how to

29 May 2013 2 Comments

How to Harvest Black Beans

Black Turtle beans are some of my favorite beans to grow. Not only are they easy, but oh-so-delicious when combined with onions, oregano, garlic and olive oil. Very similar to black bean soup, I love this mix of cooked beans and rice–a definite “must eat” in our household.

Growing black beans requires warm weather and a mild fertilizer and that’s about it. For your first batch, you can order an organic black turtle bean online (or other variety). Plant bean seeds (bean and seed are the same thing) about an inch deep and water well. In a month your bean pods will form and in two months, you’ll be looking to harvest!

But how do you know when your black beans are ready? I mean, these are what we call “shelling” beans, which means we don’t eat the pod as a whole–like we do with pole beans or garden peas. We have to open the pods, remove the beans and dry them.

With this variety of black bean it’s a no-brainer. When your pod turns a beautiful deep eggplant color, your beans are ready to harvest.

“What happens if I’m on vacation and I miss the peak harvest?” More

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: black beans, black turtle, dry, harvest, how to, organic, recipes, rice, soak, soup, variety

11 Apr 2013 No Comments

Ever Juiced A Carrot?

We bought a Jack LaLanne juicer a few years back to make the most of our garden. While there are a wide variety of juicers on the market, we chose this brand for no other reason than the commercials stuck in my head. Besides, Jack was a fit guy, a motivational sort and I thought, if it worked for him it can work for us!

It does, but so do most of them. And healthy doesn’t begin to describe a life of juicing. You’ll be infused with energy, discover a spring in your step (probably because you’ll be pounds lighter!), your complexion will be brighter, your skin luminous–what’s not to like? Actually, the hardest part about the juicing lifestyle for me is the clean up. I know, I know….wah. But truthfully, juicing is so simple and makes great use of your harvest, you’ll wonder why you waited so long to start.

My daughter enjoys juicing, so long as I handle the mess. (See what I mean?) She finds it easy and fun though I’ll warn you, before you pull out that juicer, harvest a lot of carrots, or spinach, strawberries–whatever it is that you want to juice, because you’re going to need a bunch of it. More

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: carrot juice, carrots, easy, healthy, how to, Jack LaLanne juicer, juicing, kids, organic, spinach

20 Mar 2013 2 Comments

Time to Break Some Ground!

Put your “fun cap” on because it’s time to get your hands dirty! It’s time to break ground for your new spring garden! Already have a garden? Perfect, but you can still get in on the action as it’s a good idea to work your soil for a fresh start.

Now, while I’d like to say this is the easy part—that would be a lie. This is the part where you get your exercise. Stretch those cold stiff muscles and get limber again. Remember, we reap what we sow and we can’t sow if we don’t dig.

Are you smiling yet? Good. Now, one of the secrets to great plants is loose soil. Loose soil promotes strong, deep roots and encourages a healthy plant which means a productive plant. I learned this the hard way with carrots. Have you ever seen an “L” shaped carrot? I have. As a general rule, carrots will grow down as far as they can easily manage, until the going gets too tough, and then they grow sideways. Literally. Packed soil is not their friend. It’s not friendly to any plant, really, because it doesn’t promote good aeration which helps the plant take in the nutrients it needs. More

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: amend soil, breaking ground, compost, composted manure, how to, loose soil, manure, organic, starting your garden, till

08 Mar 2013 1 Comment

Progress Report

The kids have been diligently tending their garden, learning about the cold, learning the ways of crop rotation. Rotating crops helps to improve soil structure, increases a plant’s ability to absorb nutrients and aids in pest control. As we prepare to harvest and begin the new season, organic gardeners need to know what they grow, know what grows where, when and why. Quite a mouthful, isn’t it?

But we make crop rotation easy at BloominThyme and sing our way through the garden ~ beans – leaves – roots and fruits! Beans – leaves – roots and fruits! More

by gardenfrisk in School Garden - follow the kids as they grow! Tags: crop rotation, easy, Florida, garden, gardening, how to, lesson, organic, school garden, spring, students

04 Mar 2013 1 Comment

Hello, Spring!

With spring on the horizon, it’s time to finalize your garden plans.

Already? Great beets alive, pull your heads out of the sand and get busy! There are seeds to buy, ground to prep, compost to turn—

Oops—did we forget to start the compost pile? Can’t find it under all the snow? Well, leave it be then, there are plenty of other things to keep us busy. Like gather the tools, plan for location, check the water supply… Now where did that sprinkler go?

So many things to think about could scare a gal clear out of the garden, but hold on to your tool belt, because we’re going to make this easy! As pie. (Because we all have time to bake pie, right?)

By being prepared, you’ll be certain not to miss your first day of planting. While this day varies from region to region based on frost dates, most gardeners can plan on March-April to begin their outdoor festivities.

But why wait? You can start many of your seeds indoors and get a jump-start on the season! Which brings us to the first item on the checklist:

1 – Order seeds. Grow what you’ll eat—not what’s easy. I know it’s tempting, but there’s no sadder day than the one when you witness perfectly good food withering on the vine. So if you haven’t already, order those seeds.

2 – Design layout. If building container beds, get your lumber now. I don’t know about you, but my husband likes a bit of notice before he’s asked to perform. Getting your creative juices warmed and flowing now, will help speed the process later. “Oh, sweetheart… About that little favor!” More

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: checklist, design, garden, gardening, get ready, how to, new season, order seeds, organic, plan, prepare garden, spring

24 Feb 2013 2 Comments

Get Out and Get Your Berries!

It’s that time of year again, when the strawberries are calling your name. From Plant City, Florida to your local grocery store, the filed up the road or the guy on the corner making your purchase all the more convenient, it’s time to get your strawberries. And here in Central Florida, it’s a beautiful time to get outside and get pickin’…

We go to our area strawberry farm, Oak Haven. They have plenty of u-pick hours for the kids to race down the rows (only kidding–they prefer you don’t run ), a country kitchen open on the weekends, serving up the best strawberry shakes and now, strawberry wine. Ah…. Fun for the whole family!

Out back, they also have a playground and zip line (of sorts). Definitely a place to check out if you’re looking for something fun to do. And speaking of great country fun, the Plant City Strawberry Festival is opening its doors THIS week. From February 28 – March 10, stop by and enjoy fresh strawberries, strawberry shortcake, petting zoo, garden shows and live music from some of the hottest names in country!

So if you’re not growing strawberries in your garden this year, don’t dismay. There’s plenty to choose from out there. For a strawberry farm in your area, check the website Pick Your Own. This is a GREAT resource for everything fruits and vegetables. It’s a BloominThyme favorite! For recipes to highlight your bounty, how about a little Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad? Juicing? Maybe the kids would like to give their favorite teacher a sweet gift? Strawberry cupcakes always sound good around my household.

But no matter how you like your strawberries, get outdoors and enjoy the season. Blueberry pickin’ will be here before you know it!!

by gardenfrisk in Savory vignettes - tidbits of life discovered along the way Tags: country, Dessert, farms, gardening, healthy, how to, juicing, organic, Plant City, salad, strawberries, strawberry cupcakes, strawberry fesitival, sweets, u-pick, where

22 Feb 2013 4 Comments

Well I’ll be frostbitten…

Yes, I know it’s 80°F today in Florida, but last weekend it was cold. I mean really cold — 32°F of cold. And as I mentioned, it was over the weekend.

Unfortunately, the garden lady doesn’t go to school on the weekend. Yep. Covered my potatoes at home but at school? No could do.

So I did what any wise old sage would do and planned this week’s lesson around the realities of life.

“Sorry kids, Mother Nature got us on this one. Layered the landscape in cold when we were least able to protect against it.” (That, and your garden lady completely forgot about to bring sheets with her to school on Friday.) It happens. It’s real life. We cope.

Printing out the pages, I tucked them in my pretty floral folder and went to school. Walked the kids out to the garden and stopped cold in my tracks. “What the–” More

by gardenfrisk in School Garden - follow the kids as they grow! Tags: cold weather, Florida, freeze, frost, gardening, how to, kids, lesson, plants, protect, school garden

06 Feb 2013 1 Comment

Martha and Me

I love Martha Stewart. There. I said it. She cooks, she crafts, she gardens, she adores her dogs–what’s not to love? Her desserts are to die for, her garden is poetry in nature…

Okay. That’s a lie. It’s a perfection of nature. I’ve browsed the magazines. I’ve seen the pictures. It’s intimidating. Really. Which is why personally, I’ve given up perfection in my garden. Weeds need to live, too. That, and my kids have revolted.

Gloved hands to my hips, I stared at them. “It’s once a week. What’s the problem?”

Both returned a frown. “It would be more fun if we had a friend.”

Huh. You see, for them, gardening is a group activity. At school, when surrounded by their classmates, all is well. They weed, they chat about movies, discuss video games (depending on which kid we’re talking about here), they spend time in the glory of nature… It’s a sight to behold.

As an avid gardener myself, I understand this completely, though I tend to enjoy my solo moments in the garden, too. Nice break from the family, if you get my drift.

But more than a break, gardening can be an obsession, too. And featured in this month’s Martha Stewart Living, you’ll find a host of wonderful garden books, like Thomas C. Cooper’s The Roots of My Obsession. A collection of 30 essays from notable gardeners such as Rosalind Creasy, author of The Edible Garden and Stephen Orr, gardening editor for Martha Stewart Living, this book is packed with the love of gardening, the joy, as well as the adventure. (I do love a good adventure, don’t you?) It’s like receiving letters from your garden friends, notes sure to bring a smile to your face. Most likely a nod from your head, too! More

by gardenfrisk in Savory vignettes - tidbits of life discovered along the way Tags: books, earthworms, garden books, gardening, heirloom vegetables, how to, Living, Martha Stewart, organic, why we garden

25 Jan 2013 2 Comments

Peppers in January?

“Who’d a thunk it?” Especially after the frost just before Christmas, when I was out shopping and too busy to cover them, in addition to the fact that my local weather folks had it in the 40′s until I arrived home that evening. Frost alert! Maybe even a freeze!

AGH? Are you kidding me? This is not something to joke about!

But alas, it was true. Two nights in a row. Ho, hum. Who expects to grow peppers in the winter, anyway?

Only the most optimistic gardeners like myself! I left the peppers in ground after the damage was done, deciding to pull them out at a later date. Then the green peppers started turning red, and the Hungarian Wax started sprouting a host of new leaves. What the heck?

The curious sort, I left them in and kept an eye on the little fellas. Checked one of the red peppers, turned it to and fro. Didn’t appear frost-bitten. Was it possible it was good? More

by gardenfrisk in Garden skinny - my personal scoop on gardening Tags: canning, cold, Florida, freeze, frost, grow, how to, Hungarian Wax, organic, peppers, survive, winter garden

17 Dec 2012 No Comments

Too Close for Comfort

Justin and Eyry have been enjoying their garden without much issue, until now. Recently, we experienced a few days of unseasonably heavy rain and fog, and their squash did not fare well. Sad sight, isn’t it?