Recent content by calendula

Has anyone ever grown pumpkins in containers? Is it possible, and if so, how large a container would you recommend using?

I scored a big bag of free hops last night, but I'm not sure what I am going to do with them. They are currently drying while I figure it out. What (other than making beer) can hops be used for?

Parsley doesn't tend to keep much of any flavor or fragrance when dried. It's best to use it fresh or freeze it while fresh. You can freeze it in ice cube trays. Just put a tablespoon of parsley in each compartment and top off with water. When it's frozen, take the cubes out and store in a...

Thanks guys, it did make me feel like a good mom. :throw

Both of my sons have their own little garden plots. This year, my youngest boy planted some lima beans in his plot. For whatever reason, only one lima bean plant came up, but he was still super excited about it. Well, a couple weeks ago, he was weeding his patch, and got a little carried...

Unless I can visibly see dirt on my herbs, I do not wash them. The best time to pick for drying is mid-morning, after the dew has had a chance to evaporate. ETA: Washing the herbs (in some hard-core herbarists' opinions :P ) removes some of the herbs essential oils, decreasing flavor, scent...

I just ate burdock root the other night. You have to dig it up in its first year, before it flowers, and the root goes quite deep, so it will take you a bit. I made stuffing for a chicken that I grilled, and sliced up the burdock root on a diagonal, sauteed it a bit, and then mixed it into the...

Well, I'd like to recommend calendula. :)

That could be. I've been growing my own rosemary now, but I still have some store stuff left that I'm trying to use up. So who knows how long that stuff was sitting on the shelf. I'll have to try adding the mushrooms next time. I have tricked them into eating eating them before by chopping...

Well, I fed my family "weeds" last night. But I didn't tell them. :D I made the potato purslane patties. They weren't bad, but a little bland I'd say. They were missing something. But here's the recipe if anyone wants to try it (and maybe try jazzing it up a bit): I will admit that I...

Possible Purslane Lookalikes: This is knotweed: And this is prostrate spurge:

I am not for certain if it's watermint, but maybe I'll have a better idea once it flowers. Either way, if it's not going to get more of a minty flavor, I don't really know what I'm going to do with it. :( It was growing so nicely too, I hate to dig it up. But, I will ask around to see if...

Funny you mention purslane, I am overrun with it right now. But, I found a recipe for potato purslane patties that I will be making tonight. If it turns out well, I'll post the recipe tomorrow.

Hi Steve, I grow both basil and lemon balm, and I am quite certain that it's not either of those. Unless maybe its some kind of species variation. It's confusing to me because the seed pack was clearly labeled as peppermint and had planting instructions on it and all that jazz. The package...

The bottom two look like what we call pigweed around here, a plant from the amaranthus genus. Amaranth was an important food crop way back when. The mature seeds were used as a grain.