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Gardening When You’re Too Busy & the Best Strawberry Rhubarb Recipe Ever

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raised bed gardenI used to have a quarter-acre vegetable garden. Back when I had time. But those days appear to be in the rearview mirror.

So, what’s a dirt lover to do when they don’t have the time to full-on garden?

Go with raised beds and perennials.

Garlic is a given—I’ve been using my own bulbs, which I cultivated starting back when Cait was still a toddler. While not technically a perennial, it’s super easy to grow. Plant in the fall. Harvest … Read More

Abundance of Green Tomatoes and a Great Recipe to Use Them

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green tomatoes

I’ve been putting up all the last of my fall crops: Asian pears, pumpkins, concord grapes, raspberries, aaaaaand lots of green tomatoes. Time to get preserving.

I’m not a fried green tomato fan, so I went looking for a recipe for something different. I found Beryl’s Mom’s recipe for pickled tomatoes. It’s a keeper.

Since I’ve got a mix of cherry, Roma, and an heirloom variety that I’ve been growing from seed for so long that I no longer remember … Read More

Best Pie Crust Recipe

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3 piesApropos of the fall weather and the approaching holidays, I thought I’d share my secret pie crust recipe. Good for any and all types of pies—single crust, double crust, lattice, you name it.

There are a bazillion pie-crust recipes out there. So why is this perhaps the best? Because it uses science to help get the best flake and the best taste.

PIE CRUST RECIPE

2 1/2 cups cake flour
1 stick cold unsalted butter
8 oz shortening
1/4 cup … Read More

Perseids Meteor Show Coming to a Sky Near You

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meteor shower image created in Dall-eCoinciding with the waning moon, the Perseid meteor shower is at its peak over the next few days of August, 11, 12, and 13. So viewing should be spectacular if the weather cooperates.

It’s one of the most active and brightest meteor showers of the year. And it’s safe to expect to see dozens of meteors per hour. Watching is an annual event at our house.

To have the best experience, make sure to find a place to watch that’s … Read More

Are We Still Paying Attention?

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It’s easy to become numb to more bad news. It’s easy to say we’re overwhelmed, we’ll deal with this later. But later is coming sooner and sooner.
Infographic: Earth Overshoot Day Is Coming Sooner and Sooner | Statista
According to this article on Statistica:

This year, August 2 will mark Earth Overshoot Day, the day that humanity’s demand for ecological resources exceeds the resources Earth can regenerate within that year.

Over the decades, the ecological and carbon footprint of humans has gradually increased, all while Earth’s biocapacity, i.e. its ability to

… Read More

The Map of the Universe

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Check out this interactive map of the observable universe from the Milky Way to the edge of what can be seen. The map travels back more than 13 billion years. It spans the entire known cosmos with pinpoint accuracy and depicts the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies.

The map was created by astronomers at Johns Hopkins University using data collected over two decades by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

Here’s just a small section.

map of the universe

If you … Read More

My Annual Christmas Present to Myself

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bakers creek seed catalog

If you’re a gardener and you don’t know about the Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog, you should. The catalog always comes in early December, and I always find a few new plants and veggies to try. The diversity and uniqueness of their offerings is fantastic. I dare you to not find something you can’t wait to add to your garden.

I consider this my Christmas present to myself. And now I hope it becomes a Christmas present you give … Read More

Does Severely Pruning Concord Grapes Kill Them?

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Can you over-prune Concord grapes?

pruned grape vine

I love my Concord grapes. I love the way they look as a live privacy screen on my fence. I love getting to eat them off the vine in the fall.

So when I had to severely prune them back last fall in order to make repairs to my fence, I worried that I might have killed them. Over-pruning can really impact grape production.

You can see the hatchet job I did on this poor … Read More

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