How to Attend Hands-On Classes in Gardens, Kitchens, Forests, and Even a Late 1800’s Cabin

It’s here. The garden classes are in gardens, the cooking classes are in kitchens, the nature study is in forests, the raspberries taste like raspberries, and the snozzberries taste like snozzberries! I worked for weeks on the lesson plans for these hands-on classes, workshops, and tours and am so excited to finally roll them out. Click here for my entire…

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Update: Public Permaculture Demo Garden Progress

When I founded the SC Upstate Permaculture Society I had no idea we’d be this popular, but we’re up to 644 members with multiple people joining each week. If you live in upstate South Carolina (or nearby) we welcome you to join us. Last October we broke ground on a huge new garden that is already stacking functions by being…

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How to Deal with Pillbugs When They Become a Problem

The key here is “when they become a problem.” In general, pillbugs, or roly polies as I grew up calling them, are quite nice little composters. The textbook “fact” is that pillbugs prefer to eat rotting organic matter and only graduate to other foods when they can’t find enough. That’s actually false. They’re opportunistic omnivores, and they’re going to eat…

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How to Keeps Squirrels off Your New Seedlings

I used to hate squirrels. Then my daughter raised and released some orphans and I began to recognize their charms and place in the ecosystem. They’re native and gardeners too — of forests. I can share my garden with them. But I still shake my fist in anguish when they forage through my newly planted beds, uprooting seeds and plants…

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How to Build an Inexpensive Cold Frame in Under 30 Minutes With No Tools

For over ten years I have grown my own garden transplants by carrying the seed trays out into the sun on warm days and bringing them in every evening. In the last 3 years, I was juggling over 20 trays in and out of the house. This method uses natural light to produce strong, non-leggy transplants — but if you’re…

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How to Trade Seeds with Me

So I just posted about trading for seeds over at GardenWeb. Here’s the link if you’d like to trade! If you aren’t familiar with GardenWeb there is a tutorial on exchanging seeds and one on using the forums. I’ll also be happy to answer questions about it. Since I don’t have a lot of seeds to exchange this year, I’ve…

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How to Save Tomato Seeds (and Oddball Varieties)

I have a request! I’d be so delighted if you’d help me locate any seed strain of the OSU P20 blue tomato. (Scroll to the bottom for photos & more details). Next, the deadline to submit a post about a food or ornamental plant that you’d recommend for How to Find Great Plants is this Friday, January 28th. I’ve noticed…

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How to Set Garden Goals & Go to the Organic Growers School

Fer is hosting a garden goals blog carnival at My Little Garden in Japan and oh my gosh, do I ever have a lot to do this year! I’ve included info about the Organic Growers School in March since it always heralds my spring planning. For the last three seasons I’ve jumped from garden to garden, so I haven’t been…

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How to Grow and Use Lemon Grass as a Kitchen Ornamental (with Recipes)

Lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) deserves a more prominent place in our herb gardens, kitchens, and even the ornamental landscape. I think it is one of the prettiest plants in the garden! Lemon grass looks just as nice in the flower border as it does in the kitchen garden. You can put a grouping of it in your rose beds or…

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How to Get Food Seeds and Plants in 2010 – 2011

It’s officially “Armchair Gardening Season.” In its honor, I’ve updated my Food Catalog Directory for the 2010 – 2011 growing season. I hope you can find what you need! If you really want to get the most out of your perfect spring daydreaming, I also recommend these articles from the old Kitchen Gardener magazines. Don’t you just love late fall…

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How to Finish the Fall Garden

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…

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How to Plant Tomatoes (and Get the Best Root System)

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…

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How to Grow and Use Amaranth Greens (w/Recipes & Sources)

You can have leafy summer salads in the hot southeast! Though “heat resistant” lettuce only gets you so far into the season before bitterness and bolting set in, you don’t have to go without greens until fall. Amaranth greens are by far my favorite lettuce substitute. The first time I tasted it I was trying too hard to compare it…

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How to Grow and Use Papalo (w/Recipes & Sources)

Once I got frustrated with cilantro’s reluctance to grow at the same time that I have piles of fresh tomatoes to turn into salsa, I started researching heat-loving substitutes for it. Papalo is a frequent recommendation and it certainly survives our hot summers. Papalo (Porophyllum ruderale) is also called papaloquelite, poreleaf, mampuito, summer cilantro, and Bolivian coriander. It doesn’t taste…

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How to Grow Vegetables (Archive Directory)

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…

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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…

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How to Teach Beginner Organic Gardening in 15 Minutes

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…

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How to (Easily) Grow Celery at Home (w/Recipes)

It’s not just tasty and easy — it’s pretty! For those of you who like to dress up your flower beds with some well-placed ornamental edibles (or who want show-stopping potagers) this is an oft-overlooked plant you can’t be without. For those of you who like to eat — it’s celery! Of course you should grow it. I don’t know…

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How to Increase a “Tomato Problem” (with Gratuitous Photos)

Does anyone who loves tomatoes really need advice on more tomatoes to buy? Yes. Because how else are we going to make it through the winter? Note: for photo captions “OP” stands for Open-Pollinated, which means you can save the seeds. Heirlooms are OP. For hybrids you can’t save the seeds, but they aren’t the same as GMOs. Everyone has…

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How to Stay Aware of True Seed Sources

I just made a significant edit to my garden catalog directory entry that I felt I should draw attention to. The updated changes are at the bottom of the post. How to Choose from Garden Catalogs DWW7J48KE3EZ

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