Tomatillos are nightshade plants that love the summer heat. They’re native to Mexico but can be grown in most home gardens in North America, and are very popular in Texas and the southwest states. We’ve been growing tomatillos for several years and every year I’m amazed at how well they grow with very little care. […]
Things No One Tells You About Growing Tomatoes {but you need to know for a good tomato harvest}
It’s not that people are intentionally keeping tomato growing secrets, it’s just that sometimes those of us who have been gardening a while forget what it’s like to be a beginner gardener. And sometimes new gardeners don’t know what questions to ask. I’ve been reminded of this as I help my sister with her first […]
Growing and Using Cucumbers
Cucumbers are one of those vegetables that people tend to love or hate. My family is mostly filled with cucumber haters but that doesn’t deter me from growing cucumbers every summer. They’re worth growing even if only a couple of us like them. Like zucchini and summer squash, cucumbers can be quite prolific which is […]
Edible Perennial Plants – Easy to grow food that produces year after year
When most people think about the food garden, they think about annuals like tomatoes, cucumbers, and broccoli. But there are many perennial vegetables, fruits, and herbs that will grow in all but the very coldest gardening zones. Every year we try to plant edible perennials in our garden. Our goals is that over time we’ll […]
In the garden…green beans
Many years ago I found some fresh green beans really cheap and so I thought I’d buy a lot and can them because we love green beans. I knew that everyone said you have to have a pressure canner for green beans but I thought, what do they know, I’ll just do a really long water […]
Growing and Using Swiss Chard
We’ve been growing swiss chard for several years and it’s become a family favorite. Swiss chard is one of the few greens we can grow well into the summer without it getting bitter or bolting, it helps cover the transition between our winter and spring gardens. Swiss chard is a great source of vitamins K, A, […]
All About Starting Seeds
Can we talk seeds for a while? Esther and I spent some time last week starting some seeds so hopefully we won’t need to buy transplants this year. As we did, we talked about the different size seeds and why some do better being started in little pots instead of in the ground. Now, all […]
Growing and Using Moringa
A few years ago a friend sent me some moringa trees to plant and that was my first introduction to this amazing plant. Growing moringa is easy and it can be grown as a perennial in climates where the ground doesn’t freeze and as an annual in climates where the ground freezes. They are fast […]
Growing Sprouts and Microgreens {Reader’s Questions Answered}
I recently asked our readers what questions you had about growing sprouts and microgreens. Boy, you guys had some great questions! Since I had never sprouted seed in order to eat the sprouts nor had I grown micro-greens until last month, I thought I’d reach out to some of my blogging friends who have been sprouting […]
In the garden…kale
Maybe we should just call this week “kale week” here on the blog. Today we’re going to talk about growing kale. Mine from the fall is still growing. In fact, it’s about 3 feet tall and even though we’ve had some days well into the 90’s it hasn’t gone bitter. As I’ve said before, some […]