I planted one last clove of garlic today. I was rummaging through my eating garlic drawer and happened upon a last clove of elephant garlic a friend had given me from her garden this summer. Is it organic? I dunno. Will it produce here? Again, dunno.
But, I had one last large-ish container filled with potting [...]

Here we are on the other side of the middle of October, and I can say that the last of my veggie planting is done for winter. My seed garlic is all tucked into deep, black (heat absorbing) planter tubs. The last of my chard starts replaced fading summer annuals in a bed that gets [...]

I plugged in the food dehydrator later in the day, and it started up again. Thank goodness! Now all the tomatoes are done drying, and I am contemplating buying another batch to dry today. A good 15 lbs of tomatoes dried down to about a paper lunch sack full. It seems like such a waste, [...]

I just checked my tomatoes and found my dehydrator had stopped running. Maybe 17 hours straight is just too long for these machines, but many juicy items require a lot of time to finish drying. Alas, perhaps when it cools down, it will work again, but I have my suspicions that it is finished. Fortunately, [...]

You know the tune. And, if you’re putting up fresh summer vegetables to enjoy over the winter, you may be singing a similar tune. I really did end up preserving close to one hundred pounds of tomatoes, or at least that’s what I bought with the intention of preserving them. We ate quite a few [...]

Even my regular farmer at the farmer’s market asked on Sunday, “What are you doing with all the food you’re buying?”
“Putting it up for winter, of course.”
I know that the time invested over the last few weeks harvesting corn, basil, tomatoes and other things I’ve grown and preparing them for the freezer will reward me [...]

September is the season of harvest. Today is the date of our harvest moon. It’s hard to believe summer is nearly gone, but so it is. A week from today is the autumnal equinox! During the harvest season I find myself sharing my garden coaching skills with neighbors. In return, I have the pleasure of [...]

Recently, there’s been a local story about a school district trying to recoop owed lunch money fees by throwing out food. Okay, so that’s over generalizing, but really? Throwing out food to try to get paid? Seems petty and that’s probably part of the reason there’s been such an uproar. Kids are always being told, [...]

Recently my pre-teen niece came to visit. She’s always been a picky eater, and as she approaches her teen years she’s at least tasting some new things. She never likes the new things, but at least she’s giving into my pleas to, “Come on…just one little bite. You don’t have to eat it if you [...]

Last night we celebrated summer solstice with a true summery evening. The sun was out and it was actually warm. Some of my horty girlfriends joined us for a bbq in the garden followed by a cozy after-dark fire on the patio. It isn’t camping, but it sure is fun.
My friend Catherine brought fresh strawberries [...]