The Mulch Robs Nitrogen Myth

...lches such as gravel. I sometimes get asked what kind of mulch to use in a vegetable garden. I use straw since it’s inexpensive and easy to clean up at the end of the summer growing season. I wouldn’t use wood chips on vegetable or other annuals since they might get churned into the soil even though I don’t ever till or double dig. Wood chips are for perennials. Now, my Root Simple friends, go forth and tell people that mulch does not rob the soil...

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066 Saving Seeds and Seed Libraries with David King

Want to know how you can save your own vegetable seeds? Develop your varieties? Start your own seed library? We talk to David King of the Seed Library of Los Angeles about these topics and more. During the podcast David mentions a few resources including the Organic Seed Alliance and Carol Deppe’s book Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties. David blogs at LA Garden Blog and also can be found at The Learning Garden. If you want to leave a question fo...

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Is Purslane the New Kale?

...rslane (Portulaca oleracea) could soon be ready for its fifteen minutes of vegetable fame. We planted some this year in our summer vegetable garden and I’ve used it in a lot of salads this week. Purslane is a common weed in North America. We’d love to be able to forage it in the neighborhood but, for some reason, it only tends to appear in unappetizing locations: usually the gutter (I think it needs a bit more water than what falls naturally from...

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How to Make Stock

...by adding a spoonful of soy sauce. Similarly, you can pre-roast your stock vegetables in the oven — or better, make stock out of leftover roasted vegetables. Roasting really brings out nice meaty flavors in a veg stock. Add the roasted veggies to water and proceed as above. Frankly, I only do either of these things for special occasions, when I’m pulling out all the stops. Simple veg stock is my workhorse around the kitchen. Meat and Fish Stocks I...

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Quick Breads

...bit too sweet for our tastes] 1 cup walnuts, coarsely broken 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 1/2 cups buttermilk Combine all the dry ingredients. Mix the buttermilk and the vegetable oil in a separate boil. Mix the liquid and dry ingredients together just enough to make sure they are combined. With all quick breads you should minimize the amount of mixing. Bake at 350º until a knife inserted into the bread comes out dry. Cooking times will vary depe...

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