What would our culinary creations be without the pretty pepper?

IN HONOR OF WORLD WATER DAY! Many of us reap great harvests from our garden. What about harvesting rain? Yes, harvest our rain! Collecting rainwater is not a new concept! It is an ancient traditional practice. Historical records show that rainwater was collected in simple clay containers as far back as 2,000 years ago. Maybe it’s time to put some of these ancient techniques of rainwater harvesting back into practice!

May your blessings outnumber the shamrocks that grow, And may trouble avoid you wherever you go.
~Irish Blessing

Spring equinox is March 20th around my part of the world and it’s coming up fast and furious. Now, I have to admit that doing my spring garden prep work was never a source of serious intestinal “knottage” in my earlier years. In fact it was a seasonal milestone that I really looked forward to…a sort of “back to school” feeling that everything was nothing but possibilities.

So set your fears aside, seek your bliss, embrace and give thanks for what’s truly important in your life and take that first step… or shovel-full. We’re all starting over in some way. This is an opportunity to re-examine the way we live, the path we’re on and do something better.
Live a bit simpler…closer…greener… getting back to basics.

  Congratulations! You’ve learned to grow warm season edibles! Now, it’s time to reap what you sowed! Below is the handout from my harvest class… Click HERE to download PDF of this presentation

Companion planting (aka interplanting) is an ancient farming method of using plants to enhance and support each other. For example, about 2,000 years ago the Roman agriculturalist, Varro, declared “Large walnut trees close by, make the border of the farm sterile.”

Click HERE to view this infographic on its website.

A beautiful and ancient monocot, the leek is, as far as I’m concerned, a necessity in any serious cool season culinary garden.

“Remind me to tell you about the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke.”
Bette Davis as Margo Channing in ‘All About Eve’ (1950)