Category Archives: Blog

Easy Homesteading: Making Paneer

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Christy

Paneer is an Indian cheese that could be considered the gateway cheese to cheese making. It’s so easy and uses readily available ingredients, so if
you are interested in trying cheese making, here’s a good one to start with.

This recipe comes from an old Indian cookbook I picked up in a discount bookstore about 15 years ago called Step by Step Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Louise Steele. It has some great …
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How to Do a Home Soil Test for Citrus

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Christy

Growing up, my parents had orange trees and stone fruit trees that I swear were planted in unamended clay soil and were never – ever – fertilized.
They thrived. My three citrus trees, on the other hand, which were planted with good drainage, plenty of compost and lots of care, are sad, sad, and more sad. What gives?

Our top New Years’ Resolution was to figure out what was wrong with our …
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Renee’s Garden Seed Picks for 2012

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Christy

One of the wonderful and often surprising things about being a blogger is that every once in a while companies send you free stuff. They hope
that you’ll review their product and spread the word. Let it be known, if it isn’t already, that I never promote things that I don’t completely believe in, and I don’t get paid to wax rhapsodic
about them.

That said, I was delighted to find …
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Saving Tomato Seeds – Not So Terrifying

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Christy

It’s January, and one might assume that tomato seed-saving should have happened in …oh…September, but when one puts a couple of tomatoes in
a Snaplock container in the refrigerator, way in the back, and is afraid to attempt to save the seeds for the first time, January is a good time to get over the fear. Thus we begin our
adventure in saving tomato seeds.

It presents itself as a task …
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New Year’s Resolutions at the Farmer’s Market

Posted on January 5, 2012 by Christy

Most New Year’s Resolutions are hard to keep, but these make you feel good and get you to the Market each week:

New Year’s Resolutions from the Farmers’ Market
 …
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Gardenerd Blog: Liebster Awards

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Christy

The Gardenerd Blog recently received a Liebster Award from friend and Grow BioIntensive educator, Dan Royer-Miller. What’s a Liebster
award?  It’s basically the equivalent of Follow Friday on Twitter, where you give a plug to your five favorite blogs and bestow them with this logo:

In return I am paying it forward to four other blogs (and one back to Dan) by giving a Liebster Award to the following blogs I love:
…
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Mar Vista’s Bounty Hunter: Franny Bakes

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Christy

The latest post from the weekly Mar Vista Farmers’ Market wrap up is here. Learn all about Franny Bakes, a brand new vegan and vegetarian
confections booth at the market. You’ll be in heaven whether you eat meat or not.

Franny Bakes Up Sweet Treats at the Farmers’ Market
 …
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After Vacation Harvesting 2011…and meal ideas

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Christy

It’s magical to come home after a vacation to find that the garden has not taken any time off. We get used to looking at our gardens everyday,
so we don’t notice the changes as much as when we take a break and return to find a bumper crop waiting to be harvested.

That’s exactly what happened last month when we took a trip to Europe. We came home to beets, kale, lettuces, Swiss chard and more. In …
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The Trick to Bigger Garlic

Posted on December 14, 2011 by Christy

A question came in to Ask Gardenerd this week:

“Hi, I’ve just harvested my garlic and it’s ok but a little small. Any tips to get it fatter. John, ps Love your site”

Thanks for writing in John, and I’m glad you like the website. Since your email address seems to be in Australia, it makes sense that you would be harvesting garlic right now.

I have my own answers to growing big garlic, …
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Pruning Asparagus

Posted on December 8, 2011 by Christy

A question came in to Ask Gardenerd this week:

“Could you please help me understand how to
trim my 4’ tall asparagus patch that was planted in the fall? Does it need to turn completely brown? How low do I trim it?“

Great question, and the answer can be confusing, because there are two schools of thought on the matter. Many gardeners, including those at Peaceful …
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