Back in March I asked you to share you spring gardening plans and ideas. I got some great responses from people saying what they were starting to or planning to do. Katy said she was going to attempt to grow tomatoes in self-watering containers again. Twinkle69 said she (I think it’s a she) was reading up a lot and planning to get started soon. Barri and RootsandWingsCo...
Here’s what you’ll need: 2-4 carrots 2-3 cloves of garlic thumbnail size of ginger handful of cilantro lime tablespoon of olive or coconut oil (I used coconut oil) How to make: Mince up garlic and ginger and set aside. Cut carrots into small rounds. Put carrots into vegetable steamer for about 10 minutes. Add oil to a pan and heat it up. Add garilc and ginger...
One of my imaginary friends on Facebook, Michael Martz, said that he was listening to a local SoCal radio station. They were discussing how organic food wasn’t as nutritious as non-organic and that the farming practices couldn’t sustain the world. He wanted my thoughts on this. The show was titled The Non-Organic Future. I’ve heard these arguments...
The first thing you want to make sure before you plant anything in your garden is that you’re growing heirloom or non-hybrid seeds/transplants. This is really important when it comes to saving your seeds. With heirloom or non-hybrid varieties you’ll be able to successfully save the seeds from the plant. With hybrid seeds you won’t. What’s...
People always ask me how I keep so calm and poised on camera. No one really asks me that I just couldn’t think of a better segue for this post. Due to my fantastic editing skills, I’m able to edit out nearly all of my stumbles, stammers and stutters. I thought it would be fun to compile some of them here to laugh at. Hopefully you’ll enjoy and I...
Here’s what you’ll need: 1 lemon Handful of mint leaves 2 tablespoons of minced onion 1 tablespoon of olive oil 1 teaspoon of raw honey How to make: Mince up onion and put into a small jar. Cut lemon in half and squeeze over onion. Chop up mint and put in jar with lemon and onion. Set aside for a few minutes to let marinate. The longer it sits, the more flavorful...
There was a post on Nourished Kitchen titled The Fight to Label GMOs & 7 Ways You Can Avoid GMOs. The post was about fighting to have GMO (genetically modified organism) foods labeled as such. They currently aren’t. The author of the post, Jenny, writes how the food choices you make are becoming political statements and, “No longer do you choose whether...
When you are growing in containers, you need to make sure that you amend your soil because the nutrients are being washed through the container or absorbed by the plant. One way that you can amend the soil is by adding compost to it. To use the compost, you’ll want to add some to the container especially around the base of the plant. Then you’ll need to...
I’ve talked about not having a perfect garden before, but I still get questions and comments about failing when gardening. People will say that they are scared of failing or making a mistake. They want things to be perfect. My sage advice to them is, “You will fail when you garden.” It’s impossible to avoid. It doesn’t matter what you...
Here’s what you’ll need: 1-2 heads of broccoli 5-6 carrots 3-4 cloves of garlic 1 tablespoon of olive oil Dash of sea salt Herbs of your choice: I used parsley, cilantro and dill Lemon How to make: Pull of the top part of the broccoli and toss into bowl. Chop up the carrots and add to bowl with broccoli. Mince the garlic and put into the bowl. Sprinkle with olive...
Books are what really got me started down this path of wellness and health. They are the ones that made me want to start growing my own food. Not gardening books, but books about food, health and the environment. Here are four food quotes from books that are eye opening and can really get you thinking. Ideally, a meal should be enjoyed at the dinner table with friends...
If you are using manure tea to amend the soil in your there are a couple of different ways that you can use it. Directly in the reservoir container. If you made your self-watering containers with the pipe, you can pour the manure tea into the pipe as you would normally water. If you aren’t using the pipe, then you can remove the planting container and pour...
Here’s what you’ll need: 1/2 head of cauliflower 1/2-1 lb of brussel sprouts 3-4 cloves of garlic 3-4 tablespoos of balsamic vinegar Tablespoon of olive oil Dash of sea salt How to make: Cut off knubby ends of brussel sprouts, then slice in half Chop up the cauliflower into chunks and add to bowl with brusssel sprouts Bust open a few cloves of garlic and add to the mixture Pour olive oil and balsamic vinegar over the veggies with salt and toss to coat Put on a baking sheet into the oven at about 400 degrees for 20 minutes ...
Earth Day is coming up this Friday and every company is jumping on the Earth Day bandwagon. They are doing “ABC in honor of Earth day” or “XYZ to celebrate Earth Day.” It’s all a bunch of BS and greenwashing. I mean it’s great that people are acknowledging it, but unless true habits form, it’s all for naught and just another...
A few weeks ago, I posted about white clusters on the stems of a spinach plant. It turns out that the spinach plant is bolting and that it’s not insects. There have a been some consecutive days of warm weather, which spinach doesn’t like. I assumed that greens could be grown year round here in LA, but I guess not all of them. Previously I learned that basil does not like the cold weather and that kale can tolerate the cold. Now I’ve learned that spinach cannot tolerate much heat. It’s all starting to come together. What...
The one question that I most often get from people is where I get the containers for my garden from. When I posted a question on Facebook asking what posts people would like me to write, it was mentioned again by some friends. The first thing is that I never buy the containers brand new. I don’t for a few reasons. The most important is that I don’t want to use any unnecessary resources...
When heated up and blended down, cauliflower can get to that creamy consistency like mashed potatoes. This cauliflower and leek soup is dairy and gluten free. Here’s what you’ll need: 1 1/2 small heads of cauliflower (or one large) 1 leek the bottom white and light green part 5-6 cloves of garlic 3-4 cups of homemade veggie broth Tablespoon of olive oil Dash of sea salt How to make: Chop up cauliflower and put into bowl Smash the garlic cloves Slice up leeks and smashed garlic and put into bowl with cauliflower Pour olive...
There was a post on Change.org, Federal Budget Cuts Threaten Food and Water Safety Programs, which should give you another reason to grow your own food and source as much of it locally as you can. Here’s an excerpt: Congress recently proposed a federal budget that threatens to eliminate critical funding for food safety and clean water programs, placing the health and safety of all Americans at risk. Since our country is in such an economic crisis, Congress sees it fit to cut the budget when it comes to the safety of our food and...
Mint is a pretty invasive plant. Just ask anyone who has ever grown it in their garden. It can take over pretty quickly. This is why most people recommend growing it solely in containers. I’ve had my mint plant for a few months now. The leaves have remained pretty small. It’s not until I started my garden from scratch that I began paying more attention to it. The roots of the plant have been spreading all through the container and without much room to grow. Since the soil line is about 2-3″ below the top of the container,...
Nothing quite says spring time (or makes your pee stink) like asparagus showing up again in your garden or at the local farmers market. This recipe I slightly adapted from a cooking demo that I attended at Native Foods in Culver City. Make this in the beginning of the week and enjoy throughout. Here’s what you’ll need: 2 bunches of asparagus 2 avocados Handful of mint, cilantro and parsley 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil Tablespoon of balsamic vinegar Tablespoon of raw honey Juice of one lemon How to make: Boil up a pot of water ...
