It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the amounts of delicious fruits and vegetables a successful #garden can produce or the variety and bounty of the local farmers market. Many #summer #vegetables can go directly on the grill, says Delish, including zucchini, eggplant, green beans, onions and corn. Many popular crops don’t even require heat to create a fresh and healthy meal: Tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce, for example, can be dressed lightly to create a simple salad. Or just rinse that tomato, slice it, and eat it with a little salt and pepper. Store-bought just doesn’t taste the same! #SummerGarden
Tag: healthy foods
How to Organize a Great Garden
Your area has likely seen its final frost, and if you’re anything like the folks at The Organizing Blog, you’re just itching to start a garden — either to take advantage of delicious, healthy fresh produce at low prices or to improve the beauty of your home’s outdoor spaces.
#Organizing your tools and planting supplies is the first step to an #clutter-free garden, says Lovely Greens: “Start sorting your shed, garage and garden of everything that’s standing in the way of the garden you want” by tapping the KonMari method to #declutter and prepare.
Then, visualize your ideal garden. Yours might have rows and rows of tomatoes, peppers and other crops, it might have rose bushes and ivy, or it might have an assortment of native perennials that flower and pop throughout the year.
Consider the site, Almanac says. Sunny spots work better for the majority of crops and plants (many vegetables benefit from six to eight hours of daylight every day), but you have options for shaded areas, too. Sketch out the plots on a sheet of paper or try a garden planning app.
Dedicate beds to “families” of crops. Alliums (chive, garlic, leeks, onions, etc.) can go in a bed together; squashes, melons and cucumbers in another. Remember that some plants may need support structures or protection against pests and include those in your plan.
Now for the fun part: Pick out what you want to plant. In a food-oriented garden, that means crops you’ll use and enjoy. Whatever you grow will taste better than the commercially grown, store-bought version, but there’s no reason to grow cilantro if you think it tastes like soap.
In a flower garden, that means designing for visual impact, varying heights and colors to lend visual interest throughout the year. Fill in those empty-looking spaces but don’t crowd plants and give your garden some height by mixing low-lying plants with taller varieties.
Pay special attention to perennials whether you’re planning a vegetable or flower garden. These plants need a dedicated space where they can thrive with routine maintenance year after year; get their placement right the first time.
A well #organized garden can provide higher yields and greater visual impact. Before you start digging, have a plan in mind — and you’ll soon enjoy the fruits of your labor on the table and around the house.
Enjoying the Bounty of a Summer Garden
For many people, there’s nothing like growing your own food. It’s healthy, cost-effective, #sustainable and above all, delicious! And if you followed some of The Organizing Blog’s previous #gardening tips, you’re probably drowning in fresh summer produce right now.
What to do with all of those garden-fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, melons, peaches and other delicacies is the question. If you’re anything like us, you planted with abandon eight to 10 weeks ago, and now must do whatever you can to make the most of that fresh produce.
One way is to share some of that bounty with friends, family and neighbors who don’t have the same amount or variety of produce. Whether they have the space or the ambition to grow their own fresh food or not, nobody is going to turn their nose up at a ripe heirloom tomato.
Another way to take advantage of summer’s bounty is to try a new recipe (or several). Base your meal plan on whatever produce you have in abundance, and you may wind up discovering a dish that you can revisit again even in the off-season.
Speaking of the off-season, there are plenty of ways to keep and store some of that produce for cloudier and colder days. Too many tomatoes? Make and freeze some marinara for a lasagna. Got lots of corn? Cut it off the cob and freeze the kernels in bagged portions for anytime use.
Many summer fruits and vegetables can be processed, portioned and frozen quickly for later use including peaches, plums, watermelon and peppers. Got bumper crop of basil? Make pesto ice cubes and pull one out any time you need to flavor a pasta or meat dish.
Freezing summer produce can make it last up to six months, but if you really want to put things up like the pioneers, try your hand at home canning. It’s simpler than it sounds, and you can make tons of sauces, pickles and jams that you can tap into for months — or give as gifts.
Even if you didn’t grow your own fruits and vegetables this year, don’t let summer’s bounty go to waste. Visit a local farmers market to get some of the freshest, healthiest foods you’ll taste all year. (And get enough to share!)
Gardening Season Begins Now
In places with four relatively distinct seasons, most people treat gardening as a warm-weather pastime that creates beauty around the home and abundance on the table. And with Mother’s Day in the rearview mirror, now’s the time to start if you haven’t already.
Avid gardeners have been planning for months, cultivating seeds indoors, prepping their tools and so on. But those who are late to the game can still get plants into the ground and experience satisfaction of growing their own flowers and vegetables.
The first step is to know your location’s plant hardiness zone at USDA’s site. This will help you determine the optimal times to plant, as well as inform any decisions on about which trees, flowers and crops grow best in your area.
Pretty much everything is fair game for planting at this point in the season, though gardeners in the northernmost reaches of the country — Zones 3 and 4 — may need to wait until the end of the month to allow the soil to warm sufficiently and protect against a final frost.
Early-season crops such as radishes, spinach, onions, lettuce, cabbage, beets, peas and carrots can go in immediately. Depending on location, seedling tomatoes, squash, eggplant, peppers, sweet corn, cucumbers, potatoes, and herbs can be transplanted.
Continue planting warm-weather crops such as flowers and vegetables into June. Once seedlings are established, mulch to keep weeds at bay. Have stakes, cages or trellises ready for plants that climb or weigh themselves down with fruit, like tomatoes.
From here on out, maintenance is the name of the game. Keep your plants watered and fed with compost; weed if necessary. Deadhead annual flowers to keep them blooming. When vegetables mature, harvest in the early morning or evening when plants are least stressed.
Any foods you grow yourself will be healthier and more flavorful than what you buy in the store; they may even spur you to try a new recipe. And those flowers and shrubs will beautify your place and enhance your mood. Enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor!
Phil Says: Eat Healthy, Lose Winter Weight
Punxsutawney Phil here! It’s a busy week for me, but the kind folks at ClothingDonations.org have asked me to #chuck a few of my #healthy #hibernation habits with readers. First, let’s talk about nutrition — healthy eating is a must if you plan to spend more time indoors. As a vegetarian, I gorge myself on grasses, berries and tree bark in preparation for winter, when I can lose up to a quarter of my body weight. You may have bulked up during the holidays, so now’s the time to introduce more unprocessed foods — especially fruits and vegetables — into your diet in order to get into shape for spring (and the television cameras). Shameless plug: Remember to livestream my prediction tomorrow morning at VisitPA.com!