The 16 Best Healthy, Edible Plants to Grow Indoors From farmers’ markets and Community Supported Agriculture, to urban farms and rooftop gardens, to produce delivery services, more and more people across the U.S. are embracing farm-fresh food. And for good reason: Locally grown produce tends to be better for the environment and for local communities than its store-bought counterparts. Growing food at home also ensures that growers know exactly where their food comes from and how it was grown (no need to worry about deceptive food labeling). Luckily, you don’t need to be a farmer (or even live near a farm) in order to reap the benefits of home-grown produce. General Growing Tips Before you get started, here are a few tips that will be handy to keep in mind no matter which of the plants from this list you choose to grow. Fruits and Veggies Photo: Alpha 1. How to Grow: It’s possible to grow an avocado tree from an avocado pit, but doing so may not yield edible fruit. 2. 3. 4. How to Harvest: Most lemons will ripen in six to nine months. 5. 6.
Embedded Seeds + Used Chopsticks Grow Climbing Plants Aside from being a great green concept, it is always impressive to see such ideas tested and implemented in physical reality – even if, for other reasons, they may remain forever prototypes. The design revolves around a hard starch capsule set on the end of a chopstick, which, after a meal, is stuck into the ground, slowly breaks down in the turn and releases a seed that, finally, sprouts slowly into a chopstick-climbing plant. Its creator, Gyeongwan Koo, researched starch thoroughly for this project and concluded that if it could be used for toothpicks and hard pill casings it would work for this application as well. Still, one thing is a bit puzzling: why not put the capsule portion on the back end, rather than having the user actually pick up food with it?
5 Products that Will Get Your Kids Excited About Gardening This Year As the weather gets warmer and we turn to spending more and more time in the garden growing flowers and vegetables, it's always fun to get the kids involved. Gardening can be a lot of work, but it's also very rewarding and kids are sure to love it once they get their hands in the dirt and start to reap the rewards of the seeds they sew. It's also great to get them involved at a young age both so that they can learn more about the process of growing and where their food comes from as well as because it's a great activity for the entire family to do together. 1. Photo Credit: Montessori Services One thing is for sure, and that's that things aren't as fun when it's hard to maneuver the tools needed to get the job done. 2. 3. Photo Credit: Magic Cabin What could be more fun in the garden than your very own fort? 4. Photo Credit: Hearth Song 5. Photo Credit: RolyPig These items are sure to get the kids excited about the garden and help create a passion that will serve them well throughout life.
411 On Growing Herbs How To Grow Peppermint Mentha x piperita How To Grow Spearmint Mentha spicata Image Credit: File: Mint-leaves-2007.jpg Hardy perennial herbs of the Mint Family, Peppermint (Mentha x piperita) and Spearmint (Mentha spicata), grown for their leaves which are used to flavor vinegar and jelly (often served with roast lamb and other meats), and to enhance thirst-quenching cooling beverages. Growing the Herb Mint Mints should be planted where they will not encroach on other plants, as they spread so readily that, unless curbed, they are likely to become a pestiferous weed. Mint revels in deep, rich, moist ground and requires little care except manicuring or fertilizing in the spring. Orange spots on the backs of mint leaves are caused by a rust which can be controlled by using an organic garden dust. Growing Cultures Outdoors, in containers, and hydroponics. Plant Height Peppermint and spearmint usually grow to a height of 12 to 18 inches (30-45cm). Plant Spacing
Garlic: Fall Planting If you’ve tried growing garlic and your bulbs turned out small, it might be because you planted it in spring. If you want full-sized bulbs bursting with great garlic flavor, plant your garlic in the fall and harvest it the next summer. Garlic is a cold-hardy root veggie, and in most climates, you’ll get much better results with fall planting. Try to plant your garlic about a month before your ground freezes, so the plants have time to get established. During winter, the crop will go dormant; then once spring and warmer temps roll around again, your plants will experience a burst of growth. This photo illustrates the size difference between spring-planted garlic (left), which pales in comparison to the impressive fall-planted batch (right). For more information about planting and growing great garlic, see All About Growing Garlic.
How to Grow Ginger | How To Grow Stuff Ginger is popular in American food, but it’s practically a staple in Asian cuisine. Not only is it easy to grow and delicious in recipes, but studies show that ginger packs powerful health benefits. Although it is a tropical plant, it will adapt easily to indoor and container planting, making it possible for anyone to enjoy fresh ginger throughout much of the year. Here’s what you need to know to bring this favorite into your own kitchen. Before You Plant Choose the Right Type of Ginger: For practical purposes, ginger is most often home-grown from tubers. Find a Suitable Place: Plan to grow ginger indoors unless you live in the extreme southern portions of the U.S. or in one of the desert states. Prepare the soil: Mix organic material or prepared compost into soil to fill the container (or amend garden soil in the same manner).Ginger will grow quite well in commercially prepared potting soil. Planting/Growing Ginger What You Will Need: Ginger rootPrepared soil How to Plant Ginger: Related Posts
Modern Log Furniture Fuses Sliced Trunks & Organic Resins Strangely enough, the creative duo behind these hybrid synthetic/organic designs will be the first to tell you: even they are not sure what the piece will look like when the resin solidifies and the finished object is revealed. Michael Thomas Host and Tanja Hinder of mth woodworking in Vancouver, BC, use sections of trees ranging from 60 to 600 years old to craft new works. The idea? Chaotic nature moves into contemporary contexts (and can be easily cleaned and eaten off of) but still use 100% all-natural materials. Usually using the base of trees essentially as is, they decide how best to feature its inherent shape with a minimalist resin addition – rather than first imaging the result, then working to produce it. The pair also prefers action to talk – in that spirit, well, the beautiful items above can largely speak for themselves.
Organic Gardening Guide to Correct Seed Planting Depth As a rule, seeds should not be buried any deeper than their diameter. Forget the quarter-inch planting depths you see on many seed packets. That's too deep for all but the biggest seeds, such as peas and beans. Some seeds even need light to germinate—don't bury those at all. Cover these seeds: Beets Broccoli Cabbage Cauliflower Celery Chard Cucumbers Melons Onions Parsley Peas Radishes Spinach Sow these seeds on top of the soil for best germination: Ageratum Astilbe Balloon flower Cleome Coleus Coreopsis Dill Impatiens Lettuce Mexican sunflower (aka tithonia) Ornamental peppers Petunias Savory Shasta daisy Snapdragon Strawflower Stock Sweet alyssum Yarrow
Herbal Gardening Growing Garlic As far as I'm concerned, garlic gets the blue ribbon for growing your own. It's absurdly easy to plant and care for; it tastes great; it looks beautiful and it takes up so little ground that even those with very small gardens can raise enough to be self-sufficient in garlic for a good part of the year. All you have to do is choose the right varieties; plant at the right time, in the right soil; then harvest when just right and store correctly. 1. If you look in a specialist catalog like the one at Gourmet Garlic Gardens, you'll find dozens of varieties of garlic listed. You see where this is going – and you can see a lot more types of garlic on either of those websites, but for general purposes the most important difference is the one between softneck and hardneck. Softnecks are so called because the whole green plant dies down to pliancy, leaving nothing but the bulb and flexible stems that are easy to braid. Gardeners in most of the U.S. can try some of both. 2. 3. 1. 2. 4. 5. 6.
20 Uses for Garlic : EcoSalon Pungent and powerful, garlic has dozens of health and household uses. Chew up a raw clove of garlic and you might exhale noxious, eye-watering clouds of stink all day, but you’ll also repel mosquitoes (and vampires), increase your immunity, heal cold sores, expel parasites and maybe even get in the mood. Garlic is a broad-spectrum antibiotic, killing bacteria, fungus, viruses and mold, so it’s an important ally for natural health. Check out these 20 unusual and sometimes strange alternative uses for garlic.Acne Slice open a clove of raw, fresh garlic and apply it to breakouts as a home remedy for acne. Your skin won’t smell terribly good, but the antibacterial properties of garlic will help lessen the appearance of acne, even those deep acne cysts that can otherwise be difficult to treat. Pesticide Whiteflies, aphids, cabbage loopers and squash bugs. Cold sore treatment These unsightly lesions always seem to pop up at the most inopportune times, like the morning before a big date. Fish bait
DIY Sod Sofas: Recline in Real Green-Grass Lawn Loungers On a hot summer day, there is nothing like taking off your shoes or using sandals to expose your toes for a walk through a low garden or lawn. Taking it (literally) to the next level, sod-upholstered couches are a great way to cool down with a book in the backyard. In Black Rock City, Nevada, this author even saw (and sat in) a grass couch set up in the middle of the desert – perhaps not the most sustainable design solution, but it sure was comfortable (and on very hot and dry days: even better when freshly watered). Note: for most arid climates, it might be a bit more eco-friendly to just use something of the astroturf variety (though it sounds a little scratchy, to be honest). Still, it saves that pesky problem of trying to mow in difficult corners or up vertical green surfaces. Best of all, though, anyone can build a sod sofa for themselves right at home – and perhaps an ottoman, coffee or side table to go with it.