Cucumber and Squash Growing facts

Cucumbers and squash are such productive vegetables that only a few plants will provide an abundant harvest.  Experiment with unique selections that are rarely seen in stores. For example, long slender Oriental cucumbers or petite pickling cucumbers are simple to grow, as are brightly colored summer squash and zucchini. These are also fast growing crops that start producing only six […]

Using Herbs in the kitchen

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 […]

Herbs, Perennials Guide to Planting Flowers

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 […]

Making Maple Syrup

Although the calendar may say spring, here in the north country, March only hints at the warmer weather to come. For gardeners this can be a frustrating month with late season snows, fluctuating temperatures, and mud limiting outdoor activities. One way to shorten the waiting period until the gardening season is to force branches of spring flowering shrubs like forsythia, […]

How to use Basil

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 […]