They look kind of funny, maybe even cute, but harlequin bugs are no laughing matter. If left to their own devices, they'll mutilate a plant
within an inch of its life. They like brassicas - a lot - and this year they found my kale.
The Harlequin Bug (murgantia histrionica) is a True bug, and a stink bug - which you only find out when you squish them. They are black and orange and are often ...
Now that summer has come to a close (not that you could tell with all the hot weather we've been having lately), harvest season is upon us.
As part of our harvest plan, we built a solar food dryer in order to alleviate some
congestion in the freezer.
We've over our heads in leeks right now. The fridge is full, and the freezer is already full of batches ...
You'll find them in Indian food, hearty soups, and as a ubiquitous staple of the salad bar at Soup Plantation, but you might not know how good they really are until you've cooked them yourself.
Garbanzo beans, also known as chick peas, are usually undercooked when you buy them canned, and certainly don't hold a lot of flavor on their own (kind of like tofu), but they are a great base for
many dishes and very satisfying to grow.
We experimented with growing garbanzo beans in our test ...
Okay, so you've got a ton of leeks and you've already made a gigantic batch of potato and leek soup that's completely filled up the freezer. Now what do you do with the rest of the leeks (about 10 pounds or so)? One options is to dehydrate them. Dried fruits and vegetables require no freezer space, no refrigerator space, and no electricity to keep them at the ready for use in the kitchen. In fact, it ...
We recently took some time off this summer to vacation in Michoacan, Mexico. The goal was to relax deeply and to see what the areas of
indigenous Mexico had to offer. We were enveloped by the beauty of the land during this rainy season, and felt like we saw the real Mexico, rather than the tourist versions.
Our home base was in Lake Zirahuen, a small town around one of the purest lakes in the world. It rained ...
Recently I finished teaching another round of classes at Santa Monica College's Continuing Education Program, during which the students planted a few seeds in plastic pots to take home with them. They planted either carrots, green onions or radishes (small plants that would do well in 6" pots). They eagerly awaited for the first signs of sprouting and enthusiastically reported back in the third or fourth week of class, "I have carrot sprouts!" I love seeing ...
This is my second year growing quinoa, and it occurred to me that I hadn't documented the process yet. So - without further delay...
How to grow quinoa:
The first thing you need to know is that while quinoa seed heads are covered in saponin (a natural soap that keeps birds from eating them), the seeds that you plant are somehow going to be
completely appetizing to birds in ...
One of the great delights about gardening is growing something for the first time. Each season, we plant new varieties or a veggie we've never grown before to see what it's like. In our test garden so far, we've planted and enjoyed asparagus (3 years ago), brown mustard seeds , quinoa (details forthcoming), garbanzo beans (stayed for a blog on that) and popping ...
If there's an inherent addition in my family, it's popcorn. Start at the top of the bowl and eat until you hit bottom. That's how it goes. My father went so
far as to buy the top of the line popper, special popcorn salt, and yes, even figured out to how keep buttered pop corn fresh until the next morning (hair of the dog).
As part of an effort to grow more compost crops we decided to try ...
My first experience making lavender ice cream several years ago did not end well. As mentioned in a previous blog entry, I somehow released all the camphor in the blossoms and ended up with Vicks Vapo-Rub ice cream. Since then I've vowed to attempt another batch, but it wasn't until our trip to Ojai in June that I discovered what to do differently. In case you missed that trip to the U-Pick day at