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- From Garden to Plate: Fresh Flavors, Naturally Grown
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Experienced gardeners are well aware of this reality and have even come to enjoy the ephemeral nature of their outdoor spaces.
gardening experts
We are fortunate that so many small fruits and berries thrive in the Pacific Northwest. Here are some of the many that do well in our climate. Blueberries Lingonberries Cranberries Strawberries Raspberries Blackberries Boysenberries Loganberries Tayberries Marionberries Grapes Currants Gooseberries Sea Berries Goji Berries Things to Think About Before Planting Berries Soil Think about what kind of soil you have. Does it hold moisture? Does it drain well? What is the pH? Knowing these details can help you know how to amend your soil to best suit the plants you choose to grow. For example, did you know blueberries prefer acidic soil? If your pH tends toward alkaline and you would like to grow blueberries, you can add elemental sulfur or acidifying fertilizer to help acidify the soil. If your soil has a lot of clay or is very compacted, add a high-quality compost like G&B Organics Soil Building Conditioner, which helps aerate the soil and helps it retain moisture. Light How much light does the area you want to plant in receive? Most fruits and berries need at least 6-8 hours of direct sun daily - what we call a full sun situation - to thrive and produce harvests. Available Space Think about how much space you have. This will help you decide if you have room for multiple grapevines or if a compact, container-friendly blueberry variety would better suit the space you have available. Fruit Purpose Knowing why you’re growing small fruits and berries can help you choose the best varieties. Do you want to eat the berries fresh, have them for pies, or for canning? For example, If you will be freezing or canning in large batches, choose varieties that ripen all at once rather than little by little over a long period. Personal Time & Energy Planting and maintaining a fruit garden requires some personal time and energy. Consider how much time you can devote to your garden on a regular basis. If you can give a few plants an hour every week, that’s probably sufficient. If you can devote 4-6 hours a week to your entire garden, that’s pretty great!
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While growing shiitake mushrooms takes a while to get started, the rewards are worth it. Our in-depth guide reveals how to get started!It’s wonderful to walk through a wooded forest after it’s rained and find a mushroom popping out of a log or in between downed trees! Most of these mushrooms however are not edible. But it is possible to start growing shiitake mushrooms in your own backyard or greenhouse – especially if you have a shiitake mushroom kit – and pick them as they spring out of the wood and beckon to be devoured. Mushroom growing is a little different from raising herbs or other veggies in your garden. But it is a fun process and a good way to get new gardeners involved with growing their own food. Once you understand a little about the steps involved, you’ll see it’s actually quite straightforward to grow shiitake mushrooms! Years ago, people could only grow shiitake mushrooms in forests in East Asia. However, we’ve come a long way and can now grow them around the world. They’ve become so popular that it’s estimated about 25% of yearly mushroom production is shiitake mushroom. With a taste similar to wild mushrooms and packed full of that deep umami flavor, this little mushroom is worth the wait. A little bit larger than button mushrooms and filled with vitamins, it is said that it can boost your immune system. Shiitake mushrooms are fundamentally different in their growth habits than anything else in your garden. They are fungal spores that are dormant until they find the right conditions to grow in. In order to help these little guys spring into life, you’ll need to create a home for the mushroom spores to grow and reproduce in. This planting medium is usually a freshly cut log or a sawdust substrate. With the growth of online retailers selling all sorts of plug spawn that has been inoculated, shiitake growing at home has never been easier!
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I’m sure you must be looking at this picture, thinking, “Obviously, this is an orange tree.” And you would be correct. But last year, I didn’t have an orange tree. I had a tree filled with bright green orbs all over, and I plucked them all at this stage, thinking they were limes. Don’t laugh. When I moved into my house last summer, most of the fruit trees were not in good shape. The previous owners had said the mulberry was barely fruiting, and the avocado tree — despite being at least a couple decades old — gave them less than a dozen avocados. So when I bit into my “lime” and found it dry and bitter, I blamed it on poor fertilization. Or poor watering. Or maybe it was still a little unripe — never considering that maybe it was still a lot unripe! After I harvested all those awful limes, after I squeezed them over fish tacos and dunked them into beer, I found out that the tree was, in fact, a Valencia orange tree. And the few fruits I had left on the tree because I couldn’t reach them eventually ripened to a brilliant orange color, with the sweetest, juiciest flesh inside. This year, I finally have an orange tree! Perfectly round, tender fruits dangle like Christmas ornaments from tree branches. Winter citrus always perks me up after feeling a little sad that the bounty of summer has passed. Now that I’ll have a real harvest of oranges soon, I need to start conditioning my arms for all the juicing I’ll be doing!
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One of the best ways to turn over a new leaf in the landscape is with an annual color reboot. Gardening expert Melissa Strauss shares some color palette refreshers that you can achieve with the addition of flowering annuals.Perennials are the foundation of the garden, but spring annual flowers often define the color palette. While you’re waiting for your perennials to come back to life and reach their blooming season, why not add some colorful annuals to brighten up the space? Using these single-season plants is the perfect way to add color and texture to your landscape. There are many benefits to planting them, including the ability to grow things that otherwise won’t thrive in your climate. They also tend to have a prolonged and more intense blooming period, so they make a bold impact. Part of the joy of gardening is the artistry of designing and executing a beautiful space. One of the first steps in achieving that is choosing a color palette and then looking for plants that you love in those colors. Here are some of my favorite color inspirations for this year’s spring annual flower garden.
Read MoreFind and share everyday cooking inspiration on Allrecipes. Discover recipes, cooks, and how-tos based on the food you love and the friends you follow.
We’re hot and spicy… literally!
"My sandwich of choice from Subway. This is my homegrown version with the addition of avocado! For the bread I used recipe #141038 and by special request recipe #67854 (onion sauce) to top it all off. I don't make these as often as I should, but when I do, the sandwiches are served with fresh fruit in season and a small bag of multi-grain SunChips. Hubby and I always fight over the last SunChip! Note: omit the red onion slices if using the onion sauce."
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These Smash Burger Wraps will remind you of the best fast food burger you’ve ever had!
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A super easy recipe for Korean BBQ with the most flavorful marinade! The thin, tender slices of meat cook SO quickly!
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Elevate your camping experience with this easy and delicious meatball sub casserole, baked to perfection in just one Dutch Oven.
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