Gardening is a fulfilling hobby that can bring you closer to nature and provide you with fresh, nutritious produce. Keeping a garden journal is a great way to keep track of all aspects of your garden, from the plants you grow to the soil conditions, weather patterns, and the results of your efforts. A garden…
Gardening is not only a way to grow your own food, but also an opportunity to showcase your creativity. With a little imagination and a few materials, creating artistic landscapes will turn your garden into a beautiful and unique space. Whether you’re looking to create a beautiful flower bed, a whimsical rock garden, or a…
Creating a backyard food forest is a great way to grow your own fresh, healthy food while also creating a sustainable and self-sufficient ecosystem. Whether you have a small or large backyard, you can design and plant a food forest that will provide you with a bounty of fruits, nuts, and vegetables year after year. Designing…
Jerusalem artichokes, also known as sunchokes, are a highly nutritious and versatile root vegetable that are well-suited to inclusion in a backyard food forest. These plants are hardy and easy to grow, making them a great option for both novice and experienced gardeners. Benefits of Growing Jerusalem Artichokes One of the biggest benefits of Jerusalem…
Kefir grains are used to culture milk into a beverage that has similar probiotic benefits to yogurt. Once you begin culturing kefir, your grains will begin to multiply. You can get use out of these extra grains by making kefir cheese, butter or fermented vegetables.
Wolfberries or goji berries are considered a superfruit with many health benefits. The berry can be added as an interesting ingredient to soups, stir-fry or sauteed greens.
Summer squash plants not only provide an abundance of yellow squash and zucchini, but can also be the inspiration for a delicacy. Many people aren’t aware that the flowers are edible.
Slushies typically contain unhealthy dyes and flavorings with no nutritious value. However, you can use the drink as a way of giving your kids fruits and vegetables high in vitamins and nutrients by making homemade slushies.
Once you harvest your pumpkin patch in the fall, you may want to think about baking the pumpkin seeds you scoop from your bounty instead of letting them go to waste.
Japanese vegetables are fun to grow if you are looking for variety or wish to cook more Japanese dishes at mealtime. A few plants grow well in most climates, have high yields and are staples in Japanese cooking.
Alfalfa sprouts are one of the many kinds of plants you can sprout and eat. They provide a high amount of fiber, vitamin A, B, E and K.
Bean sprouts are and easy and nutritious way for you to grow your own food. These crunchy sprouts are good raw or cooked.
Sunflower sprouts are a powerhouse of nutrition, and a great addition to any micro-green kitchen garden.
Burdock is mostly known as a weed throughout the United States, but is considered an important root vegetable in Asian cooking. One burdock plant can produce up to 2 feet of edible root, which makes it a great addition to a wild vegetable garden.
A great way to grow fresh vegetables if you live in an apartment or have limited garden space is to grow micro-greens. Oat sprouts are micro-greens high in minerals and vitamins. Oat sprouts are also easy to grow in that they require no sunlight and minimal time and effort.
Add a little extra color and nutrition to your garden by growing swiss chard this season. Swiss chard is considered a leafy green vegetable; however, the stalks may be white, yellow or red.
Kale is a hardy growing green from the cabbage family. The plant originated form Asia Minor and the Eastern Mediterranean. Kale can tolerate both mid-summer heat and cold temperatures.
Homegrown greens are not only a healthy addition to your garden, but are easy to grow. Spinach is high in vitamins A, C, K and folate. It also contains manganese, potassium, iron and phytonutrients. In the garden, spinach is a hardy plant that can be planted successively from spring to late fall. It can survive temperatures as low as 20 F degrees. Add spinach to your greens garden for a vitamin packed punch.
