I’ve mentioned before that when you are gardening in containers that you’ll need to amend your soil and keep your plants well fed. As the water drains out of the containers, so do the nutrients that it needs. One other thing that your garden will benefit from is a living microbial treatment. The treatment that I am using is from one of my sponsors Thrive and...
Author Archives: Mike Lieberman
My bad for missing last week. Some personal things going on, but all good. It’s been a while since I gave an update on my balcony garden so wanted show you what I got going on and no matter where you live or how much space you (don’t) have, you can grow some of your own food. I live in Los Angeles and my balcony is 13 x 4 and east facing. This means that I...
There was a discussion on my Facebook profile about how there is so much out of our control that we can’t truly be healthy and maintain an organic lifestyle. That got me thinking about my balcony garden and how organic it really is. My block right now is a freakin circus and a mess. My street is being dug up and repaved and on the other side there is new construction...
I am growing a miniature pumpkin variety from seed for the first time. It’s Jack Be Little Seed that I got from a sponsor of mine Botanical Interests. No, I’m growing some huge Charlie Brown type pumpkin on my balcony garden. That would be dope though. These get to be about 2-3″. It’s been about two-months or so since I first planted it (or maybe...
When I was checking out my balcony garden, I noticed that one container looked pretty empty. After taking a closer look, I thought to myself…when did I plant aloe? Turns out it wasn’t aloe, but it was a container that used to be collard greens? Cabbage worms went to town on them and completely devoured them. By the time I noticed, it wasn’t even salvageable...
Here’s what you’ll need: Handful of spinach 8-10 basil leaves Some parsley sprigs 2 tablespoons of olive oil 1/4 cup each of walnuts and sunflower seeds 2 cloves of garlic Dash of sea salt and black pepper Optional: 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast Optional: Get crazy and add 2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese How to make: Add all ingredients to food processor. Pulse...
There was a post on The Healthy Home Economist called The Sticky Truth About Chewing Gum that got me thinking about alternatives. That’s when it hit me, I already have some growing on my balcony garden and so can you. Why you might want to consider popping that next piece of chewing gum Before I get into the alternative, I want to briefly discuss some highlights...
Your mint container is likely overflowing and ready to harvest. If not, it should be. There is a way that you can harvest it to encourage even more growth from the delicious herb. What you are going to want to do is pinch it from the top. What the hell does that mean? It means that you are going to have to find the sprig that you want and pinch it as close to the next...
This is post that I was debating about writing or just letting it pass. I decided to write it because I have been so vocal about having sponsorships. I thought it was only fair. Last week, I wrote the post about Miracle-Gro being organic and how I didn’t care. In the comments of the Facebook thread, someone mentioned that one of my sponsors was selling Round-Up. If...
Here’s what you’ll need: Cucumber 1/4 red onion 1/2 lemon Tablespoon of olive oil Sea salt Teaspoon of raw honey Optional: Fresh or dried herbs of your choice How to make: Slice up cucumbers into thin discs. You can use a knife, food process or madnolin. Add cucumbers to your bowl. Cut up you red onion and add to bowl. Pour your olive oil and squeeze the lemon over...
There was a great post on Cooking Up a Story titled The Unconventional Harvest: Conventional Dairy Farmer Art Thelen written by Nathan Winters. The Conventional Side of the Story Nathan stayed with a conventional dairy farmer, Art Thelen, in Wisconsin and had the chance to check out his farm and speak with art about his farming methods. Stories like this are great because...
In the “WTF Food News”, I’ll highlight some food stories from the previous weeks that make you tilt your head, curl your brow, lift your shoulders and make that face like you thought you had to fart, but something else came out. Here is the July 2011 installment: Fried Kool-Aid a fair hit, Chicken Charlie says County fairs give us such health conscious foods...
It’s frustrating to say the least when you spend hours tending to your tomato garden and the tomatoes still aren’t as big and vibrant as they could be. The soil quality will determine your success with each plant, and the more organic material you mix into your soil (versus synthetics) the better the plant will grow! Chemicals Aren’t the Solution Most...
Here’s what you’ll need: 1/2 avocado Handful of fresh dill Tablespoon olive oil 1/2 lemon 1 clove of garlic Few pieces of red onion Sea salt Splash of water Optional: Raw honey How to make: Add all ingredients to food processor or blender. Blend down until smooth. Add more water if necessary to thin out. Serve over a salad or use as a dip. ...
There were a few posts that got me thinking about healthy and organic foods being affordable. The first one came from the New York Times titled A Look at How Many Calories $1 Will Buy. The article states, “One dollar’s worth of Coke has 447 calories, while $1 of iceberg lettuce has just 16.5.” First off, who really eats iceburg lettuce??! That pretty much...
Here’s what you’ll need: 1 head of cauliflower Tablespoon olive oil Dash of sea salt and pepper Any of the following are optional to season as you wish: fresh or dried herbs, garlic, milk, cream or nut milk. How to make: Boil up cauliflower in water until tender. Drain cauliflower. You can mash in a bowl or add to food processor (recommended). Add olive oil,...
