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My apple tree was prolific this year, and I dehydrated a lot of apple slices plus froze a lot. Well, I'm presently reading an historical fiction book, set in the 1800's and read that they used apple PEELS to make apple jelly. I got to thinking, "YIKES, I threw all those peels in the compost...

This was the first time I grew borage in the garden for pollination; and, I am shocked how tall & wide they got. Speaking of pollination, I still have TONS & TONS of bumble bees hanging around the pole green beans. I had LOTS of bees doing their job in my garden this year.

The 200 stalks of sweet corn I planted are ready. We eat this ULTRA DELICIOUS corn EVERY day; but, I still have a LOT to put up! My '36' tomato plants were very late this year; but, N O W they're turning RED, and I'm SUPER BUSY squeezing the juice and seeds out and chopping them to put in...

My apple tree is LOADED, and I didn't want to make the 'usual' applesauce. Yes, we know they can be dehydrated or peeled slices parboiled and then frozen; but, I learned is to soak them in PINEAPPLE JUICE (rather than lemon juice) before each method.

Turnips are a GOOD crop to put up for hearty winter eating in stews and soups.

Everyone knows how petunias get very 'leggy' as the season goes on. Well, I had read about cutting back the 'leggy' stems as much as 2/3 which I did, and it WORKED. They came back just BEAUTIFUL.

I mentioned to a fellow gardener (who is 72 years old and gardening for 30+ years on a UK gardening site) that I have tons of tomatoes on my plants, but they aren't turning red. He said to hang 'ripe' banana peels on the cages, and the peels will give off ethilene gas to ripen the tomatoes...

I understand that they are long growing (4 months) and indeterminate.

Last year, Reynolds came out with their Handi-Vac Sealer and vacuum-sealer/freezer bags which I bought for putting up my produce and were readily available at BOTH Wal-Mart and Target. Well, THIS year, those Reynold's vacuum-freezer bags are NO WHERE TO BE FOUND at eitherWal-Mart or Target...

OH yes, I've been reading all the horror stories with bore viner. I've never been a big fan of growing winter squash although I am growing two plants of Waltham butternut this year (free seeds from Wintersown.) I've been reading how winter squash are such excellent storage keepers and was...

It seems that every ad I read for a water bath canner says, "Not recommended for smooth top stoves." Well, if a person has a smooth top stove, WHAT are they supposed to use?

www.wcax.com/global/story.asp?s=10616475 < w/pics The plant fungus that caused the Potato Famine in the 1840's has shown up in Plattsburgh, and experts say residents need to act quickly. It's called "late blight" and it affects eggplants, potatoes and tomatoes. The fungus hasn't made it this...

www.ftcldf/org/news/news-15june2009.htm (Farm to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund)

I got this from the book 'Great Garden Fix-Its.' It says you should have a CARBON-to-NITROGEN radio of 30-1. CARBON NITROGEN Cardboard bits Alfalfa Cornstalks Bloodmeal Dry leaves...

I'm going to be planting carrots in an 8 ft. x 3 ft. section of the garden. To make it easier to deal with those teeny tiny carrot seeds and not have to worry about thinning later, I made these seed tapes. By the way, you can use the same method with a lot of different seeds. Cut 1" wide...

As we all know, tomato cages just don't cut it, especially when we're dealing with indeterminate tomato varieties. So, I went to my nearby Lowe's to buy some wooden stakes to support my tomato plants as they grow 'IN' the cages. I even put in 5 nails, at different spacings, in each stake to...

As my fellow Minnesotans will testify, everything is bone dry here from lack of rain. Every time they call for rain, it doesn't happen. I am going to start 'planting' tomorrow; and, since I had read that the preferred way of gardening in the dry southwest part of the country is 'recessed,' I'm...

Last week, I started buying a few bags of red mulch at my nearby Wal-Mart, and it was $3.48/bag. Today, I was at a Wal-Mart in a different burb, and they had the SAME bags of red mulch for "$2.33."

This is the first time I picked up a plant of Lemon Verbena at the nursery the other day; and, W O W, it really does smell EXACTLY like lemon!! I'll be using the leaves when I make sun tea this summer. This plant is a perennial in hot climates, and I'm in Zone 4b; so, it's used as an...

I live in MN. The house is a bi-level where the lower level is heated just like the upper level; and, of course, the garage FREEZES. I really have NO place to store canning jars. I would love to start canning; but, under these circumstances, I FREEZE everything in those Reynolds's...