Row covers protect newly seeded raised beds Floating row covers are made of lightweight spun poly fabric and are laid loosely over plants. A floating row cover will protect plants from frost damage to 28°F. Row covers transmit up to 85 percent of available sunlight and are permeable to air and water. Sunlight and weather
Bruschetta: toasted bread with tomato, garlic and basil Bruschetta is an antipasto—a “before the meal” bite or first course—except when it’s its own meal. There is much to be said for the simple, traditional bruschetta—grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with olive oil and salt and pepper. That’s an antipasto. But when the summer
Grilled and roasted corn is most flavorful when it is cooked fresh—very fresh. As soon as an ear of corn is picked, its sugars start converting to starch. As the sugars turn to starch, the sweetness of corn is lost—though it is true that some new breeds of corn will retain their sweetness for days.
Tomatoes ripen in their own time, but they will ripen off the vine. Pick ripe tomatoes as soon as they ripen so that the plant continues to produce new fruit. This is very important at the end of the season when you want the plant to concentrate on swelling and ripening the remaining fruits. Remove
Corn chowder is a hearty soup. It’s a perfect match for the late summer corn harvest—a whiff of autumn in the air and sometimes a hint of chill. Chowder is an American term with French origins—chaudière is a sort of iron cooking pot. As for corn, the shorter the time from garden to table, the
Tomatoes and marigolds Want to enhance the flavor or your tomatoes? Grow leaf lettuce, chives, or marigolds nearby. The notion behind companion planting is that some plants naturally grow better together, that they form natural alliances. How such alliances work is not completely clear; companion planting is based widely on reported observation. Tomato companion plants—said
Corn earworms are caterpillars that chew into the kernels just inside the husks of ripening ears of corn. Corn earworms also chew tomato fruits from the blossom end, eat into bean pods, and nibble lettuce. Earworms also attacks okra and squash. The corn earworm is a white, green, brown, or red caterpillar with spines. It
Simple All-Purpose Pie Crust RecipePrep 10 minsInactive 20 minsTotal 30 minsAuthor Steve AlbertYield 1 crust for a 9-inch pie Here is all-purpose pie crust recipe you can use for pies, tarts, and galettes. Ingredients1 cup flour½ teaspoon salt6 tablespoons cold solid shorteningInstructionsIn a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, and shortening. With your fingertips or a
Apricots reach their full potential cooked. Compare the flavor of a raw apricot to one that has been heated up a bit in the oven—you will be convinced. The most flavorful of all apricot varieties is the Blenheim. The Blenheim—also called the Royal and the Royal Blenheim—is a petite fruit often with lightly green shoulders.
Herbal tea is easy to make: put a handful of fresh herbs (about ¼ cup) per cup of tea into a pot. Pour boiling water over the herbs, cover, and steep for three to five minutes. Mint and chamomile are the most common herb teas, but you can brew tea from almost any garden herb.
