Learn how to grow your own peanuts at home – it’s fun and easy! This guide covers the basics of growing peanuts from start to finish: preparing the soil, planting, caring for, harvesting, and curing. About Peanuts Peanuts! Lovely, lovely peanuts. Where would we be without peanut butter, or peanut brittle, or all those other…
After you’ve grown your own peanuts, try turning them into homemade peanut butter! Our version is naturally sweetened with a touch of maple syrup, with a pinch of sea salt added for flavor. Don’t have homegrown peanuts? No problem – you can make this recipe with store-bought too. Preparing Homegrown Peanuts Start by shelling your…
Growing pansies and violas from seed isn’t difficult to do and will reward you with masses of uniquely colored flowers to enjoy! Pansies and violas, the sweet little darlings of the garden! These small, cold-hardy flowers are always met with delight when they first show up in garden centers in early spring, all bright blooms…
Learn why currant tomatoes are an excellent addition to your garden and how to grow them! We’ll also focus on two varieties of currant tomatoes- Gold Rush Currant and Sweet Pea Currant. Both tomatoes are grown and cared for in the same way. About Currant Tomatoes These bright, pea-sized heirloom delights look similar to currants…
Learn how to choose the perfect pumpkin for pie-making, plus how to make, store, and freeze pumpkin puree! Choosing a pumpkin No matter if you’re buying a pumpkin or growing it yourself, you’ll want to make sure you’ve got the right kind before you turn it into pie! The sort of pumpkin you’d pick out…
Make a delicious jam using fresh or frozen maypop fruit! It tastes light, tangy, and tropical, and can be stored in your freezer. (No canning required!) Identifying Maypops Maypops are the green, egg-shaped fruits produced by our native passionflower (passiflora incarnata). Be sure to check out our article: Growing & Foraging Passionflower & Maypops to…
This spicy pain salve recipe features pain-blocking cayenne, warming ginger, plus herbs to help your aches and pains. Spicy Salve is pretty much the most popular and oft-reached-for salve in our house. We especially love using it on sore muscles and back aches, leg aches from working at a computer for too long, or any…
Autumn olive (Elaeagnus umbellata), sometimes called Autumnberry, is an invasive shrub that produces loads of tangy but tasty berries each fall. When perfectly ripe, we like to eat them right off of the bush (you can chew the seeds or spit them out) and turn them into a delicious seasonal jelly. In this article, we’ll…
Learn how to make delicious autumn olive jelly! The flavor is unique and hard to describe, but we think it tastes somewhat like peach or apricot, with a hint of cherry. Around here, we have acres of invasive plants, including autumn olive, kudzu, Japanese knotweed, oriental bittersweet, and more. It’s a constant effort to keep…
You know that little bottle of paprika powder sitting in your spice cabinet right now? You can grow paprika peppers right in your own garden, and make your own! Growing Paprika Peppers First, you’ll need to grow some peppers. You will want to buy actual paprika pepper seeds to grow for this – look for…
Learn how to identify and forage for jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), then how to use it to make a soothing poison ivy salve, and a jewelweed itch remedy with apple cider vinegar. Jewelweed’s always a fun plant to go hunting for! Loved by children for the explosion of seeds that burst forth at the gentlest contact…
This oven roasted tomato sauce is so flavorful and super simple to make! It’s pretty much the easiest homemade tomato sauce you’ll ever make! No boiling, peeling, or canning involved! You can use any type of tomato, from cherry, to roma, to beefsteak, or a mixture of all kinds. We’ve been enjoying this sauce using…