Growing Celery Indoors: Never Buy Celery Again Remember when we tested and shared how to grow onions indefinitely last week? Well, at the same time, we've been testing out another little indoor gardening project first gleaned from Pinterest that we're excited to share the successes of today — regrowing celery from it's base. We've figured out how to literally re-grow organic celery from the base of the bunch we bought from the store a couple weeks ago. I swear, we must have been living under a rock all these years or just not be that resourceful when it comes to food, but we're having more fun learning all these new little tips and tricks as we dive deeper into trying to grow more of our own food. This project is almost as simple as the onion growing project — simply chop the celery stalks from the base of the celery you bought from the store and use as you normally would. We let our celery base hang out in the saucer of water for right around one week, give or take. Update 2: Here's how we are looking at almost 3-4 weeks of growth:
Easy vegetables to grow Planting a garden doesn’t have to be a huge undertaking. But the fear of failure keeps many a gardener-wannabe from spending time and energy on planting backyard crops. Knowing the easy vegetables to grow for your region — in addition to when and where to plant them — is the best way to ensure success. When planning your crops, try to space out the planting of foods that have a short harvest season. Some of the easiest garden goods for first timers are yellow squash and zucchini, potatoes, radishes and tomatoes. Squash plants can be planted into small hills, and are ready to eat when they are about 6 inches in length. Radishes are another no-brainer crop. Strawberries are popular for their ability to grow in many places and for their sweet, tangy taste and beautiful appearance. Keep in mind that something must be done to keep away the squirrels — they have a thing for those sweet berries. Tomatoes are possibly the most popular garden vegetable. Know of other easy vegetables to grow?
Just in Time for Winter: How to Build Your Own Mini-Greenhouse | Living on GOOD Gardeners looking to extend the growing season into winter can do so with a cold frame. These handy mini-greenhouses trap heat and keeping cool-season veggies growing in spite of frosty weather. Cold frames are inexpensive to build and don't consume a lot of energy. They yield fresh, local vegetables when mediocre grocery store fodder is being shipped from afar. Fall is the perfect time to build a cold frame and start planting. This modular cold frame design offers two frame options: single- and double-tier. The lid should be kept shut on cold days and propped open for ventilation on unseasonably warm days. WOOD SELECTION: Cedar is best. WOODCUTTING 1 — Each 10-foot, 1 x 12-inch board will yield one 60-inch front/back panel and one 40-inch side panel. 2 — For the two-angled side panels, choose the most flawless 40-inch side panel and mark a diagonal line lengthwise, from corner to corner. 4 — Cut the lid pieces from the 1 x 6-inch lengths of cedar. Text by Wilder Quarterly.
Adventures in Field Botany / Illustrated-Glossary Leaf Morphology: Phyllode/ Cladode: modifyed stems that act as leaves. Ensiform: leaves sharp edges, taper into a slender point (fern) Stellate: hairs come up like fingers. Peltate: "petiole joins to the center" in leaves. Glossary of Terms: WHORLED - more than two (2) opposite leaves. OPPOSITE - leaf nodes are on opposite sides of twig. ALTERNATE - leaf nodes alternate in pattern along branch. DECUSSATE - Arranged on a stem in opposite pairs at right angles to those above or below, resulting in vertical rows of leaves. PALMATE - consisting of leaflets or lobes radiating from the base of the leaf. CAPSULE - a hollow dry fruit with 3+ locules (chambers) Dehiscent = splits open to release the seed. Indehiscent: remaining closed, do not split open at maturity. Capsule Types- Dehiscent: Capsule breaks to release fruit Indehiscent: This is a drupe, no hard capsule that is made to split open A walnut is a drupe fruit. OVATE (ovoid) OBOVATE (obovoid) ELLIPTICAL Root Index Tuberous Roots: ex- Sweet Potato
How to Grow Vegetables | Guide to Growing Vegetables Some general considerations for growing vegetables: Sowing Tips When sowing seeds, a good general rule of thumb is to sow to a depth of approximately twice the thickness of the seed. Some smaller seeds require light to germinate and should not be sown too deep; otherwise they may never germinate or break through the surface of the soil. Keep seeds well-moistened while awaiting germination and check regularly. Select a light-weight, well-drained medium for sowing to ensure good seed to soil contact. Growing Tips Most vegetables will produce better results if sown and grown in a soil-medium that is well-drained, rich in organic matter (fertile), and fairly lightweight. Most vegetables will prefer good quantities of natural, direct sunlight daily. If direct sowing your vegetables (planting seeds straight into the ground), thin plants to recommended spacing and enjoy culled vegetables in salads, sandwiches or elsewhere vibrant, young greens can be appreciated. Harvesting and Seed Saving
5 Secrets to a ‘No-work’ Garden It took over 20 years of gardening to realize that I didn’t have to work so hard to achieve a fruitful harvest. As the limitless energy of my youth gradually gave way to the physical realities of mid-life, the slow accretion of experience eventually led to an awareness that less work can result in greater crop yields. Inspired in part by Masanobu Fukuoka’s book, One Straw Revolution, my family experimented with gardening methods which could increase yields with less effort. Fukuoka spent over three decades perfecting his so-called “do-nothing” technique: commonsense, sustainable practices that all but eliminate the use of pesticides, fertilizer, tillage, and perhaps most significantly, wasteful effort. Here are the strategies we used which enabled us to greatly increase our garden yield, while requiring less time and less work. 1. With ‘no-till’ gardening, weeding is largely eliminated. 2. Gardeners are always on the lookout for free sources of clean organic mulch to add to their garden.
Building a Two-Can Bioreactor - Cornell Composting Purpose Two-can bioreactors are designed to be used as small-scall indoor composting units for families, and for composting as an educational tool in the classroom. Materials 32-gallon plastic garbage can 20-gallon plastic garbage can drill brick spigot (optional) duct tape (optional) insulation (optional) Construction Using a drill, make 15 to 20 holes (0.5" to 1" diameter) through the bottom of the 20-gallon can. Note: A system of 10-gallon plastic garbage cans that can fit inside 20-gallon cans can be substituted if space is a problem. The composting process in the cans will take from three to five weeks. Credits
Druid Tree Lore Trees in particular were mysterious, and seemed to me direct embodiments of the incomprehensible meaning of life. For that reason, the woods were the place that I felt closest to its deepest meaning and to its awe-inspiring workings. C.G.Jung, Memories, Dreams, Reflections Druids love trees and often visit trees and woods to meditate there, hold ceremonies, or simply commune with Nature. Most Druids support tree-planting and reforestation programmes and the Order runs a Sacred Grove Planting project to help members and the public create woodland sanctuaries. The Order also supports three tree-planting charities: Trees for Life, Tree Aid, and The Woodland Trust. Trees and the word 'Druid' Some modern scholars agree with the classical Roman and Greek authors that the most likely derivation for 'Druid' is from the word for oak, combined with the Indo-European root wid - to know, giving their translation of the word Druid as 'One with knowledge of the oak' or 'Wise person of the oak'. Ovates
Grow your own herb garden - Tantalize your taste buds with fresh herbs - Herb Gardening - Gardens Tantalize your taste buds with fresh herbs You don't need a garden plot to keep yourself supplied with fresh herbs all summer long. A sunny location, some soil, pots and a bit of care can turn a balcony, staircase, deck, patio or window into a private produce department. While mint and rosemary are best grown in individual containers, you can pack a smorgasbord of various herbs into a window box. Whether you're new to gardening or a seasoned pro, these tasty, but easy-to-grow, flavour-filled herbs will have you hooked on fresh. BasilThis tender annual can't tolerate cold, so plant only after the threat of frost is over. Basil has a hint of licorice and is a classic choice with tomatoes and in Mediterranean dishes. Dried basil has very little flavour, so use fresh or make pesto, then freeze. DillThis feathery, fern-like herb is actually a hardy annual and acts as a biannual in some climates. Dill is tall, so plant it behind shorter herbs. MintVersatile but invasive, give mint its own pot.