Long Island Gardening Community Resource

Did you know that the dandelion has been used as food and medicine for much of recorded history?  Yes, I am talking about that pesky weed that is the bain of your lawns existence.  Since you just can’t stop trying to get rid of them, you might as well make some use of them.  In [...]

[Read more →]

I just harvested the first cutting of my four varieties of mint growing in various gardens. I am growing

Spearmint
Peppermint
Greek Mint
Another Spearmint Variety (Large Leafed)

Some techniques commonly used to dry mint are:

Bundle and hang from Stems in a dark, very dry place (if possible with paper bags around the bundles)
Put in Paper bags
Place in oven at [...]

[Read more →]

OK here is one of my favorite herbs (if not THE favorite).  It smells like BUBBLE GUM for crying out loud!
Tulsi / Holy Basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum)
If you have ever grown this herb, you know what amazing surprises it offers.  When I brush by it, I get this smell of heaven that I have never smelled [...]

[Read more →]

Given the right care, even one hot pepper plant can produce an over-abundance of peppers. In this case, between my neighbor and I, we had about 20 plants. That is a load of peppers, many of which get neglected and go bad (for one reason or another).
So the other day (the day before [...]

[Read more →]

Today I took out the last of the squash and tomatoes. It was a good year for both of these veggies. The squash plants grew out of the compost pile and the tomatoes didn’t have any problems whatsoever. Perfect year. Then again, it is only my first year on this property. [...]

[Read more →]

We are starting to compile a Gardening Calendar. It will be of use to everyone who has that feeling that they are forgetting to do something to nurture their garden at any time of the year.
We are asking you to send in your list of monthly activities in the garden.
For example, this [...]

[Read more →]

Ingredients:
For Soup:
Great Northern Beans (soak overnight)
Portabella Mushrooms ( 2 big ones)
Home Made Vegetable Stock
Ginger (inch and a half)
onion (1 Large or 2 medium)
Garlic (5-10 cloves)
Potatos (3 medium)
Carrots (2 big)
Five Spice Powder
Garlic Powder
Corn (Kernels from Cob – 2)
Bay Leaves
Kelp or some Sea Vegetable
Miso Paste
Hot Chile of your choice
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil
For Grains:
Ghee or Butter
Whole Grains [...]

[Read more →]