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Grow Your Own Chocolate

Grow Your Own Chocolate
By Mindy McIntosh-Shetter Around Valentine’s Day the worry of what to give that special person is throbbing in ones head. A nice dinner is always a great start to that special day dedicated to couples. Commercials show giving diamonds as a way of expressing ones love but I have another way that may take time but shows true commitment, love, and can address those cravings that we all have had some time in our lives. One may ask what could that be. Growing your own hyper-local chocolate is one way of showing how much you care for an individual. Chocolate mint is one plant that any individual can grow that smells and tastes like the name states, chocolate mint. The cocoa plant is a challenge to grow for even the seasoned gardener. To start this project of love, either purchase cocoa plants from a reputable tropical plant dealer or start with the beans. Before placing the lid on this second container make sure to add water to the bottom. Move the tree to a warm room away from direct sunlight. Related:  Plant Growing Guides & Tips

Gardening Mistakes I've Made So You Wont - NZ Ecochick Wow I’ve learnt so much in my last year of gardening. Last year when I started I had no idea what I was doing. I mean they are plants right? you put them in the ground, they grow, you eat! Makes sense. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Hydroponic / Greenhouse Crops - Small Farms / Alternative Enterprises - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Extension The primary crops grown in greenhouses include: pepper, tomato, cucumber, lettuce, herbs, and strawberry. The industry in Florida has changed from primarily either tomato or cucumber in the early 1990s to the diversity of today. A variety of structure types are used, as well. Florida Greenhouse Production Handbook Considerations for financial issues, construction, crops, production, pest management, and marketing. UF/IFAS Sites The Protected Agriculture Project--Horticulture Sciences Department State & Federal Agencies Other University Sites Organization & Associations Return to top Return to Crops

DIY Wine Bottle Waterer Posted by Lesley on May 28, 2010 Last night’s empty bottle of Malbec and my mother’s obsessive crafting have inspired me! The Irish sprinkler system, first discovered when my sister lived and blogged from Ireland for a year, has been upgraded again. This time with the help of two small items - glass marbles and wire from a hanging candle holder. As I stood over the sink rinsing out the wine bottle, I started to channel my mother, the MacGyver of marbles. In the first year after discovering flat-backed marbles, she Gooped them onto everything within a ten-foot radius - mirrors, frames, hot plates, napkin holders, you name it, it’s now covered in marbles. It may take a few tries to get the marbles positioned properly, so make sure to place the tip of your finger into the neck before flipping the bottle upside down. Here’s the final product, and it works great!

Permaculture Magazine - Inspiration for Sustainable Living | Permaculture Magazine Yummy Yards The Field Guide to Fleece: Wool Characteristics - Homesteading and Livestock With this compact, portable reference in hand, crafters can quickly and easily look up any of 100 sheep breeds, the characteristics of their fleece, and the kinds of projects for which their fleece is best suited. Each breed profile includes a photo of the animal and information about its origin and conservation status, as well as the weight, staple length, fiber diameter, and natural colors of its fleece. The Field Guide to Fleece (Storey Publishing, 2013), by Deborah Robson & Carol Ekarius, is a great primer for beginners, and a handy guide for anyone who loves working with fleece! The excerpt below comes from the introduction, “A Love Affair with Wool.” You can purchase this book from the MOTHER EARTH NEWS store: The Field Guide to Fleece. We love wool. Why are we so fond of wool? Not all wools are created equal! Fiber characteristics vary widely not only between breeds but also within breeds, and sometimes even throughout an individual fleece. Crimp Fiber Length Fiber Diameter

Edible Landscaping With Charlie Nardozzi Ordering Seeds and Plants One of my end-of-the-year rituals is to sit down with seed and plant catalogs and place my order for the next year. It's a fun project right... Read more » How To: Prune Grape Vines Grape growing is booming across the country. December Q & A Question: This year I've had more green tomatoes than red in my Oklahoma garden. Answer: Yes, you can ripen your tomatoes indoors if the fruits are mature enough. Question: Last fall we moved into our new Pennsylvania house after all the garden had been cut down. Answer: Congratulations on your new home. Most blackberry varieties need two years to produce fruit. The exceptions to this pattern of fruiting are the new everbearing blackberry varieties such as 'Prime Jim' and 'Prime Jan'. NGA offers the largest and most respected array of gardening content for consumers and educators.

How to Cut and Cure Pork - Sustainable Farming Click on the Image Gallery for the referenced step-by-step photos. OK, homesteaders . . . here's another installment of Morton Salt's superior booklet, A COMPLETE GUIDE TO HOME MEAT CURING. How to Butcher a Pig told you how to butcher, halve and chill a hog. Again, our special thanks to Murray J. It pays to do a neat job of butchering and trimming The black guide lines in the picture show where the different cuts should be made for cutting up the carcass. There is both pride and pleasure in unwrapping a neatly trimmed ham, shoulder, or bacon side months after the meat is cured. Meat should not be cut up and put in cure until it is thoroughly chilled. When salt is applied on warm meat it helps hold the animal heat in and this heat, along with moisture, gases, and a little blood that is usually in the joints, makes an ideal combination to start bone taint which in a short time may cause souring and spoilage. Remove the neck bone from the shoulder, leaving very little meat on the bone. 1.

The Best Planting Tip I Ever Received This spring my wife and I started to convert the expanse of lawn around our newly purchased ranch house into gardens. While we focus on renovating the insides of the house, the focus for our garden is its infrastructure and bones. To that end, we’ve been smothering several hundred square feet of lawn under cardboard, newspapers, and compost; planting young shrubs to create screens; carefully carving specimens out of overgrown trees; and generally preparing the soil for future garden spaces. This advice came to me by way of a representative from Monrovia Nursery. The advice focused on techniques of installing container plants. I had known how to direct the roots away from the plant using a root hook, or by scoring the sides of the roots with a sharp blade. How do you deal with this problem? Want to really baby that plant? Next time you plant, have a bucket of rainwater or compost tea by your side.

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