Comfrey manure-tea time arrives with the first flowering of tomatoes and peppers. Comfrey tea is made simply by soaking the leaves of the herb comfrey in water for about 20 days. Comfrey tea is rich in nitrogen and potassium; it is a nutritious side-dressing for fruiting vegetables. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and berries use nitrogen to
Tomatoes ripening from mature green to fully colored ripe Standard-sized tomatoes take 20 to 30 days from blossom set to reach full size–commonly called “mature green”; they take another 20 to 30 days to ripen, that is begin to change color. A tomato can be picked when it begins to change color–from green to red
Hummus is the Arabic word for “chickpea”. The chickpea is also known as the garbanzo bean; “garbanzo” is the Spanish name derived from the Greek. Hummus is also the name given to the Middle Eastern sauce or paste that includes cooked and mashed chickpeas mixed with sesame or olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and
Narrow beds for intensive planting Intensive vegetable gardening is the name given to a way of using garden space and soil nutrients to produce high yields of flavorful crops. The intensive planting method of vegetable gardening is perhaps the most efficient and effective of all growing methods. It is both resource-conserving and sustainable. The origins
Interplanting is a growing method that will allow you to fit more vegetable plants in a single planting bed. It is a way to increase your crop yield. Interplanting is also called intercropping. Interplanting is often used in intensive vegetable gardening where an effort is made to use all available space in the growing area–the
Cut off the top of your pumpkin, scoop out the seed, carve a face in the flesh, place a candle inside, and replace the top. That is the story of Jack-o’-Lantern. Well, not quite. Actually, Jack—so the legend goes—was a rather lazy though crafty farmer. He made his way through life less by farming than
The jujube is about the size of an olive or small date and has the texture and crisp, sprightly flavor of an apple. You can eat the jujube fresh out of hand or you can enjoy it dried—a favorite in China—or preserved in syrup—a favorite also in China and in Korea. The jujube can also
Dahlias July is the seventh month of the year, but it was once the fifth month. Julius Caesar was born during this month. When he remade the calendar during his rule of ancient Rome, he moved the start of the year from March 1 to January 1. He then added a month, gave it 31
February is a busy month for the kitchen gardener. In many regions, indoor and outdoor sowing and planting is underway. Some gardeners already have seed in the ground. In the coldest regions, where there is snow on the ground, February is still the time for making plans and preparing for spring. Here are some of
A kitchen garden is—as its name suggests–a garden that is as close to the kitchen as it can be. A kitchen garden provides the cook ingredients that are fresh-picked and at their peak of ripeness—fruits, vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers. Plan to use the produce from your kitchen garden immediately, at the very next meal.
