Even in northern Illinois, gardeners can plant and harvest from early April until the fall frosts by planning ahead. According to University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator Richard Hentschel, there are as many as six opportunities to plant vegetables during the growing season by taking advantage of the space where the early crops were and planting summer and fall crops.
How can gardening start in April when the weather is still cold? “By carefully choosing which garden plants thrive in cold, wet soils and actually prefer those conditions,” Hentschel explained. “Onions and peas, for example, prefer cold weather as …
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Harrison Market Gardens is a local food producer that grows mostly veggies and small fruits, not chickens or eggs.
Actually, this isn’t about chickens or eggs, but an issue that Illinois needs to bring to the forefront: affordable fuel. It’s the season when more and more fence rows are hacked out to plant yet more corn for the lucrative government subsidized ethanol producers. We live near the soybean capital of the U.S., yet many of our edible beans (edamames) and hard beans are grown in China.
After test driving the Nissan Leaf (not enough range), the Toyota Prius …
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When it comes to eating “local,” I believe the ultimate experience comes when you sit down to a meal prepared with food that you have raised. There is something so satisfying about pinching off tender leaves of lettuce and presenting them in a salad to the family.
I like to play the game where I estimate how much the meal would cost if I we were eating out. I think my husband is getting tired of this, yet I like to remind him how frugal and clever I am. And then I remind him that we are healthier because …
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One of the hot topics that has been in the new lately related to meat has been “pink slime,” as it was referred to by a USDA scientist. This product is also know as lean finely textured beef. This item is being used as “filler” in ground beef products to help reduce cost. We have been getting phone calls about this item. I am happy to say that we do not have lean finely textured beef in our ground beef. Anyone who is grinding whole muscle beef in our area would not have the ability to add this product to …
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The days have warmed. Can it really be here to stay? We’re still well over a month from the last frost date and six weeks from the opening of the first area farmers’ market but I admit to enjoying the sunshine and daydreaming about the coming bounty. The earth is greening early and my mouth is watering for what’s in store.
Here’s something I’m very much looking forward to. Violets are our state flower and tend to pop up in our yards and woodlands. But they are as edible as they are lovely. Typically seen sugared on desserts, I’m looking …
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