Vegetable recap 2009
If you read my blog posts early in the spring (around March/April), you saw that I was SUPER EXCITED to have my own vegetable garden again. My husband and I embarked on a gigantic re-purposing of our back landscape beds for vegetables. We put in edging, compost, and tons of veggie seeds. We moved …
The Gen Y Gardener?
According to a recent talk I attended, there have been 7 million new gardeners entering our ranks this year. In a few years, Generation Y (people born between 1977 and 2000) will comprise 47% of the work force. (We are somewhere much lower than that now. I can’t find my notes.) If you listen to the mainstream media, we are portrayed as entitled, philanthropic, in want of instant gratification, constantly asking “Why?” skeptical of authority, …
Plant Spotlight: Ornamental Kale
Kale is both a great ornamental annual and a tasty, healthy vegetable. As part of the Cole family (along with cabbage, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts), Kale is one of the healthiest vegetables you can eat. Kale can be grown in the late fall or late spring. Now is a perfect time to …
Plant spotlight: Spinach!
He’s strong to the finich ’cause he eats his spinach, he’s Popeye the sailor man!
Nutritional benefits
Good Source of: vitamin K, vitamin A, manganese, folate, magnesium, iron, vitamin C, vitamin B2 (riboflavin), calcium, potassium, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), tryptophan, dietary fiber, copper, vitamin B1 (thiamin), protein, phosphorus, zinc, vitamin E, omega 3 fatty …
Planning for the Fall Garden
Planting, growing and harvesting does not have to end with the summer! There are a number of crops that can be planted in August. Because of short growing seasons, or tolerance for frost and cold temperatures, these crops will thrive and reward you late into the fall, even into the early winter after the first light snowfalls. In order for this to be successful, it is time now to begin planning for the fall garden.
Fall …
Beets! Pickle, Can, Roast, Make into Borscht
Beets are one of the most nutritious vegetables you can grow. They are also versatile, sweet, and an excellent spring or fall cool weather crop. Now is the time to start thinking about planting beets for the fall.
Swiss chard (a plant that we highlighted earlier this year) is a relative of the beet. However, you eat the leaves of Swiss chard, and the roots …
Spotlight on Swiss Chard
A lot of people are scared of Swiss chard. A member of the beet family, Swiss chard is kind of like the beet without the beet. You can put baby chard leaves in salads, but normally when you buy or pick chard, it is …
Cooking is to gardening. . .
Amanda Hesser, of The New York Times, wrote a very interesting op-ed piece in the Sunday paper, published May 31, 2009. Called “The Commander in Chef” In the piece, she argues that, while it is lovely that Michelle Obama has planted an organic garden at the White House, and that will surely inspire more people to garden, in general, she could inspire healthy eating …
More isn’t Better: Organic Fertilizer Myths Busted
With the rabid interest in organic vegetable gardening reaching a fever pitch, questions about the amount and timing of fertilizer applications are bound to appear. Wait – I sound like I’m writing a really bland paper to be delivered at a government conference. Let’s start over.
Don’t you love that show Myth Busters? I do. They save me from trying out all …
Animal, Vegetable, Miracle
I’m not even finished reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, by Barbara Kingsolver, but I can’t wait to tell everyone in the entire world how much I love this book. Plus, it isn’t the type of book you have to read …
