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jillbcooks 8/17/2010 11:56:00 AM
As I blogged about earlier in the spring, I was gangbusters about starting a vegetable garden in our backyard. I blogged about raising the plants from seeds, and we ended up with many, many happy little seedlings that we transplanted into raised beds we had prepared.
Flash forward several weeks: I had a veritable jungle of plants jumbled and twisted together, fighting bravely for sunlight in my tiny raised beds of good intention.
It was inevitable. I would have to wear long sleeves, pants and gloves and just hack away at what was there in an attempt to save some plants and sacrifice others. I learned the hard way that I should have taken thinning the seedl...
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gardening, Minnesota, tomatoes, mistake, fried green tomatoes, garden
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jillbcooks 5/26/2010 7:03:00 PM
I am getting excited to see the beginnings of plants sprout in my garden beds. One of the reasons that I am so excited is that I started and used some heirloom vegetable seeds. “Heirloom” as it applies to seeds or plants just means growing varieties that have been grown at earlier times, basically “old fashioned” varieties that have gone out of fashion, perhaps because they require extra tending or are not so pretty.
I like to cook with heirloom fruits and vegetables because they are so different looking. If you’ve ever seen some heirloom tomatoes, they can be deep purple, pink, and even striped. Here is a picture of a wa...
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gardening, salad, vegetables, heirloom tomatoes, watermelon, tomato
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jillbcooks 4/6/2010 5:43:00 PM
A friend of mine, Alice, just mentioned that she is planning her daughter’s birthday party. Her daughter, Olivia, is turning six in a couple weeks. They have done bear-building, moon-bouncing and pizza making. Alice wants to create a special and memorable party for Olivia, but doesn’t want to spend a lot. We got to talking and came up with a really fun idea—a gardening party.
The kids are going to plant tomato and pepper seeds in cups to take home (which can be planted outside in a few weeks).
Alice found some tiny herb kits in the dollar bin at a craft store, so they are going to pot those too.
They are going to ...
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gardening, worms and dirt cupcakes, bithday party, theme
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jillbcooks 2/19/2010 6:15:00 PM
Tomorrow I am headed to a garden and patio show at the civic arena in St. Paul. I have decided that this week I am going to plan out what I want in the way of garden plants and flowers this year.
I only had a few plants last year, since we moved into our new house in mid-summer, really past the time when I could put plants in the ground and successfully gather a harvest.
I am hoping to create a raised vegetable garden this year. I would rather construct than dig, and this will allow me to control the soil that I grow in. You never do quite know what lurks around neighborhoods ...
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gardening, heirloom tomatoes, tomatoes, raised beds
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jillbcooks 7/28/2009 5:57:00 PM
Have you heard of NEAT? It is the non-exercise exercise that can apparently make the difference between being lean and being plump. NEAT stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis, which is a long way to say all calorie burning activity other than exercise. So, NEAT involves any movement like pacing, fidgeting, climbing stairs and even yard work. To me, it sounds like a good way to make sure I can enjoy life's extras like a cupcake or slice of pie.
I’m trying to use the concept of NEAT to embrace yard work. My husband and I recently purchased a home. We’...
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gardening, NEAT, exercise, calories
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Heidi at Betty Crocker 5/11/2009 11:07:00 AM
I’ve been hearing and reading a lot about Victory gardens these days. Times are tough and it makes a lot of sense to grow your own vegetables, fruits and herbs. According to Wickipedia:
“Victory gardens, also called war gardens or food gardens for defense, were vegetable, fruit and herb gardens planted at private residences in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Germany during World War I and World War II to reduce the pressure on the public food supply brought on by the war effort. In addition to indirectly aiding the war effort these gardens were also considered a ci...
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gardening, vegetables
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jillbcooks 1/15/2009 10:40:00 AM
Here in bone-chilling Minnesota, my thoughts are already turning to warmer weather and all the fruits and vegetables I look forward to growing. I have wonderful memories of my grandparents’ garden plot, which was quite large and yielded everything from beans to squash to potatoes and more. Their plot was quite large and my grandfather even built some raised wooden platforms and walkways. That is definitely too much for me to contend with, so I keep my gardening in pots. People don’t realize it, but you can grow bunches of carrots and even potatoes in containers on tiny condo patios, and it all starts by starting seedlings long before the spring sun arrives.
...
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gardening, pasta salad, winter
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Heidi at Betty Crocker 6/18/2008 4:12:00 PM
It’s a beautiful day here in Minnesota. I’m looking forward to getting home and working in my garden. I hope to dig up and divide some daylilies. I only grow flowers. I never had much luck with vegetables. I usually lost my tomatoes to ...
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Farmers' Markets, gardening, vegetables
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