Yum! One of the best parts of summer is the smoothie. Smoothies are fabulous! Whether you prefer coconut milk, soy milk, cow’s milk, or no milk at all, these summer drinks are delightfully sweet, refreshing, and packed with fruits and vegetables. It’s very easy to grow a garden that’s geared towards smoothies. Here’s how! Think about the flavors that you enjoy in a smoothie. If you enjoy tart flavors, grow: Raspberries. Raspberries are abundant, easy to grow, and have a lovely sweet-tart flavor. I’ve found that raspberries pair wonderfully with celery, giving you a drink that tastes sweet, tart, and … Continue reading →

Lettuce, lettuce, lettuce. At some point in the spring, do you get sick of lettuce? I’m not sick of it yet, but by August my lettuce-and-kale quote for the year will likely be full. We have a share in a local farm, and let’s just say that we eat a lot of lettuce in the summer time! If you’re craving a little diversity in your garden and in your diet, you can go way beyond lettuce. Here are a few non-lettuce greens that you can grow: Arugula – Arugula is an acquired taste, but it’s a pretty amazing one. Its … Continue reading →

Growing a vegetable garden doesn’t have to be arduous, especially if you start out with the easiest vegetables you can possibly grow. Try a couple of different varieties of some of the plants to see which ones wind up being your favorites. Yesterday, I posted the first part of this list. Now, here is part 2 with five additional easy to grow vegetable plants. Beets You can plant your beet seeds directly into the soil from spring through late summer. Neglected beets tend to get thick and woody, so harvest them early before that happens. Onions Onions are fun for … Continue reading →

If you are new to vegetable gardening or if you want to introduce kids to this wonderful pastime, why not start simple with the vegetable plants that are the easiest to grow? Most vegetables require a lot of sun, about six to eight hours a day, so first identify a sunny spot in your yard where you will do your planting. A raised bed is nice but not necessary. Tomatoes I think tomatoes were the very first vegetable I ever attempted to grow. You can purchase them as seedlings, which makes planting them a snap. Wait until the danger of … Continue reading →

Here in the Pacific Northwest, spring is peeking through the cracks. It’s been a strange winter, with almost no snow to speak of. I blame my pantry for that, since last year’s four-odd feet of snow inspired me to create the pantry, this year’s snow was likely scared away by the fact that my pantry exists. Perhaps the same can be said for gardening. If I start to plant now, does that mean that spring is almost here? It certainly feels like it around my house. My winter viburnum is flowering, and one of my hellebores is in full bloom … Continue reading →