Save Cash, Start Seeds
Be more planet-friendly by starting seeds in newspaper pots rather than plastic seed trays.
Biodynamic Beekeeping with Michael Thiele
I had the pleasure of taking a biodynamic apiculture class with Michael Thiele of Gaia Bees this past weekend. WOW. Talk about taking a different approach. Michael does not use smoke, doesn't wear a protective suit, and doesn't use conventional Langstroth hives to house bees. What he had to share was an entire day filled with alternatives to modern beekeeping. Just as with biodynamic farming/gardening, Michael guided the participants to view bees, the colony, the hive, and their entire process…
Using Eggshells in Your Garden
Today we have a guest post from Nancy Parker of eNannySource.com, a site that makes it as easy as possible for caregivers to sign up and find work. In addition, she spends quite a bit of her time writing freelance. Take it away, Nancy. We all love to reuse things and reduce waste, but some things still wind up in the trash. Items like eggshells often do, but what if you could use them in your garden instead? From handy…
Plant Perennials
Fall is a time to plant plants that live for many years rather than one season.
Making Ancho Chile Powder
It's important to try new things every once in a while, because that simple act of diving blindly into the unknown is the very thing that keeps life interesting. Yesterday I did exactly that; I made Ancho chile powder from garden-grown poblano peppers. Let me preface this by saying that my chile powder is green. I know, I know, you're supposed to wait until the peppers turn red before doing it, but the poblano plant was going crazy and I…
Tiny eggs on the undersides of milkweed leaves
Milkweed and Monarchs
Perhaps the most important part of any vegetable garden is the habitat surrounding the garden itself. Having a place where good bugs can thrive can be the difference between a successful garden, or one full of pests. Milkweed plays an important role in keeping one species happy: the Monarch butterfly. Monarchs are amazing for a number of reasons. First, they only lay their eggs on milkweed plants, because that is the single food of their young larvae. Second, most monarchs…
Seeding Ahead
Fall is a great time to scatter seeds for next year's annuals.
Home Sprouting: Fenugreek for Health
Despite being called a "granola head" throughout college, I've never grown sprouts, mostly because I resented the fact that they found their way into places they didn't belong...like veggie tacos. However, it's important to try new things every once in awhile, so I took the opportunity to try sprouting this summer. Botanical Interests Seeds sent me a freebie: a giant packet of fenugreek seeds complete with instructions for how to sprout them. Fenugreek seeds are known for their dense nutrient…
A sign welcomes guests to the garden.
Field Trip: Quebec City Rooftop Garden – Les Jardins des Lauberiviere
One last stop on our tour of Quebec City's gardens: an impressive rooftop garden that anyone can replicate, at least in part. Les Jardins des Lauberiviere is a project that sits on top of a former hotel, and is now Quebec City's largest homeless shelter. Not only does this shelter provide a home for its residents, but the 6,000 square foot rooftop garden produces 1.5 tons of vegetables each year. The project was installed by Les Urbainculteurs, a non-profit organization…
Late Summer To Do List
To Do List to keep your garden in tip-top shape