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Finding Chilis in Mexico City’s Mercado La Merced
Read MoreFinding chili peppers in Mexico City’s largest market was not as easy as I thought. The subway exits right into the sprawling Mercado La Merced. But, instead of stepping into the wealth of tropical fruits and rare peppers I came for, I walked into a city of towering stalls of DVDs (mostly featuring whatever latest […]
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Gardening With Nature: How to Grow a Cover Crop
Read MorePlants greedily soak up soil nutrients, leaving the soil weak and malnourished, that is how we tend to view it. But, look at a natural ecosystem. There are plants that mine nutrients from deep down and bring them to the surface, plants that fix nitrogen, pioneer plants that pave the way for others and a […]
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Compost: The Quick and Dirty Way
Read MoreCompost happens. It doesn’t require a designer bin or an esoteric method. For food to break down you do not need to employ any special algorithms or store-bought “starters.” Compost is decomposition and decomposition is everywhere. The banana peel you threw into the rose bush, the leaves on the forest floor that no one takes […]
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What I’m Reading: Teaming With Microbes
Read MoreThere is a world beneath your feet, or, if you avoid stepping on your garden soil, beneath your hands. Bacteria hide from hungry protozoa in tiny soil pores the protozoa are too large to enter. Fungi trick nematodes by releasing an attractive chemical that draws the nematode near. The fungus then extends a hypa that […]
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10 Easy Edible Plants to Propagate
Read MoreThe only thing better than plants is free plants. If you have a friend who brags about their pomegranate tree’s perfect fruit or how their rosemary bush thrives with no water then take a cutting from their plants to grow your own. Your resulting plant will be genetically identical to the parent. If you are […]
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Free Plants: How to Propagate Plants From Cuttings
Read MoreImagine cutting off a finger, sticking it in some soil and growing a new you from it. Many plants can do exactly that. Seeds are the most common way to propagate plants. Known as sexual propagation, seeds are important because they often contain the genetic makeup of two parents creating genetic diversity. Asexual propagation, on […]
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growing microgreens – how to grow microgreens at home
Read MoreFor this post on growing microgreens, I want to send you to an article I wrote for The Gardening Cook. Follow the link below to learn how to go from seed to salad in only three weeks: Growing Microgreens – How to Grow Microgreens at Home
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Garden Cocktails: The T-Rex (A Kale Cocktail)
Read MoreI once read that the Greeks boiled and ate leafy greens as a cure for drunkenness. I realized kale has not made its way into the cocktail world yet. While a kale cocktail may not cure drunkenness, try mixing up a few of these after your next yoga class. The earthiness of the kale in […]
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How to Successfully Start Seeds Indoors
Read MoreBuying seedlings from nurseries works for the new gardener. But, soon you will be looking for something other than yellow squash and beefsteak tomatoes. You may want to grow Mexican sour gherkins or try a funky vegetable that will get your kids excited about the garden. For these rare plants, you will need to start […]
