The Nantes carrot was first described in a nineteenth century French vegetable seed catalog in this way: “Root almost perfectly cylindrical…skin very smooth…flesh of the root entirely red, very sweet and mild in flavor….” The Nantes carrot takes its name from the city on the Atlantic coast of France where the surrounding countryside is ideal
Spinach staggered across narrow row Planting beds—not traditional rows—offer the best use of space for growing a home vegetable garden. Planting beds that space two, three, or more plants across a bed 1½ to 4 feet wide are ideal for a home garden. These beds are often called narrow beds—they are just wide enough for
The navel orange is a type of sweet orange that is large, seedless and has a rich, juicy flavor that is delicious for eating out of hand. There are several varieties of navel oranges. They all have thick, rough, bright orange skins that are easy to peel. The segments of the navel orange are easy
Nectarines come to harvest in spring and continue through summer. If you get to know your nectarines and choose from early, midseason, and late harvest varieties, you can have fresh, local nectarines at your table for nearly half the year. The best way to select nectarines is to smell them and gently squeeze them. A
Botanically speaking the nectarine is a variety of peach. But eaten out of hand or served at the table, the nectarine is both more and less than the peach. Less: the nectarine is smaller than the peach; it is about the size of a plump plum. More: the skin of the nectarine is fuzzless which
Pumpkin Early October is the right time to begin thinking about the coming frost and cold weather. How will you extend the season if your summer crops are not yet ready for harvest? Many warm-weather crops and all cool-weather crops can withstand the first or second or even third frost with a little protection. Extending
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
