Perfect… Healthy… Well Balanced... Soil... ...the kind of soil that encourages disease-free veggie plant growth and produces amazingly high harvest yields. Every Gardener’s Dream! Well, this gardener’s dream anyway… The reality is that most of us won’t find the perfect soil patiently waiting for them in the vegetable garden. I, for one, have yet to turn over a patch of dirt and find perfect soil waiting for me to plant in. Maybe ...Continue Reading
DIY Organic Aphid Spray Recipe for the Garden
Our new greenhouse has drastically expanded our short growing season... But it's also expanded my garden challenges. Especially when it comes to pests-- something I usually don't have to worry *too* much about, considering we garden in the arctic (aka Wyoming)... The Surprise Guests in My Greenhouse... The kids ran into the house one March afternoon announcing there were tiny eggs all over my spinach. Honestly, I ignored it ...Continue Reading
8 Healthy Alternatives to Soda
Fine. I'll admit it. Some days... when I've been sweating in the garden all day (seriously-- my EYELIDS were dripping sweat a few days ago...) and it feels like the heat just won't quit, I dream of a Coke. Yes, you read that right. A tall, frosty glass of Coca-Cola. You know, the kind with high fructose corn syrup and caramel coloring. Yep-- that kind. Every so often, I give into my craving. (And I don't freak out... because ...Continue Reading
Homemade Strawberry Rhubarb Jam Recipe
I couldn't grow a fruit tree if my life depended on it. But I CAN grow a mean crop of rhubarb... so at least I have that going for me. Ok, fine.... rhubarb isn't technically a fruit (yes, it's a vegetable...), but we basically treat it like a fruit when we smother it in sugar and bake it into pies and tarts. Or make strawberry rhubarb jam. While I’m a big fan of freezing fruits and other foods to use later on in ...Continue Reading
Old-Fashioned Sourdough Gingerbread Cake Recipe
The wind is blowing mach 9 and the snow drifts have formed mini-mountains on my deck... Welcome to winter in Wyoming. People ask how we survive our brutal winters here, and honestly, I've just learned how to be content with lots of indoor projects over the years. I used to fight the long, dark winter nights, but now I sink into them. We read, we play games, we create, and we bake. And this simple, old-fashioned ...Continue Reading