growing and storing a year of parsley

With its soft, green leaves and a gentle yet unmistakable scent, basil is a herb that simply begs to be used in the kitchen. Whether sprinkled on top of a fresh tomato salad or infused in a homemade pesto, basil leaves are a true delicacy for any food lover. Read on to learn all the Tips to Grow Bigger Basil Leaves.

Alstroemeria is a beautiful flower also known as Peruvian Lily or Parrot Lily.

Arisaema sikokianum is a herbaceous perennial plant with vertically patterned  flowers.

There is a clematis for every season, every aspect and every place. The flower size and colour range is also wider than you may imagine. Update I have just bought (2.9.19) another clematis Madame Le Coultre for flowering june to august.

Bromeliads are members of the Bromeliaceae plant family. They typically have striking, sword-shaped leaves and a bright, unusual-looking bloom, which is actually a bract surrounding an insignificant flower. They hail from tropical rainforests, where they grow naturally on the bark of trees, rather than in the ground. Their roots are used to grip on to their host, and they get moisture from a central ‘tank’ or ‘vase’ in the middle of the rosette of leaves that fills with water whenever it rains. In the wild, frogs sometimes raise their young in these tanks.

Growing Nandina Domestica in Pots? Here’s all you need to know! These beautiful plants are perfect for container gardening, offering a range of varieties that are both easy to care for and stunning to behold.

Last week I was making a grilled London broil and baked potatoes for dinner (Yum!). I was also planning to grill some seasoned zucchini as our vegetable with dinner. When it came time to prepare dinner, I decided I wanted something a little different from grilled zucchini. I looked at the ingredients that I had on hand and developed this recipe for Italian Zucchini and Tomato Gratin. It was fast and easy to prepare, and my family loved it. I can’t wait to make it again once I have some home-grown tomatoes and zucchini to use! I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do!

Many of our tried and true recipes and dishes can be ‘modified’ to increase vegetables, fiber, and fruits by making simple adjustments to meals we already eat. Many of us love watching chefs on TV but tend to go back to old favorites, i.e., macaroni and cheese, potato salad, beef stew, soup, fried chicken, broccoli casserole, spaghetti, etc.

Zack Snipes reports, “Everything is progressing nicely in the Lowcountry.  We got some much-needed rain last week.  Temperatures have been cool, so things are somewhat slow from a developmental standpoint.  All the crops look great, especially the tomato crop.  We have a really nice fruit set and very little disease.  I am expecting to see bacterial spot to show up sometime soon and have been getting a few calls about bacterial wilt taking down plants. I’ve also gotten a few calls about blossom end rot. That is typical on the first fruit set and will usually correct itself provided there is ample calcium in the soil AND the soil moisture is consistent.  In our sandy soils, the main cause of blossom end rot is allowing the soil to dry out during the fruiting stage. Folks might want to consider multiple 30 minute to 1-hour irrigation cycles on tomatoes per day.”

Want to know how to get two distinct flavors from one plant? Well, the plant known as Coriandrum sativum can provide just that. C. sativum is commonly cultivated as a low growing, vegetative herb known as cilantro that adds a savory flavor to many foods and dishes. However, not everyone knows that the seed produced by C. sativum is commonly referred to as coriander. Coriander is used whole or often ground as a spice to provide delectable flavor to many traditional and newer fusion-type meals. The herb and the spice come from the same plant, just different parts. For this reason, C. sativum is referred to with two different common names.

Icon of the southwest, organ pipe cactus (Stenocereus thurberi) is one of the best known species of cacti in the United States.Reaching up to 26 feet in height and 12 feet wide, this slow

I make about eight batches of red sauce late summer until frost, stashing it in the freezer for a year of enjoyment.  It isn’t much prep work, at least not the way I cook. Each “batch” constitutes a spaghetti potful of fresh, raw ingredients before it cooks down to less than half that, enough for 5 or 6 freezer containers of 12-16 ounces each. If you’ve got that last glut of tomatoes in need of processing, or see a bargain bushel of seconds at the farmstand, this lazy-person’s recipe for red sauce might be just the thing.Again, I don’t take the time to peel or seed the tomatoes (to you purists, mea culpa; I’m a whole-food type…and also a bit manic when I cook). The sauce is the tiniest bit more bitter, perhaps, but think of all that fiber (and time saved).Lazy Woman’s Tomato SauceIngredients Enough paste-type or other tomatoes to fill a spaghetti pot 1 head garlic Extra virgin olive oil Fresh basil Fresh parsley, preferably Italian flat-leaf Salt and pepper to taste; small amount of sugar optionalWash tomatoes and cut off stem ends and any blemishes