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Perennial Primer
Perennial crops are some of our favorites. They’re the starlets of the permaculture world for many reasons. Not the least of which is that once they’re established, they keep giving and giving with (usually) less maintenance than annuals. There are tons of different perennial crops, from giant trees to ... Read more
How to Make Maple Syrup
To make maple syrup, collect sap from sugar maple trees (Acer saccharum) and cook it down. This is done by placing small tubes (also known as “taps” or “spiles”) into shallow holes in the tree’s trunk; they direct the sap into buckets or other receptacles. After collecting it, pour the ... Read more
Seed Saving for You – The Home Gardener
Most of us gardeners peruse seed catalogues in the fall and winter. After checking out what’s new and interesting, plus covering the bases with our trusty standbys, we place our orders through independent garden seed companies. At that point, all there is to do is await the arrival of ... Read more
How to Eat Acorns
Image courtesy of OrganicFacts.net Acorns look delicious, don’t they? They’re so smooth and appealing in their cute little “cupules” (hats). They are full of nutrition, but they’re also full of bitter, astringent tannins. These are compounds that make raw acorns distasteful and hard to digest. However, people all over the ... Read more
Pickling techniques: Lacto-fermentation vs. Vinegar
Aren’t pickles fun? They’re such a great way to preserve the harvest, plus making pickles gives you a chance to experiment with flavor combinations. Not to mention, pickles of all kinds make great snacks and accompaniments to meals. Here we explore two very different ways to turn vegetables into pickles: ... Read more
DIY Paint: Beautiful and 100% Natural
Do It Yourself (DIY) paint is a fabulous way to reduce the presence of toxins in your home. Not to mention that it’s beautiful and improves the “vibe” of a space (the energy of clay tends to be calming and grounding). Plus, it’s so safe that children, elders, or other ... Read more
Elderberry Syrup Recipe, plus Elder Botany and Lore
Days are long and hot, the garden is booming, and the wilds are abundant with berries and fruits. Now is not exactly cold and flu season, but it is the time to pull out our elderberry syrup recipe. Why? Because very soon both wild and cultivated elderberries will be heavy ... Read more
5 Simple Outdoor Kitchen Ideas
A few simple, creative outdoor kitchen ideas will help you put together a lovely, functional space for food prep close to your home. Cooking outdoors isn’t just for camping trips. Creating an outdoor kitchen gets you outside every day, even during “ordinary” life. You’ll enjoy the beauty of the ... Read more
How to Stake Tomatoes
It’s that time of year when garden vegetables and weeds alike are growing inches overnight. If you’re like us, tomatoes are a darling in your garden, but it can be tricky to keep these wily vines in check. There are lots of ways to stake or trellis tomatoes and ... Read more
Pokeweed: How to Prepare “Poke Salad”
Pokeweed is a nutritional powerhouse, but be careful, it can also be toxic to humans if it’s not prepared correctly. This voluptuous weed is extremely high in vitamin A, and also has significant amounts of vitamin C, iron and calcium. Additionally, pokeweed contains a unique antiviral protein that may inhibit ... Read more
Grow your own sweet potato slips
What are sweet potato slips? Sweet potato slips are the surprisingly diminutive tuber sprouts that grow into sprawling, productive sweet potato plants. Unlike potato potatoes (a.k.a. Irish taters or white potatoes, Solanum tuberosum), you don’t just cut up sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas) and plant them in the ground to ... Read more
The Glorious Garden Journal
Learning as you go is one of the most rewarding things about growing a garden. Keeping a garden journal will help you do this. Whether you planted your first tomatoes this year or you’ve been tending a plot for 40 years, there are always new things to try and practices ... Read more
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