Tag Archives: gardening

In Kenya and Tanzania, kale is a key staple in highland farming communities, where it is referred to as sukuma wiki, which in Swahili means “to push the week.” Eaten with a thick, maize-based porridge called ugali, kale is what allows many East African families to get through the week, often with little more than a sprinkling of tomato, onion, …

Drying herbs is an economically savvy food preservation strategy, because fresh and dried herbs and teas demand high prices at the grocery store. Dehydrating is an easy method to preserve food. Your own dried herbs will taste better than store-bought because they’ll be newer and thus more pungent. If you grow your own herbs, you can also choose the tastiest …

Have you heard the stories of a ‘wonder-vegetable’ that is easy to grow, delicious, and extraordinary healthy? It may sound too good to be true, but humans have actually been eating it for thousands of years. Meet Nero di Toscana, a legendary variety of kale. Nero di Toscana is a plant of many names, including Black Cabbage and Dinosaur Kale. Originally cultivated by the …

The culinary use of flowers dates back thousands of years to the Chinese, Greek and Romans. Many cultures use flowers in their traditional cooking — think of squash blossoms in Italian food and rose petals in Indian food. Adding flowers to your food can be a nice way to add color, flavor and a little whimsy. Some are spicy, and …

Herb spiral is a clever gardening idea. Attractive and functional at the same time! A spiral-shaped garden accommodates plants that need a variety of growing conditions thanks to its multiple levels. Here are some benefits of herb spiral: Can be built at a little cost Suits for limited amount of space in the garden Creates micro-climates on different levels of the …

Advice to make your compost making a success. Autumn leaves These can be added to your compost heap but the best use of them is to make leafmould. Stuff wet leaves into black plastic sacks (loosely tied), or an open wire mesh container. The resulting leafmould is ready to use after a year or two. Grass mowings Mix well with …

Growing Beautiful Food: A Gardener’s Guide to Cultivating Extraordinary Vegetables and Fruit Hardcover – March 31, 2015 Author Matthew Benson writes that beauty inspires behavior, and he believes that we can and will eat better, be healthier, and live more sustainably when we grow food that’s visually enticing. Growing Beautiful Food is both inspiration and instruction, with detailed growing advice …

The Arche Noah Seed Bank is one of Europe’s biggest private collections of cultivated plants, maintaining over 6,000 varieties of rare vegetables and grains – many of them are not found anywhere else. Hundreds of members of Arche Noah act as private “seed savers” by cultivating endangered varieties in their home gardens and taking permanent care of them. They provide …

Kokopelli is a non-profit association founded in 1999 by Dominique and Sofy Guillet. The association’s activists work for the liberation of seeds and humus, and the protection of food biodiversity. They bring together all those who wish to preserve the right to freely sow vegetable and cereal seeds. Kokopelli is represented in Belgium, Switzerland, Costa Rica, and Brazil.

Gardening editor Jane Perrone picks the gardening books that should be on your Christmas list. A good book is a vital part of the gardener’s winter survival kit: when you can’t get outside, you can dream big about next year, lose yourself in someone else’s plot or discover new plants from the comfort of your reading chair. Here’s a selection …