On the counter or in the fridge? This is what you need to know about keeping your chickens' eggs before it's time time to eat them.
This weekend, I took a page from the book those hearty Scandinavians, who do winter with such flair. Delicious, open-faced smorgasbord sandwiches paired with hot soup was the lunch that welcomed us inside after clearing the latest snow from the walks and parking spots around our house. This style of sandwich is often artfully […]
The early days of spring, when the weather is still cool, is when you need to get easy-to-grow peas in the ground.
If you want backyard chickens, you can order them online or find them locally through these several sources.
I never tire of soup this time of year, but adding a new one to the mix keeps things exciting. Winter is crabmeat season—at least at my house!—and I still had a handful of carrots and parsnips leftover from the fall harvest, so I merged them together in this glorious soup recipe. This soup stimulates […]
If you aren’t already in the habit of recording your garden happenings, resolve to start a garden this year to help you with planning and make you a successful gardener.
Our backyard chickens usually produce an inconsistent product. Their eggs vary in shape, size and color, mostly because we collect a variety of breeds based on their coloring, lace, combs, cold hardiness, heat tolerance, egg colors and sizes—whatever tickles our fancy, really. Whether or not we realize it, those of us with many different breeds […]
Generally I swap soup for salad in the depth of winter, but I still have access to heartier salad greens grown in area hoop houses. To adhere to January’s calorie-cutback resolutions, I just have to include some salads into my daily meals. The combination of squash, winter radish and spinach not only tastes wonderful, it […]
When we found evidence of a secret garden visitor munching on our homegrown tomatoes, we turned to the locals to fill us in on the details.
Have you ever found little mouse droppings peppered throughout your coop bedding—black oval pellets about the size of a grain of rice? Evidence of rodents in your chicken coop can be unnerving, but it’s important to recognize that winter is a hungry time for wild animals. The reward of a warm bed and a full […]
Citrus abounds in winter. Fragrant Meyer lemons weigh down California trees, and tangerines and grapefruits swell in Florida’s groves this time of year. Even if they aren’t local in your area, they are some of the freshest fruits available on grocery store shelves. I used a variety of citrus treasures in place of tomatoes to […]
If the leaves on your tomato plants are looking rather sparse, the work of a noshing tomato or tobacco hornworm is likely to blame.
