Best Practices for Gardening in Contaminated Soil

...neral root vegetables uptake the most lead, leafy greens less and fruit almost none. The most conservative approach is to grow in raised beds. The main concern is for children under 5 years old. If your soil tests high in lead and you have young ones you should consider doing your edible gardening in raised beds and limit their exposure to garden soils to a few times a month. Mulch and ground covers will also decrease lead exposure in the other pa...

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105 GardenNerd’s Tips for Organic Gardening Success

..., who returns this week to discuss her new ebook 400 Plus Tips for Organic Gardening Success. As you might guess we touch on a lot of topics and tips including: Monarch VR CropSwap Time Banking Homestead Hamlet Repair Cafés Sandflex Almanac.com Epic Seeds Baker Creek Seed Savers Exchange Renee’s Garden Summer Spinach National Heirloom Expo Aunt Molly’s Ground Cherry Keeping tomatoes healthy mid-season Powdery mildew When to harvest tomatoes Extend...

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Gardening in an Apartment Windowsill

...eans, endive, dill, arugula, oregano, parsley, stevia, green onions, thyme, strawberries, mustard greens, lemon grass, and what Helen describes as “a curryish plant that is awfully nice for smelling but underwhelming for cooking.” Read an interview with Helen about this garden here. Gardening is not about the quantity of space one controls or the weight of the food harvested. It’s about a love for beauty, an attention to detail and an appreciation...

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New Project: Making Bitters

...I’ll share the recipes I develop as I follow this path. In the meanwhile, making your own bitters is really easy. You may be able to throw a few experiments together just using things you find in your spice cabinet. Since these are flavoring, not medicine, you don’t have to be as careful with the quantities and timing as you must be when tincturing herbs for medicine. Yet at the same time, it’s a great introduction to that essential herbalist’s c...

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Lila Downs Video Showing Tortilla Making in Oaxaca

...ngeles Bread Bakers sent me a link to this music video that shows tortilla making in Oaxaca. The song is “Palomo Del Comalito” (Dove of the Comalito) by Lila Downs. Note the huge corn tortillas, proof of the regional diversity of Mexican cuisine (and one of the many details I got wrong in my tortilla press post–thanks for the corrections Gloria). Lyrics in English after the jump. The beautiful people of this land Grind corn A miracle of their hand...

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