Photo Contest Winners
We're pleased to announce the winners of our Photo Contest. We had a lot of great entries that you can see here. First prize goes to Paul O'Day. He wins two-hundred dollars cash. Second prize goes to Vicki Sappington. She wins a CobraHead Weeder and Cultivator,...
Photo Contest Entries
We received a lot of great entries for our photo contest. Thanks to everyone who participated. Here are all of the entries. Click on the smaller images to see the full sized picture and caption. [portfolio_slideshow]
Growing limes in containers
Even in hot Austin, our winters get too cold to leave lime trees outdoors when temperatures dip, so I'm growing both Mexican lime, Citrus aurantifolia, and Kaffir lime, Citrus x hystrix, in containers. Then I can move them indoors when necessary. Mexican limes are...
Roasted Asparagus Salsa
1 ½ - 2 cups roasted asparagus, chopped (see roasted asparagus recipe here) 2 T. fresh lime juice ¼ tsp. cumin 2 T. minced green onion 2 T. medium salsa verde or salsa of your choice 1 tsp. minced or pressed garlic Salt & pepper to taste Puree asparagus, lime...
Klehm Arboretum Garden Fair
This weekend Judy and I were vendors at the Klehm Arboretum Garden Fair. This was our seventh year at the event now in it's 19th year. Rockford is just under 70 miles from home. If you don't know Rockford, it's the second biggest population area in Illinois...
Orange Frost Satsuma
Earlier this month I attended the Texas State Master Gardener Conference in San Antonio. The master gardeners had a new cold hardy satsuma, "Orange Frost", available. This satsuma variety will not be commercially available until 2014. What makes Orange Frost cold...
Repurposing Chain Link Fences at Wamboldtopia
Back from the Garden Blogger’s Fling in Asheville, North Carolina; great gardens in a beautiful setting. I saw way too much to try and put into one overview, so I’m going to highlight ideas that I got from several of the places that inspired me in a short series of...
CobraHead Facebook Photo Contest
We want a photo of you using the CobraHead Weeder and Cultivator or CobraHead Long Handle Weeder and Cultivator. You could win $200! Do you have a favorite use for the CobraHead? We would like to see you in the garden using our tools! Between now and June 12th, upload...
Interplanting Garlic with Greens
Here are two videos about garlic and inter-planting garlic with salad greens. I plant garlic here in southern Wisconsin in late October. I plant the cloves along the top of ridges of a raised bed that has been shaped into three ridges (or two troughs). After I plant...
Asparagus Spring Onion Cheddar Cheese Scones
My favorite scone recipe is from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board – “Wisconsin Colby Cheese Scones”. I think sharply flavored cheeses stand out more in this recipe so I usually use an aged cheddar or an aged Swiss cheese. A little feta is good too, as is pictured...
Potting Off to a Hoop Tunnel
There are normally three steps to growing vegetables that require indoor seeding. First you plant the seeds in a growing medium into a flat or a small container. Second, you transplant the sprouted seedlings after they have established themselves into a second,...
Quick and Easy Spring Meal
Judy and I enjoyed a great light meal last night that was mostly from the garden - a salad with a side of roasted asparagus. The roasted asparagus recipe: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash & dry asparagus spears after removing woody ends. In a large bowl pour in...
Loquat
Driving around Austin during the past couple of weeks I have seen hundreds of loquat trees, Eriobotrya japonica, loaded with ripe fruit. Here the trees are mostly planted as an ornamental, in part due to their tropical looking foliage. The fruit, however, is...
Getting Down in the Trenches for More Spuds
I tried something new (for me) this year in planting my potatoes. Geoff mentioned this method to me years ago and I never got around to trying it. I kind of forgot that it was he who told me, but he was quick to remind me when I showed him what I did. The logic is...
Cream of Sweet Potato Soup
I still have sweet potatoes from my fall harvest. I made this soup a couple of weeks ago for some guests. Easy and filling. 3-4 large Sweet Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" chunks 1 medium onion, chopped 3 stalks celery, chopped 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped or crushed...
Seed Giveaway Winners
We are pleased to announce the two winners of the Botanical Interests’ Seed Collections! Janiece won the Basic Bounty Veggie Garden Collection. Her favorite vegetable to grow is the Sugar Snap pea. Chris McDiarmid won the Heirloom Tomato Seed Collection. That’s...
Seed Giveaway
Our friends at Botanical Interests have given us two of their seed collections to give away. The Basic Bounty Veggie Garden Seed Collection includes Bean-Bush Blue Lake 274, Corn-Bodacious, Leaf Lettuce-Salad Bowl Blend Organic, Sweet Pepper-Sweet California Wonder...
Sunny Roasted Sweet Potato Hummus
1 cup garbanzo beans, cooked 1 cup roasted mashed sweet potato 2 T. Sesame Seeds, raw, or toasted for different flavor 4 T. Sunflower Seeds, raw, or toasted for different flavor 2-3 cloves chopped garlic ½ - 1 tsp. salt to taste 2-4 T. or juice of 1 lemon 1 tsp....
It’s Wisconsin. It’s March. It’s Summer!
The average March high temperature where I live is 42 degrees. The average minimum is 24, with an average mean temperature of 32 degrees. Today, a high of 82 is predicted. We've had highs of upper 70's to over 80 for the past week. The lows have been just below...
My First Bloom!
After two years in my house, I finally decided it was time to add to the garden collection. So last fall after road crews finished tearing up my street, I took advantage of the bare soil the road crews left by the curb and planted over 400 crocus bulbs. Pictured above...