Garden Wisdom Blog

The first two weeks of May is the ideal time window for starting squash seeds (including zucchini and pumpkin) indoors. By starting the seeds indoors, there is less risk of the seedlings being damaged during their most vulnerable early weeks. These plants transplant well, so it may be easier to achieve perfect spacing by starting seedlings indoors. I recommend starting one seed per cell in the fairly large 12-Cell Plug Inserts, using sterilized Seed Starting Soil. Provide optional bottom heat by using a Seed Heating Mat for faster and more even germination. As soon as the seedlings germinate (in 7...

This sharp dressing brings out the essence of aromatic rosemary, and blends it divinely with pungent citrus and garlic that suits nearly any salad. The recipe below makes enough Rosemary & Lemon Vinaigrette to top around four spring and summer salads, with two tablespoons to dress each one. Make it ahead of time and let it store covered in the fridge for up to five days. It also makes an incredible marinade for grilled meats from lamb to chicken. Fresh rosemary has so many uses — we always make sure our woody rosemary hedge is in good health. The key...

Learn about onions (Allium cepa) & shallots (A. cepa aggreatum) Onions represent perhaps the most ancient of cultivated vegetables, dating back to the Bronze Age, as early as 5000 BC. Or, at least the archaeological evidence suggests that onions were eaten as food at that time. Cultivation may not have occurred until 3000 BC, in ancient Egypt. There, they were worshipped as symbols of eternal life — perhaps because of the round shape and concentric rings of the vegetable. Ailsa Craig sweet onions The onion, with its pungent odour and strong flavour, was also used as medicine since around the...

We hear so much about ants “farming” aphids that we thought we should answer the question, “Do ants farm aphids?” It’s natural for human beings to try to explain an observation of the natural world in terms of human emotions and experience. While it is common knowledge that “ants farm aphids,” this personified view leads to some very confused beliefs and assumptions. The idea that one insect benefits from the husbandry of another is fanciful but misleading. Of the nearly one thousand ant species in North America, some do harvest the excretions of other insects. Aphids, whiteflies, certain bugs, and...

Soya bean sprouts are one of the most common and popular vegetables in Korean cuisine. They are known as kongnamul in Korean, and this salad is Kongnamul-muchim. Soya bean sprouts are always cooked before eating, which takes away a musty, fishy odour, and leaves them tasting fresh and nutty. About 1/2 cup of Yellow Soy seeds will produce roughly one pound of finished sprouts, which is the amount called for in this recipe. We trim the root off of each sprout before cooking, leaving a stem about 6cm (2 1/2″) long, with the first pair of leaves (cotyledon) just opening....