was about to get a younger sibling, so her parents wanted to give her something small to call her own: a toddler garden. Naturally, we needed to keep it simple for both child and parents. They'll have their hands full, so this garden needed to be self-sufficient…
Rare, but becoming more available, Glass Gem Popping Corn is one to grow in 2016.
Garden New Year’s Resolutions 2016
I’m not a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions. High expectations at the beginning of the year often lead to disappointment in a short time, once life steps in to remind us why we didn’t check off those resolutions last year. I’d rather make a list of hopes and aspirations for the year instead. Then each accomplishment is a celebration when achieved. We had a very busy 2015 here at Gardenerd, so the goal for this year is balance. Here…
December Gardening To-Dos
Time to spray fruit trees with dormant oil in warm-winter areas. At the end of this month, you can start pruning those fruit trees as well.
Take Cover
Cover crops not only fix nitrogen, but help sequester carbon in soils.
Ground turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties.
Ask Gardenerd: Growing Turmeric
An interesting question came in to Ask Gardenerd this week: "My friend and I both live in central South Carolina. Last year we planted turmeric plants in our yards. Now we realize that we need to know how and when to harvest these plants. What should they look like? Do they need to be stored for a time before using the root? (like some potatoes and onions). Please give us some general ideas and tips. Thank you. Evelyn" We love…