Photogenic: asparagus as a fashion statement
Some vegetables just never go out of style. To grow some smart-looking asparagus of your own, check out our asparagus planting tutorial.
Photo credit: Commonorgarden
April 9, 2007
March 15, 2007
The lighter side of food security
National food security:
Let's grow it over here so we don't have to grow it over there!
By John Hershey
"Give a man a fish, and he'll eat for a day," President Ronald Reagan was fond of saying, quoting his favorite aphorism about self-reliance. "But give him a large cache of weapons that he can illegally sell to a hostile middle Eastern theocracy, and he can covertly finance a guerilla war in Central America."
Wait a minute, that's not it.
Oh, now I remember. It goes like this: "Teach him to fish, and he'll eat for a lifetime."
Reagan might have chosen gardening as well as fishing for his metaphor. Ralph Waldo Emerson used the garden as a symbol of self-reliance in his famous essay of the same name: "Though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given to him to till."
So if we translate Reagan's old saying into horticultural terms and balance it out gender-wise while we're at it, it might go something like this:
"Give a woman a can of Spaghetti-Os, and she'll eat (in a manner of speaking) for a day. But give her some tomato and pepper seeds, a few onion sets, and a basil seedling or two, and she'll have fresh, delicious pasta sauce in just 10–12 weeks."
December 8, 2006
When good onions go bad
So, with the latest e.coli outbreak, it would appear that scallions have replaced bagged spinach as the new "bad guys" of the food world. We thought you'd appreciate this police artist's rendering of the likely suspects. Photo art courtesy of Travis Price
March 23, 2006
The "organic" lifestyle
The art of organic gardening is doing what you can with what you have on hand. Last fall, I was in the garden and spied a number of carrots ready to be pulled but didn't have any of my usual harvest containers. I have three boys who are very comfortable "storing" (i.e. leaving) the majority of their toys outside, rain or shine. While usually this phenomenon is usually a source of some family "debate" (i.e. yelling). I was quite happy to find this bright green frisbee within arm's reach of the carrot patch. What unexpected things have you found in your garden...good and bad? What are your favorite harvest containers?
February 27, 2006
In the beginning, there was broccoli
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth and populated the Earth with broccoli, cauliflower, and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.
Then, using God's great gifts, Satan created Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream and Krispy Creme Donuts. And Satan said, "You want chocolate with that?" And Man said, "Yes!" and Woman said, "and as long as you're at it, add some sprinkles." And they gained 10 pounds. And Satan smiled.
February 13, 2006
Inch by Inch, Row by Row...
...when is this Stupid Plant Going to Grow?
By John Hershey, published with author's permission
For gardeners, the approach of spring is a most exciting time. We look forward to working the soil, planting our seeds, and reflecting on the happy thoughts the garden brings to mind as the earth comes to life and nature's great cycle begins again: The change of seasons. The inexorable passage of time. Decay. Death.
But just when you're ready to toss yourself into the compost pile, your spirits soar in anticipation of a fun new season of gardening with your children.
Last year was my first experience gardening with my children. As a parent and a gardener, I knew that raising children and raising vegetables involved many of the same challenges, rewards, joys, and laundry expenses. But, I wondered, are parenting skills transferable to the garden? And what could I learn from gardening that would help me cultivate happy, thriving kids?
January 1, 2006
Tom Robbins on beets
"The beet is the most intense of vegetables. The radish, admittedly, is more feverish, but the fire of the radish is a cold fire, the fire of discontent, not of passion. Tomatoes are lusty enough, yet there runs through tomatoes an undercurrent of frivolity. Beets are deadly serious."-Tom Robbins, author
Yogi Berra on hunger
“You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I’m not hungry enough to eat six.”
-Yogi Berra, American baseball player
December 22, 2005
More proof of global warming
Sent to us by our friends in Italy "Amici della Terra"
December 11, 2005
Mark Twain on cauliflower
"Cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education."
-Mark Twain