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Many years ago herbs were considered invaluable; they cost dearly to buy and were very difficult to find. Yet now, herb plants can be grown by seed offered by mail order, plants can be purchased practically everywhere and fresh-cut and dried culinary herbs at the local grocery store. So why all the fuss you ask? Herbs are making their way […]
Peppers Peppers – Here is a complete listing of peppers to support your gardening/eating needs. Each page provides the pepper information to support the reference data below. The only negative issue is that you have to come back to this page to use the below reference notes to understand the pepper. The tables were too big to put on one […]
Herbs The home gardener can derive a genuine pleasure in growing herbs when they supply so many of one’s wants. This is especially true of a housewife who has her own kitchen garden. CULINARY HERBS Borage (Borago officinalis). The large leaves have a fragrant odor and add greatly when served with Lettuce in salads. The leaves are sometimes boiled like […]
Asparagus This delicious vegetable is expensive to buy but easy to grow. The shoots are cut below soil level when they are about 10cm (4in) long, but all cutting must cease soon after the middle of June to allow the plants to develop over the summer and build up the crowns for the following spring. Asparagus plants must not be […]
When I was growing up, my father’s friend, Richard Pastecki, grew lots of eggplant. He did not eat them grilled or in salads, and it would never have occurred to him to use them in something as unfamiliar as ratatouille. Richard Pastecki raised eggplant for only one reason—Eggplant Parmesan. In the Pastecki household Eggplant Parmesan was taken very seriously. Richard’s […]
Everyone knows how delicious is the taste of carefully home-canned produce from the family Vegetable Garden, but as a rule she cannot forget even for a moment the labor which Canning costs the women of the household. I myself have a small Vegetable Garden and do my Canning without assistance, three or four quarts at a time. Those who enjoy […]
BRUSSELS SPROUTS This fall and winter vegetable is included in the Mustard family, Cruciferae, and is referred to botanically as Brassica oleracea gemmifera. The plant originated as far back as the 14th century near Brussels, Belgium, from which town it gets its name. The sprouts are miniature “cabbages” or “buttons,” each, when usable, about 1 1/2-2 in. in diameter, and […]
When filling out your seed orders this winter, you may want to include some of the new vegetable varieties for 2002. This year five vegetables–two pumpkins, a winter squash, a slicing cucumber, and a sweet basil–were chosen as All-America Selections (AAS) winners. These varieties, along with hundreds of others, were grown in test gardens all over the country. Throughout the […]
Basil is a well-known culinary herb that’s popular in many Italian dishes. But did you know that there are many other uses of this herb, including its use as a tonic to aid in digestion? The most common use of basil is for cooking, such as in tomato sauce, pesto, or vinegars. But it also can be sprinkled over salads […]