"gardening" news and stories

Spring is almost here. (Hallelujah!) And while it may seem like there's all the time in the world, that time flies and before you know it, gardening season will be in full swing. To get us prepared for a whole slew of excellent self-grown herbs and vegetables -- the epitome of local food -- I thought I'd alert you to the Garden Girl, Patti. She's pretty much a gardening guru, and can help get you all set for your new crops.

The above video is the first in a series on Indoor Gardening, but there are also videos on composting, harvesting, hydroponics, insect control, and all of those important gardening particulars. Plan now, and be happy with lots and lots of food in the summer months. Happy gardening!

There's one sector of the economy that's growing because of the recession: Seed-sellers. The number of homes with vegetable gardens will jump more than 40 percent this year compared with two years ago, according to projections from the National Gardening Association, reports USA Today.

At W. Atlee Burpee, the world's largest seed company, seed sales are projected to jump 25 percent this year. This boom is spawning some good deals for the home gardener. Burpee recently unveiled its "Money Garden" package, a collection of tomato, bean, red pepper, carrot, lettuce and snap pea that sells for $10 and can produce up to $650 worth of vegetables.

"As the economy goes down, food gardening goes up," says Bruce Butterfield, research director at the National Gardening Association. "We haven't seen this kind of spike in 30 years."

Have you decided to grow your own fruits or veggies to save money?

Source

Dagoba's Rosemary Mint bar was one of Marisa's standout picks for our Fancy Food Show Favorites, and I've since become slavishly devoted to their Seeds bar. It's 68% cacao, studded throughout with pumpkin, hemp and sunflower seeds, and now I've got even greater impetus to dig it, because the company is giving away free seeds via their website Seed the Day.

"Whether it's a pot on the windowsill, a patch in the backyard or a big community effort, everyone can garden. We'll get you ready for spring and help keep your garden blooming by sending you the very herbs and flowers found in our chocolate bars. Everyone who signs up will get at least one packet of lavender, mint, rosemary, pumpkin or sunflower seeds."

So far as I can tell, there's not a single hitch or string -- just free seeds and an extra excuse to think of chocolate. The site also notes that should your planting group be planning a late night planting romp, they just might send along some delicious provisions. And - if you live in Boston, Chicago or San Francisco, you can come on out and nab a handful for yourself. Dates are listed here.


Seed the Day

Seeing sunflowers makes me smile. They are so bright and cheery. Now, however, I have even more of a reason to smile about sunflowers.

I had heard about the mysterious disappearance of the bees. As mentioned previously on this blog, Haagen-Daaz has done a good job spreading the news. They have a wealth of information on their Help the Honey Bees Site. Not surprisingly, most of their campaign revolves around buying ice cream. I love ice cream and support the cause, but what else could I do?

The Great Sunflower Project gives you a great opportunity to help out in another way. Sunflowers attract bees that subsequently pollinate the plants we eat. If you register by June 15, The Great Sunflower Project will send you sunflower seeds to plant in your garden. They then ask that you monitor the bees that visit your sunflowers. Don't worry, they make it easy by giving you lots of helpful hints on how to effectively monitor your backyard visitors. They will use your information to help get a big picture of the state of bees in urban areas.

Is it really bad to say at this point that bees scare me and I'm not sure I want extra bees in my yard? Probably, but I think saving fruits, vegetables, and one of the loves of my life, honey, wins out over my fear of bees. I also don't need to plant the sunflowers right next to my porch swing.

Check out The District Domestic for more on the plight of the honey bee and what you can do to help.

I love the idea of a pizza farm! It's a farm divided into pie slices with each slice featuring a different pizza topping. Sections could include tomatoes, onions, peppers, broccoli, or even pigs (for bacon). There are several pizza farms in the US that have become popular as tourist attractions and for school field trips. Visit Suite 101 for a list of these farms.

What I love even more than the idea of a large scale pizza farm is the idea of a small scale pizza garden. Why do our home gardens always have straight edges? Is it harder to make circles? I'm sure mine would end up looking like a pizza cloud, but I could live with that.

Having a pizza garden would be a great way to give kids a taste of gardening. Let me know if you try it!