What Is Safflower

In four years, more than 200,000 pounds of produce has provided more than 800,000 servings of fruits and vegetables to those who would otherwise be eating cheap, processed food or, worse, nothing at all.

I watered my huegel only three times over the course of the summer (my traditional beds were watered twice a week), yet still saw excellent results and lush growth from the beans, squash, peppers, tomatoes, corn and various greens I seeded in that spring.

So, as wintry weather continues over the next few months, and you find yourself despairing while you muck out the chicken coop, just remember: Winter is going to have to eventually give up the ghost and spring will be right on its heels.

Life-threatening injuries and illnesses can be treated with homeopathic remedies, but it's best done under the direction of a homeopathic veterinarian. Ask Martok! Do you have a livestock or wildlife question you want me to answer?

Caffeine is the primary toxic ingredient in winterberry, and symptoms can be unpleasant. If pets have access to garden areas where winterberry is grown, consider removing branches that put fruit at their mouth level.

The same goes for heirloom vegetable varieties or that redesigned compost pile : all of the hard work you put into farming stems from a dream, and if you keep working toward that dream, before you know it, it could come true before your eyes.

Of course, none of the folks who are writing about it are sharing what plant this really is, so I went digging. He told me that he first discovered ashitaba during a trip to the Yunnan Province in China when was meeting with many different herbal-medicine...

At first glance, I thought I was looking at several immature assassin bug nymphs on the hunt. Leaf-footed bugs are a confirmed garden nuisance in many regions of North America, including portions of California and many states in the Eastern Seaboard,...

If you begin to dig and your shovel seems to be hitting a brick wall, it is evidence that the soil is frozen. Soil that is ready for planting is easy to dig and yields to your shovel.

Rhizoctonia root rot occurs with moderate moisture levels in warm to hot temperatures. Other preventative measures include using well-drained soil and avoiding overcrowding of plants.

I know I sure wouldn't want to risk it, would you?Mother Jones News recently reported "California regulators traced residues of dichlorophenyl-dichloroethylene, a breakdown product of DDT, and bifenthrin, an ant killer, to compost in pots of organic wheatgrass...

The interest in heritage turkeys is just one step away from backyard chickens.What are heritage turkeys, and why would we want one?For one thing, they are “green”, that is, they are sustainable.

I've been using them all these years and they were perfectly good for my meals. When buying groceries supplies for the store, our uncle had to get large quantities: whole boxes, containing dozens of packages or bags.

Three stalked plants are given for luck, five stalks are said to represent wishes of wealth and seven stalks are thought to bring and keep good health. Lucky bamboo is not, in fact, related to true bamboo plants.

This is also true in the home garden, as demonstrated by the demise of photinia (Photinia x fraseri, USDA zones 8 through 9) and Leyland cypress (x Cupressocyparis leylandii, USDA zones 6 through 10).Gardeners know soil is more than the dirt beneath their...

Letting a field lie fallow, free from any cultivated crop, is often part of a good crop rotation program. The legume helped replenish nitrogen depleted by the grain. Farmers divided their fields in half, planting on one half in one year and then the other...

Okoume peels and slices easily and evenly, and this combines with its good acceptance of glue to give it wide use as veneer and in plywood.Outside of its native range, most Okoume is sold as veneer or plywood.

You might have read about our new chickens in a previous post . The tomatoes have been ripped out (they did eventually succumb to the late blight that plagued gardeners up and down the East Coast), the cuke vines have hit the compost bin, and the zucchini...

We're not meant to be creatures of strict, inflexible habit, which is why newness is so exciting. My family loves to reference an early-'90s home movie of a New Year's Eve party where a gaggle of my cousins are watching a cartoon, giggling and chatting,...

Fertilize bougainvillea in early spring and again in July with a balanced (10-10-10) fertilizer. Locate it in full sun and in neutral, well-draining soil. They are not friendly to the touch, however, as they have sharp thorns.

Soils over limestone bedrock tend to have a high pH (7-9), and few plants will do well in them. It is unlikely there will be a noticeable difference in the health of a plant grown at pH 6.5 compared to one grown at 6.7. There is no need to expend a lot...

As the season goes on, adjust the amount of mulch used to reflect the climate—deep mulch for hot, dry climates and light mulch for cool, wet climates. Garden mulch is a layer of organic material that is spread on the ground to protect or improve soil.

Just as different climates and housing zones require different R-values, they also require different insulation types, such as closed versus open cell, and thicknesses of spray foam.

However, as long as they grow into the healthy egg layers he expects, their actual heritage isn't really that important. Even though we already know what's inside the sturdy shipping box, opening the lid and revealing the tiny chirping lives inside is...

The migrations have also resulted in hybrid sugar cane plants. The syrup is then transferred to another pan, where the water is completely boiled to the point when sugar crystals can then grow.

Colorado State University's website suggests planting vinca if you want to deter deer.Vinca serves well in the borders of other flowering plants and in containers. From white to shocking pink, the varieties range in height from 1 to 1 1/2 feet tall.

It has a buttery, nutty taste that is somewhat milder than that of traditional ghee. This product is sometimes known as vanaspati or clarified butter.Traditional ghee is a creamy spread produced by boiling butter until the liquids and solids have separated.