Zucchini is a versatile vegetable! You can do a lot with zucchini like sauté them, turn them into noodles or you can make zucchini chips for a healthier alternative to regular potato chips. Though, we’ve got to admit zucchini bread is our favorite way to use all those excess zucchini from the garden. Ingredients: 3 eggs 2 ½
Give Beets a Chance: Planting, Growing, and Harvesting Beets!
Beets, the word alone makes a lot of people shudder with disgust. According to a survey from Eating Well, beets are listed as one of the most hated vegetable along with Brussel sprouts, okra, and lima beans. But we want to build a case on why you should add beets to both your garden and diet. Beets are
Composting In Small Spaces
Green Spaces in Small Places Living in the city or in an apartment doesn’t mean you can’t have some green space to call your own. Growing fresh herbs, vegetables and flowers on the balcony or rooftop is a growing trend. No pun intended! Balcony gardening is visually pleasing; creating an oasis of green right outside
Strawberry Cheesecake Bites
Strawberry Cheesecake Bites are a quick and easy with less calories than regular cheesecake! This delicious dessert is perfect for picnics, holidays, barbecues……really for anytime. Enjoy! Ingredients: 1 8 oz. cream cheese, softened ½ cup heavy cream ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar 1 pint strawberries Crushed graham crackers for garnish Rinse strawberries. From each strawberry remove a slice
I Scream, You Scream for….Strawberries!
Nothing screams summer fun more than strawberries! Though you can pick them up from your local grocery store, nothing tastes better than homegrown strawberries. Those who grow their own can definitely vouch for the better taste. Believe it or not, growing them is not as difficult as you think. Add young strawberry plants to your
Kid Approved Garden-to-Kitchen Snack
We mentioned in our last article, Give Your Kids the Gift of Gardening for a Healthy Lifestyle, that kids love to help in the garden by planting, watering, and picking their fruits and vegetables. Getting them involved in the garden and kitchen encourages kids to eat healthier by trying vegetables/fruits that they would generally not try. Here
Rainbow Pizza
This beautiful pizza is healthy, simple, and easy to make. You can grow most of the ingredients in your garden, all the more reason to get creative when you are planning your garden and making your pizza! You can use veggies of various colors but here’s what we picked. Ingredients: 2 1-lb. pkgs. refrigerated pizza
Welcome Spring with a Garden Wreath!
We love to take old tools and recycle them into something new. Welcome spring and your guests with a beautiful garden wreath – it’s easy to make and you are saving items from heading to the landfill. Here’s what you need: Old garden hose Florist wire Silk flowers & leaves Old hand cultivator & trowel
Spinach Pineapple Mango Smoothie
Popeye, the cartoon character who loved to eat his spinach, knew what he was talking about! Spinach contains iron, vitamin A and lots more good stuff plus it’s a good source of fiber and protein. We think he would love this smoothie made with spinach! Spinach Pineapple Mango Smoothie -1 cup almond milk (any milk
No One Has to Put a Garden in the Corner – Break the Gardening Rules!
Edible Front Yard When thinking of a location for your garden do you usually think backyard or side of the house? What if your front yard gets more sunlight? Here’s a crazy idea – create an edible front yard garden! It breaks the traditional norm to have a vegetable garden in the front but you
Carrots: The Extraordinary Ordinary Vegetable
Carrots are pretty underappreciated, they don’t get the celebrity love that kale does – hey, you don’t see celebrities wearing carrot sweatshirts like they do for kale. Carrots don’t have even the revered status of tomatoes (which are technically a fruit). In a list of the most vegetable consumption in the US, carrots rank #9. There
Ideas for Sharing Your Surplus Vegetables
When our gardens overflow with the season’s harvest, most of us have more than we can use or save for later. Thankfully, there are a number of ways that we can share the harvest with others in need or with those who, for some reason, don’t have a garden of their own. Friends, Family, and
Is Your Tiller As Ready for Spring As You Are?
If you’re anything like us, you can’t wait for the first day of the new gardening season. We want to be sure your Mantis tiller will be ready when you are. A few minutes of maintenance now can prevent hours of frustration later. This little checklist will get your started! Check Your Tines If your
How To Create a Bulb Garden
Bulb gardens are one of the earliest and most dramatic signs of spring. A well-planned mass planting of tulips, daffodils, or hyacinths–the “big 3” of spring-flowering bulbs–can be a virtual show-stopper in your landscape, providing years of spell-binding color and cheer after the dark, gray days of winter. Here’s an easy step by step approach
Why We Love Compost
With apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning… Why do we love compost? Let us count the ways… 1. There is no better soil additive Simply put, there’s no single thing that you can add to your soil to make it better for gardening than compost. You can add sand to improve drainage, you can add manure
Understanding and Improving Your Soil
Successful gardening requires good soil. All plants, flowers, vegetables, trees and shrubs, even the grass plants of your lawn need good soil in which to grow and thrive. Creating good soil is not difficult; and, it is always very rewarding. Soil Components Soil is a mix of mineral and organic matter, plus air and water.
Soil Additives
Your soil is where your plants live. It’s where they eat, breathe (actually, transpire), fight diseases, and anchor their location in this world. Nothing is more important to your plants, and to your gardening, than your soil. Soil is a fascinating mix of mineral and organic matter, air, and water. The mineral components come from
Feeding Your Garden Naturally
There are two very compelling reasons to feed your garden naturally. Long term you’ll build better soil and a healthier ecosystem. Short term and long term you’ll save money. Building Better Soil If you’ve been reading most of our newsletter articles, you know that we consider good soil to be the absolute foundation to good
Composting in Winter – The Answers
Here we answer some common questions about composting in winter months. Composting in Winter – Can I Do It? Composting in winter is possible depending on where you live. Active composting requires a consistent outside temperature of 40 degrees or more. So, if you live in an area with temperate winters (southern most states of
Composting for Next Year
One of our gardening friends says that there are only two kinds of serious gardeners: those who compost, and those who don’t compost yet! Those Who Compost If you’re one of those gardeners who enjoys the many rewards of composting, now is the time to make significant contributions to next year’s compost harvest. Divide and