Grow your own American ginseng from seeds (or rootlets). Learn where to buy seed, how to choose the best spots for planting, how to identify baby ginseng plants, and more! American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) is a valuable native plant that’s been used in herbal medicine throughout history. Because of its monetary value (mature roots sell…
Have you thought about saving your own tomato seeds, but got driven off by instructions saying that you need to ferment them in a jar first? Then this guide was written for you! Let’s be honest- fermentation can be intimidating, or sometimes, you just don’t really want to deal with a smelly cup of tomato…
Learn how to forage goldenrod – a native pollinator plant with herbal uses! You’ll also learn how to tell it apart from ragweed and other plants that bloom at the same time, plus tips on how to use it. Goldenrod (Solidago spp) is a bright yellow flowering plant that blooms in late summer and early…
Learn how to turn ripe cayenne peppers from your garden into cayenne powder and red pepper flakes. It’s super easy to make your own healthy and wholesome kitchen spices! Related articles: Grow & Make Your Own Paprika Powder and How to Make Celery Salt When to harvest your cayenne peppers: Harvest cayenne peppers when they’re…
This recipe for yellow squash patties is quick, easy, and delicious. They’re also super simple to make gluten free! A family favorite, this recipe comes straight from our late Grandma Tiny’s recipe collection. Our grandpa grew a ton of vegetables in his home gardens, and as a child of the Great Depression, Grandma let nothing…
Learn how to make traditional corn cob jelly, with a naturally colorful twist! This stunning scarlet jelly features Double Red, an heirloom sweet corn that’s loaded with anthocyanins – antioxidant rich plant pigments, similar to the ones found in blueberries. This year we grew a small test patch of Double Red heirloom sweet corn and…
Now that you’ve grown some beautiful puma peppers, you can use them to make hot sauce! Puma hot peppers can be used to replace habaneros in most any recipe, keeping in mind that pumas tend to be a bit hotter than habaneros, so the finished product may be spicier. This sauce was created to be…
The stunning puma pepper is not only scorching hot at 300,000-400,000 Scoville units, but also pretty enough that you could use it as an ornamental plant in the front garden bed! About Puma Hot Peppers: Dark deep purple foliage and flushing on the fruits make this dramatic plant stand out among pepper varieties. Like other…
Learn how to freeze fresh berries, their expected shelf life, and what to expect when using them from the freezer. We’ll cover: alpine strawberries, blackberries, boysenberries, blueberries, elderberries, raspberries, and strawberries! 7 Berries to Freeze Berry season has arrived, and so the harvests begin! There are few things better than a bright bowl of your…
Spotted bee balm (Monarda punctata) is a stellar pollinator plant in the mint family which attracts all kinds of native bees and butterflies to your garden. As a bonus, the plant has use as an edible herbal too! At a Glance: How to Grow Like other bee balms, spotted bee balm is super easy to…
Learn how to turn black pansy flowers into a beautiful jelly. The flavor is light and mildly grape-like! (You can also use this same recipe with any other kind and color of pansy flowers!) Black pansy flowers are just like other pansies, only they’re a very dark purple – so dark that they can appear…
Learn how to grow Orange Hat – a dwarf tomato that’s perfectly sized for growing in pots and in small spaces! Why is this plant interesting? Orange Hat is a super-small dwarf bush tomato: so small, it will happily produce an astonishing amount of small, delicious tomatoes in a six-inch pot on a windowsill! This…