Let’s talk about snow. You’d think the American city famous for distributing the poinsettia wouldn’t have to wait 47 years for a white Christmas! But we did, and since I grew up here it was my very first one. My Vermont-native boyfriend finds it laughable that southerners get so excited about white stuff on the 25th (especially since it was…
Well, not really. Even if I could find any flowers for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, I think the crisp fragrance of winter would have taken precedence. Sometimes the only “How To” needed is how to relax and take it all in. Here’s what I found “blooming” out in the garden this morning.
Even though it’s getting late in the edible mushroom season, we found a nice little haul of sweet tooth hedgehog mushrooms after the rain last weekend: Daytime temperatures were reaching the upper 40’s to 50 F when we found them under oaks in a South Carolina forest. The entire slope seemed to be covered with them but we only picked…
I’ve just updated to a new blogroll that tells me how recently you’ve posted on your blog. If you’d like to share reciprocal blogroll links with me, just let me know in the comments! I’d also like to thank Stuart Robinson for creating Blotanical — it helped me find a lot of my favorite blogs. I’ve seen plenty of directories…
We took my daughter to the Riverbanks Zoo & Botanical Garden in Columbia, SC last week. By that, I mean we spent 90% of our time at the zoo before running around the Botanical Garden for the last 10% like our pants were on fire. This is what happens to a gardener when the people with her are more interested…
Now that my feet are wet from hosting How to Find Great Plants, Issue #1, I have a better idea of what I’d like this collection to look like. I want to include everyone’s qualifying submissions and also highlight the best ones with a photo link and review. I’ll be selecting an equal number of “Food” vs. “Ornamental” posts from…
The best plants I’ve ever grown were recommended to me by other gardeners, and this blog carnival seeks to collect posts about exemplary food and ornamental plants. *Edit: I’m still experimenting with the best format for this carnival. Expect improvements in future issues. CLICK ON THE PHOTOS to visit the blog article on each plant! Photo Caption: FOOD, Onion ‘Rouge…
Conundrum: I don’t want a giant agri-business to be able to sell my family the spinach they grew downstream from factory-farmed cattle (mmm, E. coli!) but I also don’t want much (or any) regulations placed on small-scale farms, CSAs, farmer’s markets, online farmer’s markets, small dairies, or backyard growers. Citizens are capable of inspecting their own local food — because…
In November 2010 I decided to host a monthly carnival called “How to Find Great Plants.” (HtFGP for short). Posts in this carnival should be about a food or ornamental plant that you’d recommend to others. For example, you might want to describe your love affair with sedums or your preference for ‘Rattlesnake’ pole beans. Photos-only posts are fine as…
After the warm months we gardeners are either squeezing as much remaining produce as possible from our plants before the threat of frost, or we’re incredibly grateful for an excuse to stop harvesting… finally! Last weekend we decided the weather prediction was chilly enough to go ahead and strip the garden bare. We ended up with a backseat and trunk…
Don’t get me wrong — I love vacations. Edisto Island in May was paradise and our family spent June bonding on a cross-country trip. One thing I learned on the way to California and back was that your home’s location is everything — but you can certainly add your own personal touches. Click for larger photos. If you get an…
Homegrown tomatoes (and basil) are the reason most of us began growing food in the first place. Though some people direct sow their tomato seeds, most begin the season with transplants. Tomato transplants are a little different than other vegetables — there are some simple tricks that can improve their root system and vigor in your garden. This photo tutorial…
It’s time to plant summer veggies! If you didn’t start transplants early there is no time now — get to a garden center or farmers market and purchase some tomato, eggplant, pepper, artichoke, celery, sweet potato (slips), herbs, and tomatillos before they’re all gone (or stressed from neglect). For beans, cucumbers, melons, squash, pumpkins, okra, corn, and amaranth greens you…
I decided to write a photo essay with variously camouflaged morels from the southeastern woodlands. I’ve also written a couple other tutorials on morel hunting which you can find here: How to Find Edible Morel Mushrooms (With Recipes) How to Follow Morel Etiquette When I first became interested in morel hunting I spent some time on Google images trying to…
I am a seed hoarder. I still have packets from 2000 in my seed box because they might germinate whenever I get around to planting them. I don’t like to take risks with my vegetables though, so I make sure to have a fresh seed supply. Peas are not great seeds to save, the older they get the less vigor…
Okay, it’s just going to have to be morel month on this blog. I do have new seedlings coming up and spring greens in the garden but I seem to be tunnel visioned with the morels… two-hundred found on Saturday (April 3rd, 2010)! Which apparently is very early… at the SCUMS meeting last night we found out that other area…
In contrast to the morels post this one is a quickie. Signing takes less than 30 seconds. Our schools should be setting an example of how to eat fresh, healthy, and delicious food. They are — after all — feeding the minds of our children… both figuratively and literally. Additionally, schools should not be a place where advertisers market their…
I promised! Here’s the morel hunting post. If you don’t want to hunt for your morels you can still use the recipes by buying fresh morels here, buying dried morels here, or by checking the dried mushroom section at your local grocery store. If you’re really lucky you might find them at your farmer’s market. If you just want to…
I’m here to help those of you who want early blooms to tide you over while your massive patch of kudzu is dormant. Plant partnering, if you haven’t tried it, is a pretty version of companion planting. The premise is growing complimentary plants together — either due to color schemes, textural interest, or seasonal successions. Now that I’ve drifted away…
If you had 15 – 30 minutes to teach people how to start an organic garden, what would you do? Last Wednesday I did this crash course for our local Green Drinks International chapter. I gave out a one page, fridge-magnet-ready handout to go with it — which I included below. Here’s the handout. I was able to expand on…