By Vanessa Richins

There’s a new style of gardening that is secretly being practiced throughout the country.

Nicknamed “guerrilla gardening”, it is the practice of stealth planting to beautify your community.

Planting in places that don’t belong to you is illegal in many areas (so be careful if you decide to participate and find out the local ordinances!), but that doesn’t stop everyone from trying to make the world a better place through plants. Treehugger.com suggests these three rules to remember:

1) Use only land that is unused or unwanted.

2) Leave the land in better condition than when you found it

3) You’ll Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

Those of us who grow urban gardens do so for a number of reasons.

Saving money on our family food bills is a reason which nearly always comes up in any discussion of urban gardening.

But, is this true? Or is it a myth?

One family decided to test out this hypothesis.

The frugal living blog Get Rich Slowly is conducting a year long experiment to determine whether those growing their own fruits and vegetable will really be ahead in the long run.

The project involves keeping track of Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

This is the first year I have canned.

When I was growing up, late summer and early fall was considered to be canning season, and for weeks the house would smell like sweet blackberry jam, spicy apple butter and my favorite, the spicy sweet smell of my grandmother’s spiced peach recipe.

As an adult I kept intending to learn to can, and never got around to it until this summer, when my interest in buying and using locally grown produce made me decide to just do it.

So, two weeks ago I went out to a local organic farm and bought a large basket of peaches.

I stopped on the way home Read the rest of this entry »

By Cindy Naas

I love this time of year – driving out in the country looking for fresh produce is one of the real pleasures of late summer and early fall.

What I love even more is going to a real old-fashioned farmer’s market.

The variety of produce can be mind-boggling, and when you add in the fresh eggs, homemade pies and bread, organic meats and artisan cheeses, it is a feast for the senses.

The Veggies – A farmer’s market is one place I always look for inspiration for next year’s garden. I always have a little notebook with me, and when I discover a new variety or even kind of fruit or vegetable that I like, I add it to my list of new additions for a future garden.

This year, Read the rest of this entry »

By Vanessa Richins

You had fun growing some herbs in your yard this year, and now you would like to save some for later.

All you need to do is dry them – much cheaper than buying dried herbs at the store. There are five basic methods.

1) Air Drying
This is the most popular method of herb drying. Simply snip off a few stems – approximately 10 or so – and tie them together into a bundle. Cover with a paper bag and hang upside down in a warm, dry place. Make sure they are not in direct sunlight. It takes about 2-4 weeks for the herbs to dry out.

2) Drying Tray
You can make a drying tray by Read the rest of this entry »