Food

Bountiful Raspberries

Raspberries are a versatile, small fruit that can be used fresh, baked in pies and pastries, and canned for winter use as jams and preserves. These beautiful little gems can be grown at elevations as high as 7,000 feet, although it may be necessary to protect your canes from the rigors of winter if you live in a cold, blustery climate. [ … ]

Food

Growing Your Own Popcorn

Popcorn has more than 100 strains that vary in flavor, tenderness, presence, color, shape, and hulls. Regardless of the color of the kernel, once popped, all corn is white – don’t let commercial cheese or colorings fool you. There are two strains of corn most often chosen for popping—mushroom and snowflake. Mushroom pops small and round and is preferred by companies that make caramel corn. Snowflake pops up large and fluffy. It is served at the movies and sold for home use. [ … ]

Food

Growing Beautiful Melons

Melons have been enjoyed for more than 4,000 years. They originated in the hot valleys of southwest Asia, specifically in India and Iran. Early American settlers grew honeydew and casaba melons from seed brought with them from home as early as the 1600s. The first mention of melons in recorded history was found in John Ayto’s Dictionary of Word Origins in 1395. It suggests that the word was derived from the word Melos (the Greek Cyclades Islands, best known for… [ … ]

Food

The Beet Family

Some of you probably looked at the title of today’s column and cringed a bit as you remembered those nasty beets you faced in school cafeterias or were served from a can. That’s also a shame. Beets got a bad reputation with many people because they’ve never had them prepared properly. We’ll get back to that point in a few moments. As part of my continuing series on vegetable families, I’d like to introduce you to the beet family. [ … ]

Food

Winter IS Gardening Time

Even though there is frost in the air, and possibly snow on the ground, now is the time to prepare for next year’s harvest. Though not much grows when the ground is cold and the [ … ]