Most summer events when I was a kid came with a bowl of cucumber slices coated in a sour cream sauce containing vinegar, sugar, salt, and dill (of course). I never understood how it was made, but I enjoyed the cool, crunchy, tangy, dilly, and slightly sweet flavor, none-the-less. My culinary skills -and interests- were […]

Whenever I walk past our beds of dill, and happen to brush against them, I am taken back to my grandparents’ big farm kitchen in the summertime. There was usually a crock on the counter, packed with freshly-picked cucumbers, and large heads of dill. A weighted plate covered the top. My mother, when she came […]

Growing greens in water containing a complete nutrient solution has had great appeal to me for 25 years. My first hydroponic system-a “seat-of-the-pants” operation- used gutters, foam board, home-made net pots, plastic tubs, and a pump with a float switch, to grow up to 400 heads of lettuce. It actually worked OK, but making 400 […]

As mentioned in an earlier post, our gardens pretty-much run on chopped leaves. We currently have 3 metal drum composters that are operating automatically-being powered by windshield wiper motors. We have two more of these automatic composters yet to be filled. As much as we like not having to think about turning a barrel every […]

For several seasons we grew crops in my 8′ wood and fiberglass self-watering planters, which were connected, via a float valve mounted in various types of chambers, to rain barrels. In them we grew towering tomato plants, that were soon hitting the ceiling in the hoop house. I was so proud of these planters that […]

Adding an arbor to a garden adds visually appealing vertical height, while greatly increasing the amount of produce that can be grown in a small space. Our latest video describes how to build an inexpensive, attractive, and sturdy arbor. We hope you enjoy it, and are inspired to build one (or several) yourself. If you […]

Raised beds are really just giant containers, and they therefore share many of the same benefits, with one big difference-they have no bottom, so they leak. We find the self-watering planter/ raised bed gardening methods to perfectly compliment each other. The spent potting mix from last season’s containers is added to next season’s raised beds. […]

Peg and I taught a class at Harmony Foods in Bemidji on Container Gardening back on the 5th of April. It was a cold, snowy, no-sign-of spring-type day, but ten or so true believers showed up anyway. One of the attendees asked me what I knew about growing microgreens. I said I knew that it […]

OK, next winter I am going to have an insulated “Shallow Winter” greenhouse on the south side of our garage for starting seedlings. I hesitate to say “Deep Winter” because I lack the money and the will to try to grow anything here in December through February. So I will wait for late March to […]

It was a thrill this morning to chat with Maggie Montgomery and Katie Carter on the Morning Show on KAXE/KBXE in their Bemidji studio. Unlike a radio interview a couple of years ago-when I was in there to discuss my canoe book- I did not freeze after the first question. The question I was tripped-up […]