Spring is here! Gardening season is fast approaching. For many of us in northern sections of the country, warmer seasons also mean fresher vegetables and fruits. Growing your own vegetables and/or buying them locally are great ways to eat healthier and live more green.

Coming soon to farmersalmanac.com will be ideas on how you can grow your own vegetables even if you don’t have much of a backyard. If growing them isn’t in your plans, what about checking out a CSA – community supported agriculture plot.

A CSA is usually a local farm that offers “shares” from its garden. You purchase a share which means you help cover the costs of farm operation, and in return you are able to share in the farm’s harvest. There is an upfront cost to this but the rewards are fresh, organic foods that are healthier are locally grown.

Spring and summer are great seasons for being outdoors. Why not make this season the one you try to get in tune with nature by growing flowers, vegetables, or herbs. Start small and see how well it goes. It’s exciting and rewarding to grow your own “ingredients.” You may also have a new found respect for farmers.

Happy Spring.

Technorati Tags:
spring gardening, think locally, grow your own

by sduncan
No Comments »

Rhubarb is the old faithful of any garden. As sure as yellow dandelions show their faces in the spring, unfurling rhubarb leaves herald a season of new growth.

Rhubarb thrives wherever the average temperature doesn’t hover above 90ºF for very long. It actually prefers a cool season and freezing winters which nurture the ruby red color of its stalks. Rhubarb has been known to take over and may bear profusely throughout the season.

Generations before us used rhubarb traditionally as a spring tonic. Today our appreciation for rhubarb goes far beyond the medicinal. While the stalks have a sour taste, you can combine them with a variety of ingredients to make tempting dishes. Try substituting rhubarb, either raw or cooked, or as strained juice, in recipes where you’d use other sour foods such as lemons, vinegar, and sour cream. Try using rhubarb in your chutney recipe. When stewed it has a similar texture to applesauce and can be added to your favorite applesauce cake. A favorite is rhubarb strawberry pie.

Technorati Tags:
rhubarb, spring gardening, spring tonic

by sduncan
No Comments »