HOW TO PROPAGATE THE SAFFRON CROCUS
Although found in the bulb section of most plant retailers come autumn, the saffron crocus actually grows from compressed underground stems known as corms. These specialised stems come complete with dormant buds, each one capable of growing into a genetically identical plant. Each year one new corm will grow on top of the old one, together with some smaller ones which will grow from the base of the plant. These smaller juvenile corms are known as cormels. Their resemblance to a typical bulb is so similar that the difference isn't particularly important until you come to vegetatively propagate from it.
Edible Flowers Chart
Edible Flowers This chart is a collaborative research project by Amy Barclay de Tolly and Home Cooking Guide Peggy Trowbridge. The links will take you to full color photos of the specific flowers to help with identification, but please don't depend solely on these photos. Be sure you know exactly what you choose to consume.
Frühlingskabine Micro-Farm
We are finally, finally getting our “Herb and ‘Shroom Garden” going. And when I say finally, I mean FINALLY. I have been working so hard to get the main garden planted (and reading fiction novels which is quite un-characteristic for this non-fiction bookworm) that I have been struggling to get the Herb and ‘Shroom Garden going. But it is my goal over this next week to be all set in finishing up the rest of my oak logs for shiitake mushrooms and to plant an oasis worth of basil, parsley, rosemary, and other herbs to fill up our teeny, tiny side yard. And as part of that goal, I have finished half of the one hundred (yeah… that’s not a typo) inoculated plugs I ordered. Phew!
From Dirt - Emergence Magazine
On the property of Thomas Jefferson’s retreat home, Poplar Forest, archeologists have discovered caches of food that give insight into the diet of the enslaved men and women who lived on that property. The very produce of the earth has provided a lasting record of who on that land had what type of access, autonomy, and power. The list of foods found in the storage pits reveals the epidemic of deprivation endemic to the institution of slavery—but it also reveals the strategies of a people insistent on nourishing themselves. Archeological studies suggest that the people at Poplar Forest grew corn in their gardens. They probably grew sunflowers, mint, sweet potatoes, and violets.
Self-Seeding Crops You’ll Never Need to Replant
One of the characteristics of a truly sustainable garden is that it produces at least some of its own seed. This is most often done when gardeners select, harvest and store seeds until the proper time for planting the following year. But some self-seeding crops produce seeds so readily that as long as you give them time to flower and mature, and set seed, you will always have free plants growing in your garden. You can simply let the seeds fall where they are, or toss pieces of the seed heads into the corners of your garden, or whichever area you want them in — no harvesting, storing or replanting required. With most self-seeding vegetables, herbs and annual flowers, you’ll just need to learn to recognize the seedlings so you don’t hoe them down. Should seedlings require relocation, you can simply lift and move them — after all, they are sturdy field-grown seedlings.
Harvesting and Drying Calendula
Mrs. Homegrown here: Okay, so in a previous post I talked about growing Calendula. This post I’m going to talk about harvesting and drying it.
101 Gardening Secrets The Experts Never Tell You
I like to use natural top soil to start my garden seedlings in. I usually don't use potting soil because it generally does not produce the results I want. I usually fill a large, deep baking pan I have with top soil and bake it for thirty minutes at 350 degrees.
How to grow a medjool date palm from seed - B+C Guides
Each delicious Medjool date has a seed inside that can easily be grown into a tree. Save some of the seeds by removing them from the center of the dates. Place your date seeds in a small dish covered with cool water. Soak them for one week, changing the water at least once a day to keep mold from forming.
Guy Creates Trees That Grow 40 Different Fruits
Sam Van Aken, an artist and professor at Syracuse University, uses “chip grafting” to create trees that each bear 40 different varieties of stone fruits or fruits with pits. The grafting process involves slicing a bit of a branch with a bud from a tree of one of the varieties and inserting it into a slit in a branch on the “working tree,” then wrapping the wound with tape until it heals and the bud starts to grow into a new branch. Over several years he adds slices of branches from other varieties to the working tree. In the spring the “Tree of 40 Fruit” has blossoms in many hues of pink and purple, and in the summer it begins to bear the fruits in sequence—Van Aken says it’s both a work of art and a time line of the varieties’ blossoming and fruiting. He’s created more than a dozen of the trees that have been planted at sites such as museums around the U.S., which he sees as a way to spread diversity on a small scale.
How to make a Calendula oil infusion
So finally I get around to finishing off this mini series on Calendula (pot marigold). This post will be on infusing oil, and next week we’ll have the one on salves. We’ve already covered the growing and drying Calendula:
the tricky matter of when to harvest garlic
TIMING IS EVERYTHING, THEY SAY, AND WITH GARLIC HARVEST that’s especially true. But since the crop is hidden underground, how do you know when this edible Allium is ready—when it’s just the right moment to insure a well-formed head that will also store well through the winter and beyond? Like fortune-telling, it’s all in reading the leaves, apparently. When to harvest garlic–and how.
Pumpkins and Winter Squash- Harvesting and Storage
There are few things better than pumpkins and winter squash to brighten the fall and winter dinner table. Almost nothing is more satisfying than growing them yourself. With the right knowledge, you can turn your harvest into satisfying and nutritious fare for months. Check for Ripeness How do you know if your pumpkins and squash are ripe and ready to pick?
