Grey Duck Garlic: How to Grow Big Garlic Top Ten Tips for Giant Sized Allium Bulbs! Do you want to grow prize winning garlic? Would you like to raise really large garlic bulbs? Garlic responds well to optimal growing conditions and with a little special care your crop can increase dramatically in size. Right: Tiny but cute Siberian bulb on the left and large elegant German Red bulb on the right. With a little effort and some soil preparation, you can grow huge gourmet garlic for top chefs, high end restaurants, CSA’s, Farmer’s Markets or yourself. Hardneck gourmet garlic can sell for $8-$30 pound (depending on market and quality). 1) Use good quality large seed garlic: If you want the biggest bulbs at the county fair start with good quality seed garlic free from disease. Start with BIG cloves. We have noted that larger cloves are more resistant to adverse conditions and frost. Below right: Romanian Red bulbs typically contain 2-6 extra large cloves. 2) Prepare soil well: Soil should be loose, loamy and easy to dig. References:
Storing Vegetable Seeds - Gardening Our Self Sufficient Home Every spring we invest in a variety of garden seeds, plant as much as we can fit into our garden, and stash the remaining seeds. When the seeds are pulled out the following spring I always question how viable they are after being stored in a ziplock bag in the pantry all summer and winter. So, the challenge is how to store garden seeds to maximize shelf life. The 3 most important factors in seed storage are moisture, light and temperature. Seeds germinate in warm, moist, and bright environments. The amount of light seeds are exposed to is simple to control by the container used to hold the seeds as well as the location of storage. My solution is this: seeds vacuum sealed inside mason jars then stored in a cabinet in the basement, which maintains a fairly constant temperature, or in the refrigerator. I used wide mouth mason jars and the wide mouth jar sealer attachment for the food saver vacuum sealer. Once sealed, the jar sealer attachment is removed and the vacuum seal remains intact.
Thy Hand Hath Provided: Braiding Garlic Jamey pulled our garlic the other day. We found that the right time to pull it is when some of the leaves/stems are turning brown, while most are still green. Other years, we waited until the stems were all brown. The bulbs with all brown leaves had more cloves that were already separating from the bulb and tended to sprout faster. If some of the leaves are still green, the bulbs' papery covers are more intact, keeping the cloves from splitting and sprouting as soon. I still have a braid hanging in our kitchen from a year ago. When I tried braiding garlic for the first time last year, I was a bit disappointed by instructions I found on line. Today I am writing for you what I wish I could have found- instructions with pictures (I'm a visual learner). Braiding Garlic Start by cleaning as much dirt as possible off of your garlic. *Update 7/17/09*: It was two weeks ago that I braided my garlic (seen in the pictures above and below). garlic cleaned with roots cut off, ready for braiding
25 tipos de caminhos diferentes para o seu jardim - Blog Construir Confesso ter um pouco de inveja quando vejo grandes ou médias propriedades com um grande quintal, afinal, é sempre bom ter algum tipo de contato com a natureza e toda a sua beleza. Bom mesmo é quando você está estressado e sai de casa na tentativa de esvaziar a cabeça, e é onde entra o jardim, um lugar que com certeza acalma qualquer um. Sentir o cheio da grama, das flores, ouvir pássaros cantando é maravilhoso. É claro que quem tem um jardim, tem um caminho por onde passa para não machucar nenhuma planta, certo? 1. 2. 3. 4. Agora vamos para as fotos?! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. E aí, o que acharam? Até a próxima! Fonte: goodshomedesign Aproveite também para conhecer nossa LOJA VIRTUAL, onde você encontrará vários cursos em DVD com CERTIFICADO reconhecido pela ABED – Associação Brasileira de Educação à Distância. Gabriela Miranda Olá!
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. If you are allergy-prone, it's probably best to forego consumption of flowers. For more information, refer to the article on Incredible Edible Flowers and Poisonous Plants and Flowers Chart. • Poisonous Plants and Flowers Chart • Edible Flowers Information and Recipes • Herb Information • Spice Information • A to Z Recipes and Food Disclaimer: The author and Home Cooking Guide have thoroughly researched all the aforementioned edible flowers. • Edible Flowers Chart • Edible Flowers Information and Recipes • Herb Information • Spice Information • A to Z Recipes and Food More Herb RecipesReturn to Recipe Index A to Z Recipes and Food | Articles by Topic
Hack your solar garden lights. Solar garden lights.... How on earth do they manage to sell something with a solar panel, rechargeable battery, step-up converter, LED and the plastic and metal casing for a dollar/pound. You can't even buy the bare components for anywhere near that, in fact the solar panel alone would probably cost you five times the cost of the whole light! This project is about hacking your solar lights to make them different colours and potentially increasing the battery life too.Solar lights are great to hack. They're cheap enough not to worry if you mess up, and very gratifying because they are effectively free to run due to being powered by sunlight. Here's the test subject for this project. Inside is a small NiMh cell and a PCB with the LED, a small inductor, a switch and a COB (Chip On Board) which is basically a bare integrated circuit which is stuck to the board, connected and then covered with a blob of black resin. Now put in your new LED noting the polarity (long lead is positive).
Edible Flowers, How to choose Edible Flowers, Eatable Flowers, Edible Flower Chart, List of Edible Flowers, Incredible Edible Flowers Edible flowers are the new rage in haute cuisine Photo of edible flowers picked in Linda's garden in July (lavender, thyme, dill, cilantro, day lily, squash blossom, Nasturtiums, chives, and basil). After falling out of favor for many years, cooking and garnishing with flowers is back in vogue once again. Flower cookery has been traced back to Roman times, and to the Chinese, Middle Eastern, and Indian cultures. Edible flowers were especially popularin the Victorian era during Queen Victoria's reign. Today, many restaurant chefs and innovative home cooks garnish their entrees with flower blossoms for a touch of elegance. One very important thing that you need to remember is that not every flower is edible. In fact, sampling some flowers can make you very, very sick. You also should NEVER use pesticides or other chemicals on any part of any plant that produces blossoms you plan to eat. Never harvest flowers growing by the roadside. How To Choose Edible Flowers - Edible Flower Chart: Directions:
20 Plants for garden pathways which can handle foot traffic » Gardening Clan There are infinite numbers of plants available to cultivate in your garden. But, there are very few varieties of plants that can be grown on pathways, because most of the plants are too sensitive to tolerate people’s feet. Here is a list of some very common plants which you can use to decorate the walkways of your garden. 1. It is one of the most important family member of Moss but much different from other plants of Moss family. 2. They look very pretty with the bright green leaves and become more attractive from the last spring to the arrival of summer when it blooms beautiful yellow flowers. 3. Fascinating Brass Buttons are low growing plants that spread at a high speed. 4. These ornamented plants have an immense and gorgeous look with a sweet fragrance. 5. Creeping Jenny which is also known as money wort in many places is a perennial plant that loves afternoon sun. 6. Beach strawberry is a perennial member of the rose family. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Foraging: 52 Wild Plants You Can Eat Here are a few common North American goodies that are safe to eat if you find yourself stuck in the wild: Blackberries: Many wild berries are not safe to eat, it’s best to stay away from them. But wild blackberries are 100% safe to eat and easy to recognize. Dandelions: The easiest to recognize is the dandelion, in the spring they show their bright yellow buds. Asparagus: The vegetable that makes your pee smell funny grows in the wild in most of Europe and parts of North Africa, West Asia, and North America. Elderberries: An elderberry shrub can grow easily grow about 10 feet and yield tons of food, their leaf structure is usually 7 main leaves on a long stretched out stem, the leaves are long and round and the leaves themselves have jagged edges. Elderberries are known for their flu and cold healing properties, you can make jelly from them and are very sweet and delicious. Gooseberries: Mulberries: Mulberry leaves have two types, one spade shape and a 5 fingered leaf. Pine: Kudzu: Daylily:
How to Grow Your Own Superfoods Indoors 21th November 2012 By Carolanne Wright Guest Writer for Wake Up World No need to bypass all the health perks of fresh superfoods this season — simply grow them inside on a sunny window ledge. As the weather turns colder in the north hemisphere, now more than ever it is important to fortify the body with nutrient dense foods. What better way than with unprocessed superfoods? An economical and fun undertaking, cultivating a micro-superfood garden is easier than you may think. With food costs skyrocketing this season, consumers are looking for novel ways to stay nourished on a budget. Effortless to grow, these four superfoods are perfect for an indoor garden. Arugula Sometimes referred to as rocket, arugula is a mildly spicy, fast growing superfood. Cilantro Cilantro is an exceptional herb that controls blood sugar, detoxifies heavy metals and possesses strong antibacterial properties. Oregano Watercress Forget ornamental houseplants — cultivate an indoor mini-garden instead. About the author:
How to grow a kiwi plant from seed | Growing Wild Kiwifruit is so tasty; it’s intoxicating. All my life, I’ve enjoyed the unique flavour and texture of kiwis but never stopped to wonder where they come from and how they grow. It took 24 years, countless fruit salads, and the digestion of innumerous tiny black seeds before I thought about planting some. After my first kiwi sprouts emerged from the soil, I did some research and realized that Canada, with its uncomfortably cold winters, is not an ideal environment for growing kiwi plants. While fairly hardy, kiwi cannot survive temperatures below -18 degrees celsius. Whether you’re planting to observe or to consume, here’s how you can get growing your own kiwi vines: Things you’ll need: 1) A kiwi. This is they type of kiwifruit I used! 2) A small mug or container. 3) Paper towels, a plate, and a clear plastic container. 4) Potting soil. 5) Containers/pots. 6) Sun, or a grow light. Method for sprouting kiwi seeds: 4) As soon as you’re seeds are sprouted, it’s time to plant. Water. Like this:
Black Beans and their Sprouts Show Anticancer Activity Photo by Sandi Barr By Case Adams, Naturopath Researchers from Mexico’s prestigious Monterrey Institute of Technology have determined that black bean sprouts are anticarcinogenic against breast cancer, liver cancer and colon cancer cells. The researchers sprouted black beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and then tested them and their constituents against cancer cell lines of various types of cancers. The researchers found that after three days and five days of germination, the phytonutrient extracts isolated from the sprouts were able to inhibit the growth of all the cancer cells tested. They also tested the same sprout isolates against non-cancerous (healthy) cells as controls, and found no negative impact upon healthy cells. The researchers then isolated some of the constituents of the sprouted beans, and found that the saponins and flavonoids had the greatest inhibition against liver and colon cancer cells. Learn about the scientifically perfect diet. Ranilla LG, Genovese MI, Lajolo FM.