Jessica’s Garden: Playing Catch-Up
This year, we spent the holiday weekend relaxing as a family; working on this and that without too rigid of an agenda. My husband and father spent some time hanging dry wall in a new room we are renovating while…
Jessica’s Garden: Heirloom Tomatoes: Colorful, Unique and Some So Ugly, They’re Beautiful
While it’s getting late in the Summer garden season, our tomatoes have finally begun to produce. They had a rough start between a later than usual planting and a couple of battles with aphids and yellow spot disease. But we…
Jessica’s Garden: Prolonging the Harvest
It’s hard to believe that we are already well into the month of August. Before we know it, leaves will be changing colors. While some fruits and vegetables in the Summer garden (like squash and potatoes) may be dwindling, others…
I Need to Freshen Up a Bit
Summer is in the final stretch, and most of what we are doing in August is maintenance or harvest. It’s the time when you realize that the slugs have really been hitting the hostas, leaving them full of holes, and…
Jessica’s Garden: Pickling: An Easy Method of Preserving
During the Summer and Fall, when garden bounty is fresh, I tend to do an equal if not greater amount of pickling versus other canning methods. Fruit and veggies intended for jams and jellies can be prepped during the harvest…
Jessica’s Garden: Feeling the Blues with Blueberries
The end of the local strawberry season brings the beginning of one of our family’s favorites– blueberry season. Store-bought blueberries pale in comparison to farm fresh or homegrown. From years of working on a pick-your-own farm in my teens…
Jessica’s Garden: First Harvest — Hard Work Pays Off
I’m calling it official—we have had our first harvest out of the summer garden by my standards. For many weeks, we have been able to harvest fresh herbs abundantly and the cutting garden started flowering around two weeks ago. But…
Jessica’s Garden: Strawberries: Get Them Before the Good Ones Are Gone
With the local strawberry season coming to a close, we are trying to get our fill of these delicious Summer berries before they’re gone until next season. However, while local pick-your-own farms and farmers markets are dwindling on strawberry availability,…
Jessica’s Garden: Keeping Pesky Visitors at Bay
As we turn more and more soil for gardens at the farmhouse, I have been pleasantly surprised to find that we have great soil quality here. At our old home, we had builder-grade, lackluster, red clay soil that needed attention…
The Self-Prescribed Fruit Snob
Last spring I had an Epiphany: as much as I truly love fresh fruit, I tend to eat many more vegetables. A factor in this is the fact that I’ve gotten comfortable growing pretty much only what we consider vegetables…
Jessica’s Garden: It’s Not Too Late
If you had asked me on the first day of Spring if I was ready for the next season, I likely would have without hesitation said yes. I took a trip with Grayson to Behnke’s in March to pick out…
Jessica’s Garden: All About Herbs
One of my favorite herbs is basil, it’s fresh and distinct, but also an herb that appeals to the masses. I demonstrated two ways to use this versatile herb- Basil, Parsley and Walnut Pesto, and Basil and Edamame Hummus.