How to Identify Eastern and Forest Tent Caterpillars

Tent caterpillars aren’t the end of the world. They may attack your ornamental or orchard trees but unless a tree is already suffering from other stresses it should recover quickly. These native, spring ephemeral caterpillars are often confused with fall webworms (Hyphantria cunea) or gypsy moths (Lymantria dispar). Fall webworms also have a brief life cycle (in the fall instead…

How to Train Your Eyes to Spot Morels (Photo Essay)

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…

How to Choose Disease Resistant Rose Varieties to Grow Organically (With Sources List)

I’m an organic gardener and I grow a lot of roses — about 50 varieties of them. They don’t look like sticks with a bow on top and I don’t treat them any better than my other garden perennials. I plant mine in the same amended soil I use for the rest of my plants, fertilize them a couple times…

How to Grow Peas as Quick Harvest Greens (and Use Up Old Seed Packets)

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…

How to Make Morel Pizza (With Photos of Last Saturday’s Harvest)

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…

How to Support Better Food in Schools

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…