As you may have guessed from my recent do-it-yourself feature, I have a lot of jalapenos to process. I used the USDA canning recipe book to calculate how many I would want to pickle and can to last me a year, plus I wanted to ferment slices and salsa and incorporate those into tomato ...
Over the last few summers, I’ve seen huge wasps. They haven’t obliged in holding still long enough for me to measure them, but I’d estimate their length close to two inches. Their yellow and black coloring and shape make them look like super-sized yellow jackets. I’ve only seen ...
A few years ago, I planted hops — one pot that my father had bought and delayed planting and another from a friend who grows hops. They grew each year, but matured enough to set cones only this year. I don’t expect a massive harvest, but should have at least a few handfuls of cones ...
Lately, a shrub that grows in the woods around my house has been catching my eye. The same shrub got my attention late in the fall last year. The plant in question — witch hazel. Its current eye-catching feature is seedpods clustered along slender branches. Last fall I noticed the ...
This week, I am preparing for Thanksgiving dinner. The traditional dish I’m working on is the tart sauce. I’ve never grown cranberries; instead I’m harvesting autumn olives to cook with apples as a substitute for cranberry sauce. The mix of apple sauce and these small sour berries is ...
Unfortunately, my love of plants does not always result in good gardening. Last year as the weather got cold, I brought my plants in from the porch — where they had thrived through the summer without much care from me. For the first couple of winter months I took pretty good care of ...