Plant Gardens 101

Growing your own horseradish is a simple business. Best of all, once you grow a bit you’ll have it, for free, forever. Now that’s what I call sustainable gardening! Horseradish is simple to prepare, preserve and make sauces with, so if you enjoy horseradish with beef or lamb, or just in your mashed potatoes why not grow your own. You don’t even need a garden, just enough space for a pot and you can grow your own supply. What are you waiting for?

How to Grow Horseradish

· In mid winter to early spring buy a little fresh horseradish root from your local grocer.
· Plant two inch sections of horseradish any way up you like but flat is best, in a tall pot filled with well rotted compost. Plant in the ground if you’ve lots of room but prepare for it to spread about your plot. A section of drainage pipe is the best thing to plant in, as it will encourage long straight roots and prevent the plant taking over your garden! (more…)

safe insecticides such as insecticidal soap and insecticide neem visit the links.”>If you have a fruit tree or two, or indeed a whole orchard you will know how devastating over-wintering insects can be. So why not make your own Fruit Tree Spray?

Of course, you could just buy a Fruit Tree Spray. There are many to choose from, and a fair number of them are even environmentally sound too. But, sometimes a little home-made creativity is just what the doctor ordered, and if you are stuck inside you can still be doing something positive for the garden. (more…)

There’s more to harvesting and drying sunflowers than many professional growers realize. How soon you decide to harvest them will depend largely on energy costs, temperatures, and whether you prefer them to dry naturally. Ideally, your sunflowers won’t be exposed to insects and diseases, and the temperature will be warm enough to allow them to dry on the stem. However, those circumstances are rare. In reality, most crops will be vulnerable to some level of pests and diseases. And depending upon where you live, the temperature can cause your sunflowers to freeze.

In this article, I’ll explain some of the benefits of harvesting your sunflowers early. I’ll also describe how they’re dried and why the moisture in the air can affect your crops.

Benefits Of Harvesting Early

With energy expenses escalating, you might think that allowing your sunflowers to dry naturally is a good idea. But, there are plenty of reasons why you should consider harvesting them early. First, if the temperature is close to freezing during the evenings, your sunflower crops are not actually drying. The moisture is being sealed inside. But, even if you’re not growing your sunflowers in freezing temperatures, there are still many advantages to an early harvest. (more…)

Your drying strategy will depend on whether you’re growing sunflowers for crop yield or in a personal garden. Today, we’ll focus on a large harvest. The time required to dry the crop is going to be influenced by the moisture content, temperature of the drying room, and the humidity to which your harvest is exposed. Variances in any of these factors will change the dry rate. For example, raising the temperature a few degrees will cause the moisture level of your sunflowers to decline, thereby shortening the time needed to dry them. Below, I’ll provide a few helpful tips that you can use when drying your next crop.

#1 – Use A Moisture Meter

You’ll need to invest in a reliable moisture meter. If you’re a hobby grower, you won’t need one. But, assuming you’re harvesting a large crop, a meter is essential for measuring the level of moisture contained in the seeds. It’s only by taking this measurement that you’ll be able to accurately judge the approximate drying period. If you’re already an experienced grower, you’ll probably already own one. If not, plan on spending $200 or more.

#2 – Don’t Overcompensate

If you grow other crops that need to be dried (for example, corn and grain varieties), take care not to over-dry your sunflowers. Compared with a lot of other crops, lower quantities of moisture need to be removed from them. At any given temperature, it’s easy to overdo it. If you’ve harvested your crop early to prevent bird and disease damage, they’re going to have a higher moisture content and require more time to dry. Even so, keep a close eye on the dryer and take several moisture measurements with the meter. (more…)

Sunflower seed are widely regarded as one of nature’s most potent all-in-one sources for a variety of nutrients that the body needs and is used for a wide range of health purposes with heart disease and strengthening the immune system topping the list. Is sunflower seed oil any different?

The answer is, thankfully, no! Sunflower oil retains many of the health benefits of sunflower seeds despite the pressing needed to withdraw the oil from the kernel. Sunflower oil is extremely healthy and is perfect for kitchen use due to its clean (neutral) taste (as opposed to olive oils, which has an over empowering taste that does not sit well with all dishes) and high smoke point.

There are generally two types of sunflower oil – those with a high percentage of linoleic acid and those with a high percentage oleic acid. These differ in the amount of unsaturated fats that they contain. According to the Sunflower Society, linoleic has 11% saturated fats (the bad trans fats) whereas the premium high oleic sunflower oil has just 9%. (more…)

The sunflower has been used since ancient times as a food source – carbon dating shows Native American use from as early as 2300BC! With its long and varied history – and scientifically proven worth in keeping people healthy, there are now many uses of these popular seeds.

Growing sunflower seed at home is a rewarding experience and the myriad of uses for the seeds will only enhance your kitchen. The sunflower is remarkably unfussy as to where it will grow so long as it has plenty of sun. Sunflowers are found in such diverse places ranging from the swamps of the Amazon to the Mojave Desert – showing how resilient and adaptable the sunflower is.

The sunflower should be planted after the last frost of the year, with the seeds being planted around an inch deep and approximately 6 inches apart. Once the sunflower seedlings pop out from the ground, you should place them around 1,5 feet apart from each other – dwarf varieties can be closer (around a foot). You should water frequently after planting until they start to sprout – after that period, watering once a week should be enough.

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Wines have become a household word and most households today have access to reasonably priced wine. Drinking wine doesn’t just provide people with comfort during winter or cold weather but they also provide health benefits to the young and old alike.

A glass of red wine a day is said to prevent Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. It’s also a preventive measure against diarrhea and food poisoning. These claims are slowly being corroborated by scientific evidence, all leading to the healthful effects of moderate wine intake.

Research show that while the French eat more fat than their American counterparts, the French have fewer incidents of heart attacks. Some people attribute this to the French’s propensity for drinking wine during mealtimes. A study done by the Copenhagen City Heart Study claimed that people who consume a moderate amount of wine a day have higher chances of living a long and healthy life.

Experts agree that the flavonoid, tannin and other contents of red wine are responsible for increasing the level of good cholesterol while decreasing the level of bad cholesterol, and thereby preventing strokes and heart attacks.

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Humming birds are found throughout the Americas including the Caribbean. Known for their hovering ability and unique ability to fly backwards, humming birds hover by rapidly flapping their wings at speeds up to 80 times a second. The Bee Hummingbird is the smallest bird in the world at only 2 inches long and around 1.8 grams. The Giant Hummingbird is the largest hummingbird at 24 grams and approximately 8 inches long.

They have the fastest metabolism of any birds and to sustain this they must eat their own weight and more in food daily. To do this they must visit hundreds of blooms a day to harvest the nectar. They have long bills and tongues to reach deep into flowers. They are able to slow down their metabolisms when at rest, unlike most other high metabolism animals and this extends their lifespan which has been reported to be up to 17 years. (more…)

Pickled onions are a family favorite. They turn up at parties and picnics, with cheese and cold meats. They are a ‘how to make recipe’ every cook should know.

Pickling onions is a really easy way to learn about how to make pickles and how to make each pickle your own. The basics are really simple, but the possibilities for variation are endless. You can use small onions, large chopped onions and shallots. Red or white it doesn’t matter.

You can work traditionally using malt vinegar with its dark caramel tones, or ring the changes with wine or cider vinegars. You could even add a dash of balsamic at the end to bring in a touch of the Mediterranean. (more…)

Not everyone who likes to eat organic foods has the chance to do so on a daily basis. Most people will have to settle for the more mediocre fare of the same foods they have been eating for most of their lives. Other more fortunate people however, are able to enjoy organic foods on a more regular basis, and some of these people have also been blessed with the ability to bake, which gives rise (excuse the pun!) to organic breads.

Now if you’re wondering what on earth organic breads are, and whether they really do taste as if they were fresh sprung from the ground along with the carrots and the potatoes, there’s only one thing that I have to say, Ha! Organic breads don’t taste any different from your normal average everyday breads. In fact more than tasting different, people who eat organic breads and organic foods in general believe that they taste better to those of the normal non-organic, pesticide filled food varieties! (more…)

Plants from your garden will be maturing very soon leaving you with an abundance of fresh foods for great culinary uses like Tomato with Avocado salad or a Greek Salad with a hummus recipe for dipping pita bread. When your vegetable garden starts to produce for your table, you should have recipes using fresh herbs for an herb dressing, and vegetables on hand to use them in the most imaginative ways. Here are some recipes to give you maximum enjoyment of great salads and salad dressings. Be creative, use these as just examples and add a few personal touches, consider your vegetable garden as a living cuisine capable of any number of new twists.

When your tomatoes start to give up dozens of their fruit give some away, but better yet here are some recipes, an especially super one for Tomato with Avocado salad, that you can use for your family or a weekend get together with neighbours and friends. (more…)

With the economic climate and a move towards people creating things for themselves more and more, there is a growing interest in making your own garden products: pesticides, fertilizers and equipment. One of the simplest ways to start with this ‘make it yourself’ mentality is by creating some simple garden pesticides at home.

There are many recipes for homemade garden pesticides. Most will work out much cheaper than buying an equivalent product and many will be more effective. A lot of them will increase your green credentials as you can recycle waste products at home, turning them into useful garden products. Many of the homemade recipes will allow for safer pet-friendly gardening too.

For this recipe though we’re taking a tougher approach. Sometimes (not often) insect infestations can be so bad that truly environmentally products like soap spray just will not eradicate the problem. At times like that its time to call on homemade nicotine spray.  (more…)