Gardening

A couple of weeks ago I was chatting with a woman whose house burned down over a year ago. She lost everything, but when she went back last spring to survey the damage, she saw that her asparagus was coming up as if nothing had …

The changing seasons conjure images of yearly traditions like holidays, social events and seasonal food. For me, spring and green go together. The color green (as new plants emergy), and edible greens. Citrus fruits aren’t at their peak quality anymore. It’s too early for summer …

This year I tried growing corn. The plan was to mimic a traditional Native American technique of companion planting: corn + beans + squash. Beans are nitrogen-fixing plants and corn needs nitrogen, so it’s a good combination. We intermingled the corn and pole (climbing) beans …

I know it’s fashionable to joke about zucchini. In late summer. Everyone with a garden is trying to give them away. Or throwing them on the compost pile. At this moment, there are several very sizable zucchinis on my compost pile. Pick them small The …

Protein intake might be the first thing on a person’s mind when switching to a mostly meatless diet. It’s a valid concern, particularly for older people. I’m a big advocate of real food, so I love to talk about plant foods that boost protein intake. …

Do you remember when fresh fruit was seasonal? Apples in fall; peaches, melons and plums in late summer; oranges and grapefruit in winter; strawberries in late spring/early summer. Now the average grocery store sells all fresh fruit all year long. When I was a kid, …