Growing Vertically We devote only a small part of our backyard for vegetable gardening and I’m always looking for a way to add more plants and increase productivity in the existing space. Though we have put a deer fence up around our backyard, we still have to put a low fence around the vegetable garden. If we don’t, there would be nothing left. Deer cannot … Continue reading Maximizing Space
Let Herbs Flower Since I started keeping honey bees, the decision on what plants to add to our garden factors in the honey bees as one of the reasons. I used to think of fragrant, native, butterfly and bird friendly as reasons to choose a plant. Flowers that butterflies love is not necessarily good for bees. The butterfly has a very long proboscis, much longer … Continue reading Flowers For Bees
Bitterness Can Be Really Good This year is a great year for Bitter Melon (Momordica charantia). They cover three quarters of the vegetable garden fence. The thickness of the leaves and the bright yellow flowers spotted among them look very pleasant. The sweet scent of the flowers is a plus, especially in the morning when it seems to be strongest. Cutting leaves and fruits for … Continue reading Bitter Melon
For a Better Effect and Benefit It doesn’t matter how much space we have for our vegetable garden, it’s never enough. We just expanded our fenced in vegetable garden from 16′ x 16′ to 16′ x 22′ this year but I’m still looking for space to put many more seedlings that have sprouted up. I’ve already hand-crafted 3 trellises for the beans to climb on. … Continue reading Mix and Match
Many Roads To Delicious Bitter Melon is not an easy vegetable to eat if you don’t love bitter taste. But it’s still consumed widely in many countries. Some folks have figured out how to reduce the bitterness. One trick I know is to soak it in salt water if you’re just going to blanch it and use it as a condiment with a dipping sauce. … Continue reading Cooking Bitter Melon
Petals and Wings 