Making mead, or honey wine, is an ancient form of brewing using the simplest of ingredients. It’s a perfect place for beginners to start on their home brewing journey. Even this blueberry mead recipe is simple enough for a beginner who is somewhat familiar with the art of fermentation.Continue Reading
Homemade Low Sugar Elderberry Jelly
Because there are so many elderberries to be found in the area where my husband works, he is the elderberry forager in the family. He’ll stop on the way home and harvest, and then after dinner, he and I will sit on the back porch as the sun sets, listening to tunes and removing berries from the stems. It’s a late August date every year. And the next day I set about dehydrating the elderberries for elderberry syrup, or I make low sugar elderberry jelly.Continue Reading
Book Review: The Farm Girl’s Guide to Preserving the Harvest
Do You Want to Learn to Preserve the Harvest?
Is one of your goals this year learning to preserve the harvest? If so, Ann Accetta-Scott’s new book, The Farm Girl’s Guide to Preserving the Harvest is a must-have.Continue Reading
7 Great Benefits of Common Lawn and Garden Weeds
Weeds can be the bane of gardening, right? There are definitely ways to reduce their growth like mulching, and no-dig gardening. But don’t get too discouraged when you find common lawn weeds, or garden weeds. There are some great ways to use them, after all.Continue Reading
The Easy Way to Improve Soil Fertility
I wouldn’t know how to begin a discussion on gardening without beginning with a discussion on how to improve soil fertility. When I teach a workshop, I ask students what they think of when they think “garden”. Most often, the answer has to do with the harvest.
And, of course, we wouldn’t garden if we couldn’t look forward to a bountiful harvest. But, I always encourage my students to build soil because healthy, fertile soil will result in a healthy, nutrient-dense harvest.Continue Reading
Make Your Own Garlic Powder and Other Ways to Preserve Garlic
Garlic does really well in my garden, and I’m thankful since I use so much of it. I use it daily, and it’s an essential ingredient in my Roasted Tomato Sauce and Pine Needle Salad Dressing. And when I’ve grown plenty, like this year, some of it is made into garlic powder.
Making your own garlic powder is straight-forward and simple. It can be time consuming, but the right tools really help to make quick work of the task.Continue Reading