Here’s a small collection of my favorite gardening stories and most popular posts. Click on the title to read the full post.
Misadventures in Marriage and Tomatoes
Big, beautiful, heirloom brandywine tomatoes in the hands of danger
After eight months of marriage, my typically flawless husband has finally found my “I-can’t-believe-you-did-that!” button.
The reason behind my recent fury is going to be very difficult for the average person to understand. But if there’s any outlet for me to rant and possibly get a little sympathy from someone other than my mom, it’s going to be here on my garden blog.
He wasn’t out drinking all night. He didn’t wager his paycheck playing online poker. I didn’t find a beef taco under the couch cushion.
It was so much worse.
He gave away… gulp… all our ripe tomatoes!!!
Gardeners Against Grotesque Lawn Ornamentation
My Dear Hoosiers,
This is why you need me.
However pretty your flowers may be, I can think of no circumstances where it's appealing to accent your garden with a used (ewww!) toilet.
I’m here to stage an intervention. You need to hear the truth about your addiction to ornate lawn ornamentation and how this kind of visual pollution is making me feel.
I’m not usually this openly critical, but you need to hear the truth. Ninety-nine percent of your lawn ornaments are ugly, borderline grotesque, and you’re not just hurting yourself, you’re hurting everyone close to you.
Weed-eating. Like, Literally.
There’s one way to get the last word with your stubborn garden weeds. Eat them!
I’m serious. If you’re feeling adventurous (and are confident in your weed ID abilities), I dare you to expand your culinary horizons with some Stinging Nettle Lasagna, Dandelion Fried Rice, Cattail Pollen Pancakes, Japanese Knotweed Sherbet, or some (author-approved) Garlic Mustard Pesto.
Haphazard Experiments with a (Not-Quite-So) Cold Frame
Simple Disclaimer: Under no circumstances should you try this at home. The following experiment is backed by zero research and is being conducted haphazardly by non-professional amateurs. Improper use of this product, or heck, any use at all, may result in catastrophic fire, electrocution, or even death. Please let these foolish kids complete their trial before attempting this yourself.
I left my wildly inventive and resourceful husband alone for an entire day with the task of constructing a simple window-sized cold frame. You’d think I would’ve learned by now that Doug just doesn’t do “simple.”
Let me introduce you to the “The Pod.”
Canning 101: Understanding Pressurecookerphobia
I want to preserve some of my garden harvest using the age-old practice of pressure canning, but I have an issue that I need to work through first.
I equate using a pressure cooker to playing with matches and dynamite… at the same time. I know I’m being slightly irrational, but I’ve been conditioned to believe that at any given second this metal capsule may explode, turning my home into the likes of a war zone, blasting glass shrapnel and tomato innards everywhere.
The Newlyweds Survival Guide to Cooperative Gardening, Part 1 — The Whip and the Leash
Still green, our wedding vows have only ripened for a mere three months as we hereby enter our first growing season as a married couple.
En lieu of pre-marital counseling, my husband and I opted for the much more grueling and revealing task of pre-marital homesteading. During our experiments in the dirt together, Doug and I came to realize one big difference between us. I am a planner. He is a doer. I research every project meticulously and formulate a plan for its precise execution. He dives right into projects, making do with whatever knowledge and materials he has and then learns from his successes and failures.
