Seed Sources: Mother Earth News Seed Finder - a search tool to find the seeds you want. Adaptive Seeds - Northwest adapted seeds, also great for coastal California Artisan Seeds - The online seed store for Baia Nicchia Farm in Sunol, CA. Farm bred tomatoes and landrace varieties a few select vegetables. Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds Cross Country Nurseries - Live chile plants by mail. Some seeds offered too. Evergreen Seeds - Asian vegetable seeds Fedco Seeds - Untreated, no GMO, lots of open pollinated and organic seeds Filaree Farm - garlic, garlic, garlic! Johnny's Selected Seeds - The only place to buy seeds for Calvin's Peas and other good things too. Kitazawa Seeds - Asian vegetable seeds Native Seeds/SEARCH - Heirloom seeds native to southwestern US and northwestern Mexico. Beautiful corn! Peace Seedlings - open pollinated seeds, the site is only up for part of the year Pinetree Garden Seeds Redwood City Seed - If you like your peppers hot then this is your place, plus lots of OP and GMO free seeds of other vegetables Renee's Garden - a wonderful selection of vegetables, herbs and flower for home gardeners, widely available on local seed racks Seed Savers Exchange - heirloom seeds available to all gardeners Seeds From Italy - Italian seeds, mostly from Franchi Southern Exposure Seed Exchange - Lots of heirloom and open pollinated seeds SSE Yearbook Listings - seeds available to SSE members only Sustainable Seeds - lots of local grown heirloom and OP seeds from Northern California, available to all Territorial Seed - Many cool climate adapted varieties. Tomatofest - Heirloom and OP tomato seeds Wild Garden Seed - Organic farm original varieties of lettuce (so many!), greens, herbs, veggies, and flowers. Dripworks - all things irrigation Other Links: BugGuide.Net - Lots of photos of bugs, a great ID resource Calflora - Search for Plants - Plants growing in California, lots of photos California Gardening - Home Page - UC Cooperative Extension info for home gardeners California Herps - A guide to reptiles and amphibians in California. California Master Gardener County Links - websites for Calif. Master Gardener programs California Rare Fruit Growers - how to grow lots of unusual fruits in California CalPhotos - photos of plants, animals, and much more San Francisco Botanical Garden - aka Strybing Arboretum UC IPM Online - University of California pest information. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service - Soil Biology Primer - Excellent lesson in soil biology. USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education - A website loaded with sustainable farming information. Much of the information is useful to home gardeners also. I found their book about Cover Crops to be particularly informative. Some of my favorite gardening books: 100 Vegetables and Where They Came From by William Woys Weaver - Interesting and often hard to find vegetables. I'm up to 21 of the 100. American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation - How to propagate almost any plant. American Horticultural Society Pruning and Training - How to prune or train almost any plant. California Master Gardener Handbook - The textbook for California Master Gardeners, available to every gardener. Golden Gate Gardening by Pam Peirce - THE vegetable gardening resource for SF Bay Area and Central Coast gardeners Heirloom Vegetable Gardening by William Woys Weaver - The book about heirloom vegetable gardening and unfortunately out of print (why?). There's a new edition! Oriental Vegetables by Joy Larkcom - How to grow and use just about any Asian vegetable. Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth - How to save the seeds of just about any vegetable. Sunset Western Garden Book - The gardening bible for gardeners in the Western US. The Gardener's Table by Richard Merrill and Joe Ortiz - Lots of good info about growing and cooking vegetables. The Kitchen Garden by Sylvia Thompson - How to grow most vegetables. The Seed Garden - The Art & Practice Of Seed Saving - From the Seed Savers Exchange A few favorite cookbooks out of my collection of nearly 400: Most of these books have a lot of recipes that utilize fresh vegetables and since I tend to be an unfussy cook the recipes tend to be rustic, straightforward, and of course flavorful. My cooking and eating preferences run to Mediterranean cuisines so you will find mostly that here. Chez Panisse Fruit by Alice Waters Chez Panisse Vegetables by Alice Waters From Tapas to Meze by Joanne Weir - Mediterranean small plates. Herbal Kitchen: Cooking With Fragrance and Flavor by Jerry Traunfeld Honey From a Weed by Patience Gray - A wonderful read about living and eating in the Mediterranean. Italy in Small Bites by Carol Field - Italian small plates. La Cocina de Mama by Penelope Casas - Spanish home cooking. On Vegetables by Jeremy Fox Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi Plenty More by Ottolenghi Provence: The Beautiful Cookbook by Richard Olney and Jacques Gantie - The vegetable section in this book is well thumbed and splattered. Red, White and Greens by Faith Willinger - An Italian way with vegetables. Roger Verge's Vegetables in the French Style Six Seasons, A New Way With Vegetables by Joshua McFadden with Martha Holmberg Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin - This one has been coming off the shelf a lot recently for its seasonal and sensational recipes. The A.O.C. Cookbook by Suzanne Goin - More seasonal goodness from Suzanne The Food of Southern Italy by Carlo Middione - One of my first Italian cookbooks and still a favorite. The Herbfarm Cookbook by Jerry Traunfeld - How to cook with herbs. The Italian Country Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper - Rustic Italian cooking. The Rose Pistola Cookbook by Reed Hearon and Peggy Knickerbocker - The book that taught me how to make my favorite pizza crust. The Savory Way by Deborah Madison - Flavorful vegetarian cooking. The Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers - Fresh seasonal ingredients and careful preparation are the hallmark of the food at Zuni Cafe, do dine there if you visit San Francisco. Tuscany: The Beautiful Cookbook by Lorenza De'Medici - Lots of beautiful photos and great recipes too. Vegetables From an Italian Garden: Season by Season Recipes - from Phaidon Press Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Madison Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison - How to cook just about any vegetable from the garden and then some. Verdura: Vegetables Italian Style by Viana La Place You Say Tomato by Joanne Weir

This article reviews perennial staple crops, a little-known group of species with tremendous potential to address world problems. Ricardo Romero of Las Cañadas in perennial staple food forest featurin

Seeds for People Passionate about Chili Peppers

Calendula is one of the easiest herbs to grow and a highly versatile medicinal plant. Learn how to grow calendula and use its medicine.

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Kevin is an award-winning food, garden and lifestyle guru who lives in New York's Hudson Valley. He spends his days working in his garden and cooking delicious food.

The original brick and log farmhouse at Grange Hollow dates from 1875. While the rolling hills of the surrounding countryside are picturesque, it is not in the most hospitable of places for farming. Winters in Grey County, Ontario can be as long and as they are cold. And as well as an unforgiving climate, the farm's extensive series of low stone fences bear witness to the less than ideal nature of the land itself. Under a scant covering of soil, there is gravel and limestone with pockets of clay. Looking toward the house from the shade garden in the shadow of one of the barns. A whimsical arbour in the vegetable garden. Cleome in the Butterfly Garden Looking toward the farm's barns. Colorful pots filled with annuals on the front porch of the house. "This would not have been a prosperous farm," says owner Katherine Taylor. By the time the Taylors bought the farm in 1972, there was little of the two-acre property under cultivation. There were no gardens and not even a lawn. The only sign that this was once a farm was an ageing orchard, a little bit of rhubarb, some currants and a single lilac bush. But in this most unlikely of places, the Taylors saw potential. "We began by planting 10,000 white pine to the north and erecting rail fencing to keep our livestock from peering in the windows," says Katherine with a smile. Mountain Fleeceflower, Persicaria (red flower), Brown-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia triloba (yellow flowers in the centre) and Giant Fleece Flower, Persicaria polymorpha (top right). Mountain Fleeceflower, Persicaria and Brown-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia triloba "Using a pick-axe, shovel, mulch and a lot of sweat, we started building gardens. The first project, the vegetable garden, was the most important," Katherine says. Providing fresh and healthy home-grown vegetables for the family was a priority. After a number of years of hard work, the farm began to take shape. As Katherine's experience with growing plants in a difficult climate and soil increased, the number of perennial gardens on the farm expanded. Starting a few plants from seed quickly grew into starting a few thousand plants for sale at local farmer's markets. Asparagus on the right and kale on the left with Verbena bonariensis in the foreground. Kale growing in the vegetable garden. The nursery that eventually evolved is a family business. Daughter Sarah, who grew up playing in the dirt, is now herself an enthusiastic gardener. Brian, her partner, is the newest member of the team and helps Sarah with the farmer's markets every weekend. Visitors to the Grange Hollow Nursery are welcome to stroll around the property and find ideas in the many display gardens. My husband and I visited on a warm, overcast day in late August. One of my favourite parts of the garden was the small terrace known as the "Checkerboard Garden". In it, I saw a great idea I'd like to replicate in my own garden. Birds, insects, butterflies and other creatures often come and go in a garden unobserved. This is a bit of a shame. One of the most rewarding things about gardening is reconnecting with nature. What better way to observe the creatures that share our outdoor spaces than to place a couple of chairs in front of a planting designed specifically to attract them? Imagine sitting here with a cold drink on a hot day and watching the bees, the birds and the butterflies. It would be your own personal wildlife theatre! "My partner Brian is a photographer, and often sets up on the patio and waits for the butterflies, bees, hummingbirds and hummingbird moths to come to him," says Sarah, "There are also bird feeders which attract a huge number of songbirds. It is fun to watch from indoors, especially in winter, when we have more time." "The songbirds, in turn, attract Cooper's and Sharp-shinned hawks, and the odd Northern Shrike. Also popular is the cement birdbath (with a heater in winter). Birds are hilarious when bathing. Other garden regulars include rabbits, red and black squirrels, chipmunks, racoons and the occasional skunk or deer. The wild turkeys have not been brave enough to come to the feeders (though they do at my house and consume birdseed at an alarming rate)." "During the warmer months, we have feeders out for the ruby-throated hummingbirds and Orioles, and the birdhouses are occupied by chickadees, wrens, bluebirds and tree swallow. Really, we should count the number of bird species which have turned up in the yard! It is a busy place!" 1. Thyme 2. Sedum 'Dazzleberry' 3. Yellow Moonflower, Oenothera acaulis var aurea 4. Barberry 5. Sunflower 6. Heliopsis helianthoides 7. Hydrangea paniculata 'Pink Diamond' "The patio does get very hot in summer as it is on the south side of the house, and so we have tried a few different ground covers over the years," continues Sarah, "Some of the original plants that have done very well include the thymes ('Minus', 'Orange', and 'Magic Carpet'), and the sedums (Sedum floriferum 'Weihenstephaner Gold' and Sedum album), as well as Campanula poscharskyana and Potentilla neumanniana 'Nana'. "The hydrangea is a paniculata cultivar called 'Pink Diamond'. Verbena bonariensis has seeded itself everywhere (it has been planted in the gardens numerous times but really loves the patio best). This plant is a pollinator magnet." Verbena bonariensis Here are a few ideas to help you create a wildlife theatre in your own garden: • Plant for continuous bloom, so there is always a source of nectar in your garden. • Provide a source of fresh water for insects and birds. At Grange Hollow, there is a birdbath with a heater in the winter months. • Butterflies don't like to take fight the wind, so it is also a good idea to choose a sheltered site or create some shelter, as the Taylor's have done at Grange Hollow, by planting some small trees and shrubs. • Butterflies prefer to feed in the sun, so locate your garden accordingly. • Don't be too tidy. Allow plants, like sunflowers, to go to seed. The seeds will provide an important food source for birds in the fall and winter. • You need not feel you have to provide an all-you-can-eat buffet, but be willing to share your garden knowing that some plants will be nibbled by creatures that visit. • Swear-off using all insecticides. They are lethal to butterflies, bees and other insects. Plants that attract Hummingbirds: • Columbine • Bee Balm, Monarda • Cardinal Flower, Lobelia • Penstemon • Hybiscus • Coral Bells, Heuchera • Foxglove Plants that attract Hummingbird Moths: • Lilac • Bee Balm, Monarda • Thistle, Stachys • Phlox • Nicotiana • Butterfly bush, Buddleia • Red Valerian Plants that Attract Butterflies: • Joe Pye Weed, Eupatorium • PeeGee Hydrangea • Russian Sage, Perovskia • Goldenrod • Bee Balm, Monarda • Zinnia • Aster • Sunflower • Coneflower, Echinacea • Verbena bonariensis • Ironweed, Vernonia • Butterfly Weed, Asclepias tuberosa • Sweet Rocket • Sweet William • Alyssum • Yarrow • Sweet Woodruff Hydrangea paniculata 'Pink Diamond' There is more to see of the Grange Hollow Nursery in part 2. More Information and Links: Grange Hollow Nursery is located in picturesque Grey Bruce County just south of Owen Sound. The nursery offers an extensive collection of hardy perennials, annual flowers, herbs, heirloom tomatoes and a wide range of vegetable transplants. For hours and directions to the nursery, please click the link.

HOW EMBARRASSING TO BE ratted out to the authorities by your feline roommate, but that's what's happened one January: Jack the Demon Cat couldn't stand

Please visit my garden in photographs taken through the near-20 years of making this place–an island in a river in New Jersey. Altogether, the property is about 4-1/2 acres–half of which is in cult…

Ferrocement (sometimes called thin-shell cement) is a construction technique where cement is thinly applied to a sturdy steel or wire frame. It is very

Curtis's Botanical Magazine, that wonderful source of botanical information presented in marvellous style, gives a description in 1847 of 'Anigozanthos fuliginosa'. It is already then remarked that this Black Kangaroo Paw is quite different from the other kinds of Anigozanthos (and later it received its own particular name: Macropidia fuliginosa, Sooty Bigfoot, I would say...). Curtis's quotes from a recent letter received by the London Journal of Botany from James Drummond (1786/7-1863), the official botanist of the Swan River Colony (today called Perth): 'By a ship now about to sail, I send two fine species of Anigozanthos, collected by my son (since killed by the natives), in the vicinity of the Moore River... The dark-flowering one, of which but two specimens have ever been found in bloom, is a real mourning flower; the upper portions of its stem, and lower portion of the corolla being covered, as it were, with black velvet...' Indeed, 'killed by the natives'... What that phrase might have meant to people in Britain at the time?! But the story is a far more particular one than Drummond the elder's suggestion. His son Johnston (1820-1845) followed closely in the footsteps of his father. Already as a lad he was collecting and selling specimens and seeds of Australian plants. And he became an untiring explorer. On a trip with James to the Moore River (north of Perth), Johnston had found our plant in 1842. On their expeditions the Drummonds were accompanied by native helpers. One of these was one Kabinger and his (extended) family group. The Drummond sons were used to sleeping with native women, and this led to tragedy in 1845. On a short expedition, Johnston had been spending nights with Kabinger's wife. Kabinger - who'd earlier been accused of cattle-rustling - one night crept up on Johnston and killed him with his glass-tipped spears. A few weeks later, he was tracked down by one of Johnston's brothers, and shot dead... Small wonder, then, that James Drummond for a while lost his appetite in collecting and botanising. His pain can be read in that excerpt above from his letter. A pain so great that he apparently had to make a general statement about the danger of 'natives'...

Yesterday, I decided to do a last posting for Harvest Monday 2013 since it has been a while we joined in at Daphne's Dandelions. Usually it is raining on the afternoon here as we are in the Monsoon season. Therefore limited time to get a lot of the 'task to do' be ticked off on the list. We rarely get to take pictures of the harvest now as it has always been a rush or me harvesting while cooking dashing in and out from the kitchen to the kebun. Here is an overview of some goods that we were able to harvest yesterday. Malabar spinaches, winged bean, various long-yard beans, and lemons. We also have cotton bolls to harvest from the garden. Instead of using tissues we can used organic cotton bolls as wipers. Sapodilla (ciku), and canistel fruit trees are always so generous producing all year round. In the land below the wind, Sabah state, there are many fans of canistel fruit which makes the market price at the moment according to our mother surveys RM8.00 per-kilogram (If you are interested you are welcome to contact us, too many for our small family). Occasionally we get pamelo or guava fruits from the backyard. The tree that produce tangerine-like fruit which my mother sowed from seeds from her hometown has also started it fruiting season. The native fruit tree called nam nam (fruit looks like brain), also never stopped producing. Many first-timers told us that the ripe ones tasted a bit like pear when we shared some. The passion fruit are ripening on the tree. November and December months are rambutan season every year in our place. This year most of the rambutan trees bear fruits a lot. We have more than 5 rambutan trees fruiting happily. Cempedak is also very generous this month. 'Cempedak' is a relative to jackfruit but a smaller version of it. People like to make cempedak fritters like banana fritters from the yellow flesh that covers the seeds, a popular tea snack. We also have some Pulasan fruits to enjoy (a squirrel left a mark on the pulasan fruit in above photo). Pulasan is a relative to 'Rambutan'. Can you notice the difference of the hairstyle between 'Pulasan' and 'Rambutan'. 'Rambut' in Malay Language is 'hair', while 'Pulas' in Malay Language is 'twist'. Happy New Year!

This is the latest in a series of posts that I’ve done about my favorite varieties of fruits, vegetables and herbs we grow at Happy Acres. To see my other Spotlights, and those from other garden bl…

Donna of Garden Walk, Garden Talk has started a regular Word for Wednesday linking party, which is an "exploration of words through pictures, where a word relates to the story in photos." This week Donna has suggested a pairing of two words: "texture and pattern." I found this week's theme challenging, not because it was a difficult pair of words to define in pictures, but rather because it was way too easy. I simply had too many images! In the end, I decided to divide Donna's theme over two posts. Today, I will focus in on texture. Texture can be defined as the tactile quality of a surface. Textures can vary widely. They can be soft, like the fuzz of a ripe summer peach. They can be slippery and smooth, like the surface of an icicle in winter. And they can also be sharp and foreboding, like these frost "thorns" on a branch in the winter. The garden of Heather Bradley, Mississauga Ontario In the garden, texture appeals as much to our eyes, as to our sense of touch. Garden textures have many close friends. Repetition is one of them. A repeated planting is textural. The green surface of a pond at Lost Horizon Nursery, Acton Ontario Private garden, Burlington, Ontario Shape and pattern are also texture's best friends. Here, the repeated shape of these lily pads and their random pattern on the surface of the water is textural. The soft petals of this spring Ranunculus has the delicate texture of a taffeta party dress. Soft textures invite us to touch them. Fine, delicate and smooth are a few of the adjectives we most commonly use to describe soft textures. The delicate beauty of Annual Fountain Grass in a Brampton Public Park Perennial Fountain Grass, Brampton Public Park Soft textured wreaths in a local nursery. Sea Holly, Larkwhistle Garden on the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario. Soft pink astilbe in the Spargette's private garden in Brampton, Ontario. (I wish my Astilbe looked this good! Astible likes to be kept fairly moist. It also prefers morning sun and afternoon shade. Mine gets too much shade and not enough water.) The texture of fall grasses can be both soft and feathery. Colin Gosden's garden, Mississauga, Ontario. Bed and Breakfast Inn in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario In a garden setting, stone textures can be ever bit as aesthetically pleasing as soft textured surfaces. Private Garden, Markdale Ontario. Coarse textures like stone and weathered wood may be rough and unyielding, but still have uses in the garden. Soft petalled blooms look even more delicate when contrasted with the rugged, weather-beaten surface of stone. Lily of the Valley, Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton Ontario. Cupid's Dart in amongst stones and pebbles in Colin Gosden's garden, Mississauga, Ontario. Finally, leaves can have textural surfaces all of their own. New to my garden this summer is Calamintha, Calamintha grandiflora variegata. Heuchera in the Spargette's private garden in Brampton, Ontario Heuchera ' Midas Touch', Humber Nursery, Toronto, Ontario. Fall hosta in my own garden. Niagara Botanical Gardens, Niagara Ontario. In the garden, texture works so closely with its best friends, color, shape, pattern and repetition that it almost becomes indistinguishable. But trust me, texture is right in there, quietly performing its magic. If you are brave enough to endure another picture marathon, I'll put my take on "Pattern" up on Friday.

There comes a time in every good garden when you can stand back and recognize that all of your hard work, planning and, yes, frustration is paying off. Joy and Steve Davey’s garden has been …

Here's where to start.

I VIRTUALLY NEVER promise 'fast and easy' in gardening, which involves worthwhile hard work and patience, but here’s the exception: You can create fast-growing living

Fig. 1 – A VermiTek drain pan. Fig. 2 – The VermiTek drain pan installed Fig. 3 – The completed VermiTek bin with tamper By Adam Tomash Photos by the author I love to compost stuff and have been doing it for 50 years – the last 40 in Maine, with its cold winter. I […]

Today we mourn the loss of one of the best resources in organic biointensive gardening. Bountiful Gardens, the retail wing of Ecology Action's Grow Biointen

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Contributors to Three Dogs in a Garden: Jean Godawa is a science teacher and writer. She has been writing science-related articl...

Just a quick note to wax poetic about Clematis tibetana var. vernayi, Zones 5 - 9. She's a beauty. And quite vigorous. Oh sure, way back when, Ms. Danger

This Week’s Podcast: A Replay: To Turn on the Garden, Turn on the Gardener — with Megan Cain Click on the arrow on the bar to listen. Our guest on the radio show/podcast this week is Me…

This article is excerpted from Dr. Gladis Zinati's field guide, Invite Insect Allies to Your Farm Using Insectary Strips: Field Guide to Control Striped