I received an email from Amy asking what she should do with the extra peaches that she harvested. She wasn’t talking about 10-15 extra peaches. She was talking more like 150lbs worth of extra peaches. She said, “I like peaches as much as the next girl, but there is no way, even after jams, jellies, preserves, conserves, chutneys, freezing, and all the pies...
Author Archives: Mike Lieberman
Mint grows like crazy and can easily take over your garden if grown in a raised bed or in ground garden. After all mint is a weed. You almost always want to grow mint in a container. What you will need to transplant your mint into a container: Container filled with potting mix Mint plant Water How to transplant the mint: Pour a little bit of water into the plastic container...
Here’s what you’ll need: Pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin you just carved 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil Cayenne pepper, paprika, sea salt and black pepper to taste How to make: Soak the seeds in water for 10-15 minutes to get off the orange stringy stuff. Strain the seeds and put them in a bowl. Sprinkle sea salt, black pepper, cayenne and paprika over it. Put in oven...
The Wisconsin Judge, Patrick Fiedler, who said that we do not have a fundamental right to consume the food that we grow or raise has stepped down. This might seem like great news at first, but he now works for the law firm, Axley Brynelson, LLP. Why is this such a big deal? Because according to InfoWars.com, this firm has worked for and defended Monsanto in the past. This...
We already know some of the effects of chemical gardening and why organic gardening makes sense, but I posed an open-ended sentence on the Urban Organic Gardener Facebook page that said, “I don’t use chemicals in my garden because ___.” Over 70 comments were left by people giving their reasons why. All of which were simple and to the point. Most of the...
GMOs (genetically modified foods) are something that I frequently discuss on this site and Facebook. When I saw the Just Label It campaign, I thought it fitting to share here. The goal of the campaign is to get GMO foods labeled by getting enough signatures and flooding the FDA with them. I’m not one for signing petitions and all that, but thought the cause was worth...
There is a parsley plant on my balcony garden that has been going to seed for a few weeks now. The seeds have finally developed. They emerged in about 3-4 stages, which are difficult to explain, but the the picture about clearly shows what the seeds look like. You just have to carefully pull them. What is your favorite way to use parsley? ...
When I asked about what food news has caught your attention, most people mentioned the cantaloupe listeria outbreak. One person, David Csonka, mentioned a story from Food Renegade that no one else did called Is Your Choice of Food a Fundamental Right?. I’m surprised that this one didn’t get more attention. There was a court decision in Wisconsin where Judge...
A rain barrel is something that would be great to have to be able to collect rainwater, but the reality is that it won’t work for those of us apartment gardening. One reason is that since we are dealing with small spaces, so every little inch counts. Something as large as a rain barrel really isn’t practical. That doesn’t mean that we can’t collect...
Here’s what you’ll need: Cut up watermelon 1 lime 1/4 cup of olive oil Handful of fresh basil Tablespoon of paprika Dash of sea salt Dash of black pepper How to make: Put the watermelon into a large bowl. Pour olive oil over watermelon. Sprinkle sea salt, black pepper and basil over it. Squeeze lime on top. Tear up and add your basil. Toss to coat and serve. ...
This is going to be my last post for a few weeks. Going to be taking some time away from the site to travel and visit friends and fam. Time to rejuvenate so I can get some new life into the site. During the time off, I will be taking a look back at the past few months and evaluating what’s been done to see what has done well. That will to help come up with new ideas...
Cutting a watermelon has usually been a pain for me. When I was at the farmers market one day, I learned this simple way to cut them. Cut the ends off of each side. Stand the watermelon up flat and cut the rind off in a downward motion. Cut off any remaining white part. Your watermelon should now look like this. Cut it down the middle in half. Lay it down, then slice...
The latest in crazy GMO news that I read on Rodale.com is that there will soon be a genetically modified kentucky bluegrass. According to the article: The grass is still in its research-and-development stage, so it’s not available in stores yet, but experts fear the recent USDA decision to not regulate it as a noxious weed or plant pest could push it onto the market...
I searched the internet for a few hours looking for how to prune a pumpkin plant. All I could find was the same mumbo jumbo gardening speak of secondary, tertiary and blah, blah, blah with no pictures or visuals of what the hell people were talking about. The reason for looking on how to do this is because my pumpkin plant is starting to get some powdery mildew and pruning...
I was fortunate to have one of the great experiences of growing my own food this past weekend – the experience of sharing the harvest with others. While on my balcony garden taking care of my mint, I noticed a neighbor across the way harvesting some herbs for their meal. Since my mint container is overflowing, I shouted across the way to ask if he needed any. He...
Here’s what you’ll need: 5-6 cloves of garlic 1/4 avocado 1/2 lemon 2 tablespoons of olive oil Dash of sea salt Water to consistency How to make: Bust open all of your garlic and add it to your blender or food processor. Squeeze in your lemon and add the rest of your ingredients. Blend it up, adding tablespoon of water at a time until desired consistency is reached. Serve...
