Sheet composting greens and browns A no-dig, no-till garden bed can be made by laying down layer-upon-layer of organic materials that will decompose themselves into a nutrient rich planting bed for vegetables. This no-dig, no-till method has been the basis of Chinese vegetable gardening for thousands of years; it is known as sheet composting and
There is little reason to spend money on controlling kitchen garden pests. Most of the tried and true garden insect controls have been around for thousands of years. “Prevention is better than a cure”; that old adage is true in the garden as it is in most areas of life. Spending quality time in the
Nopales are the tear-shaped, hand-sized leaves or pads or “paddles” of the prickly pear cactus. Nopalitos are nopales (pronounce no-PAH-les)–cactus spines removed–cut into bite-sized squares or strips. To make nopalitos en salsa verde, steam or boil nopalitos until tender crunchy then re-cook in a sauce of puréed tomatillos, onion, garlic, cilantro, and jalapeño chiles boiled
Hot oatmeal date squares! Yummy! This recipe will make 25 squares. Each square will be topped with sticky chewy dates and bottomed with flaky warm oatmeal. Ingredients 1cup chopped dates ½ cup water ½ cup brown sugar 6 tablespoons butter 1 cup oatmeal ½ cup sugar 2 egg yolks 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 ½
Olive oil is made by gently crushing and pressing olives until the oil is separated from the fruit pulp. The flesh of a ripe olive is about half oil. When the skin of a just ripe olive is broken, the first oil to flow from the flesh is called “virgin” or “sublime” or “first expressed”
Olive trees Olives are a good choice for the small garden in regions where summers are long, hot, and dry. Olives are attractive for their billowing habit, gray-green foliage, and gnarled branching patterns. Olives are easy to care for. They require little water once established, little pruning, and have few serious pests or diseases. All
Yellow pear tomato is sweet and meaty, an heirloom from the 17th century. Most orange tomatoes are sweeter and fruitier flavored than red tomatoes. Most yellow tomatoes are less tangy than red tomatoes. Because they have less bite orange and yellow tomatoes are good served at breakfast and in fresh mixed vegetable salads. Many but
The season for making orange marmalade is winter through early spring. Orange marmalade is a jam like preserve that contains chunks of orange and slivers of orange rind. Preserves, conserves, jam, and marmalades are made when chunks of fruit are simmered and thickened with sugar and then stored in airtight containers. The first marmalades were
Navel orange There are three types of oranges: sweet oranges, bitter oranges, and mandarins. Sweet oranges are mostly commonly used for eating fresh and for juice. Bitter or sour oranges are used for making marmalade and orange-flavored liqueurs, and mandarins–which are also called tangerines and are not really oranges but a separate citrus—are used for
Oriental-type eggplants are primarily slim, tapered or pointed elongated fruits that may remind you somewhat of a skinny, smooth and shiny cucumber. Oriental eggplants are mild, tender-skinned, creamy-fleshed, and quick-cooking eggplants. The Oriental-type eggplants can be divided into two groups: Chinese eggplants and Japanese eggplants. Chinese eggplants are lavender-blushed white, amethyst, and red-violet colored. They
