The principal components of soil are minerals, organic matter, air, and water. The soil in your garden was created over thousands of years through the disintegration and decomposition of rock and organic matter. Temperature and rainfall, the life and death of plants, animals and bacteria and fungi, and the rocks that were there to begin
Arugula is pungently peppery and well matched to milder salad greens and endive. Certainly, you can serve juvenile arugula on its own. Arugula flowers bring the same peppery dash to a salad and some wonderful color as well. Arugula flowers are white pinwheels with burgundy center stripes and veins. You can use arugula flowers as
Kale is usually cooked and rarely eaten raw because of its strong pungent flavor. Small amounts of raw, young kale can be added to salads to bring a spicy note. Steam kale and serve with butter, lemon juice, and chopped bacon. Kale has large cabbage-like curled leaves, usually soft green but also shades of blue-green
Is May the most beautiful month of the year in the northern hemisphere? Well, it’s certainly one of the most beautiful months. The snow and ice are gone and the heat of summer has not yet arrived. Wild flowers are in bloom everywhere and the garden is either moving towards its spring peak or well
May arrives between autumn and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. Grays and browns replace the brilliant fall colors of April this month. Nature is beginning its rest time now as the harvest comes to a close. There still may be a few days of hazy sunshine this month but the first chill and frost are
Mustard greens can be eaten raw or cooked–steamed, sautéed, or simmered. Prepare mustard greens like you would spinach, but expect a stronger flavor. The strongest tasting of the so-called bitter greens—mustard has a sharp, biting peppery taste that can sting like a strong radish. Even cooked mustard greens will have a “bite”. Both the leaves
Set lettuce and other leafy green transplants in the garden Autumn will arrive in the Southern Hemisphere–Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile–on March 20. Here’s a roundup of planting, harvesting, and things to do during March in the Southern Hemisphere. Plant Autumn Crops Cool-season crops should be planted as soon as possible:
The planting date for each vegetable depends upon the weather that the vegetable can best tolerate. Planting vegetables in their right season will greatly enhance your harvest. Most vegetables belong to one of two seasonal groups: cool-season crops and warm-season crops. The planting date for each vegetable depends upon the weather that the vegetable can
April is truly the month of new beginnings in the northern hemisphere. This month you will notice more changes in the garden than any other month of the year. The ice and snow will disappear. The trees will set bud and the first flowers will appear in most parts of the northern regions of the
Days of warm, hazy sunshine with a fresh autumn tang. Leaves turning colors. The first frost on its way. Birds taking leave for the North. This is April in the southern hemisphere. Apples and grapes may still be on the tree and vine at the start of April, but by month’s end, much of the
