Rosemary (Rosemarinus officinalis) originates from the Mediterranean region but can be successfully grown around the world given the right conditions. This perennial is fairly hardy and will reward you with aromatic leaves to use in your cuisine ranging from roast lamb to soups, poultry and casseroles. Keep cutting off small twigs – a little goes… [read more]

St. John’s wort is both a mysterious and debated member of the herb family. You’ve heard of it, but what is it really? Is it a noxious weed or a miraculous medicinal plant? Poisonous to your livestock or not? A vitamin supplement or a disaster for your homestead or ranch? In this article, we’ll talk… [read more]

Cilantro, a fast growing annual has a lifespan of between 2 months to 3 months and provides a pop of brilliant green to various dishes, and the flavor is one often associated with many Asian, Indian, Mediterranean and Mexican dishes. Known by various names such as Chinese parsley, Mexican parsley, and coriander and among Indian… [read more]

If you have a backyard garden in one of the warmer growing zones, you’ve likely been left scratching your head a time or two over corn smut. This disease is a fascinating – albeit troublesome – beast, found typically in small, urban gardens instead of in large, commercial productions. This disease appears on the ears,… [read more]

There’s nothing quite like a crunchy bay leaf to lend a savory flavor to your soups, stews, or stir fries. If you’re familiar with growing herbs and are looking for a more challenging option, you might want to consider growing the bay leaf plant. Also known as bay laurel, sweet bay, and laurel, this plant… [read more]

You have worked hard to cultivate a gorgeous crop of tomatoes. From sunup to sundown, you’ve been out in your garden planting, watering, fertilizing, and pruning your plants, all in the hopes that your tomatoes will grow tall, verdant, and productive. And then it hits – the early blight. Blight is one of the most… [read more]

The weather is starting to warm up, and while you may be focusing all your efforts on preparing your vegetable gardens and animal pastures for spring, make sure you don’t overlook your flower beds. Everybody wants a touch of color on the homestead, and flower beds are also beneficial in that they attract pollinators and… [read more]

Colorful, unique, and easy to grow, winter squash is one of the most popular types of vegetables grown in gardens all over the world. A nutritious and delicious crop, winter squash has a long storage life, allowing you to keep it with minimal care for many months without having to worry about spoilage. Luckily, growing… [read more]

Move over, aphids. Your garden has a new pest that you’ll need to watch out for (and worry about!). If you have fruit plants, like raspberries, blackberries, grapes, blueberries, cherries, peaches, or strawberries, you may have heard of the raspberry worm. These nasty pests aren’t picky – in addition to raspberries, they’ll also infest the… [read more]

Nothing says summer like biting into a light, refreshing cucumber or devouring a handful of crunchy pickles at your summer barbecue. Although most people would consider cucumbers to be a vegetable, they are technically considered to be a fruit. This fruit is probably the second most popular ‘vegetable’ in the United States. It is found… [read more]