Save Pumpkin, Squash & Gourd Seeds: Learn How

Howden pumpkins growing in the field.

I love growing pumpkins, squashes and gourds. They are one of the easiest and most forgiving type of vegetables to grow in the garden. Just poke a seed in, water and the vines will grow like crazy--producing a great array of fall color and tasty foods.

Learn how to save your seeds and grow your favorite varieties from year to year without ever buying pumpkin or squash seeds again. An easy, step by step guide for choosing seeds and varieties, growing tips and how to harvest, dry and properly store your pumpkin seeds. View article here.


Covers all Cucurbia species; maxima, moschata, mixta, pepo, ficifolia, foetidissima within the Cucurbitaceae family.


Pictured: 8-Ball zucchinis, spaghetti squash, yellow crooked-neck & straight-necked squashes, black beauty zucchinis, gold rush zucchini and much more. All squash in the Cucurbita genus.

Forest Gardening: Shade Tolerant Plants

Want a garden with vegetables, fruits, edible wild foods and a lush appearance? If you answered yes, then forest gardening may be the place to cast your seeds and get started.

Forest gardening, or growing vegetables in shady woodlands, is possible and a very intriguing type of gardening that is becoming more popular as gardeners seek ways to work with nature instead of against it. There are some links to beautiful forest gardens and lots of information about this style of gardening.

Get out of the hot sun and plant a forest garden in the shade.

Forest Gardening: Shade Tolerant Vegetables and Herbs

Farmers Market: Sell More with Niche Growing & Marketing Plan

Learn how to increase sales at your Farmers Market booth, how to develop a niche growing and marketing plan, booth/display tips and MUCH more. This is an article written by an experienced vegetable farmer and farmers market vendor. It offers professional, solid information on how to improve traffic and sales at your farmers market booth.

Farmers Market Tips: Sell More With Niche Growing & Marketing

Seed Saving: How to Store & Guide to Seed Life

Seed saving has become a hot gardening topic and vegetable gardeners are learning the importance of saving their vegetable seeds for future crops. As the small seed companies offering heirloom and open-pollinated seeds dwindle each year at a fast rate, gardeners have begun learning how to grow, harvest and save their own seeds to preserve the varieties they love for future generations.

If you are a seed saver and have started your own seed bank, these are two articles you must read. Learn how to properly store your seeds to maximize seed life and be sure to print out the seed life guide as a handy reference tool. It lists the life of properly stored seeds for over 47 vegetables commonly grown by vegetable gardeners.

Seed Saving: Best Method for Storing Vegetable Seeds

Seed Saving: How Long will my Seed Last? A Seed Life Guide

Get Rid of Slugs: Slug Fencing & Slug Pubs

Organic gardeners seek ways and alternative methods to preventing slugs and other insects from destroying their crops. If you're tired of seeing slime trails and half-eaten lettuce in your garden, try slug fencing or slug pubs. Both are good ways to avoid using slug bait and other nasty chemicals in your organic vegetable garden.

Slug Pubs & Slug Fencing: Organic Slug Prevention Article

Harvesting Hubbard Squash & Thanksgiving Mashed Potato Recipe

Hubbard squashes, known for their ability to grow into very large squashes, make a tasty fall dish. Hubbard squash should be harvested immediately after the first fall frost. Cut the hubbard from the vine, leaving a short stub as you would a pumpkin. They can then be stored in a cool, dark area and eaten well into spring. A garage or basement is an ideal location to store hubbard squashes.

Due to their large size, it is often hard to eat one before it goes bad. A fabulous way to serve hubbard squash is to use it for Thanksgiving supper when you have a lot of mouths to feed.

Learn how to make Hubbard Squash Mashed Potatoes and serve the entire dish in the shell of the hubbard. The potatoes have a gorgeous orange fall color, are healthier than potatoes and if served in the hubbard shell can also serve as a centerpiece on your Thanksgiving supper table.

THANKSGIVING HUBBARD SQUASH MASHED POTATO RECIPE

Too Many Pumpkins? Recyle Into Gifts & Treats

If you find your garden pleasantly rewarding you with a bounty of pumpkins, it's time to turn them into unique gifts and treats. Make gift baskets for your friends using these clever ways to turn too many pumpkins into gift buying savings. The following are included in the article:

• Pumpkin Pickles
• Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
• Pumpkin Seed Bird Treats
• Pumpkin-Orange Jam
• Pumpkin Butter
• Grandma's Favorite Pumpkin Bread
• How to recycle pumpkin candles into cool fire starters (Great for a gift basket)

CLICK HERE TO RECYCLE YOUR PUMPKINS

Propagation of Herbs:How to Start Herbs with Cuttings

Discover how to start an herb garden by learning how to propagate herbs with cuttings. It is an inexpensive way to expand the herb varities in your garden and it's very easy to learn and do. Click HERE to get started.

Cocoa Bean Mulches: Are they Toxic?

As gardeners it is important to use products that are not only safe for the environment, but safe for our family and pets as well. Cocoa bean mulches can cause illness and death to pets and livestock if eaten in certain quantities. Learn more about cocoa bean mulches here. It addresses the recent emails about Sunshine of Africa cocoa shell mulch alerts.

Hoh Rain Forest in Olympic National Park, WA

Garden lovers and wild mushroom harvesters will enjoy a trip to the Hoh Rain Forest located in the Olympic National Park in Washington State. Follow this link to view photos and information about the Hoh Rain Forest--it is a truly mystical forest.

Teach Children to Garden with Gardening Mama Video Game

Your children or grandchildren love video games, but you just hate wasting money on games that aren't educational in some way. If you share the love of gardening with your child or grandchild try giving a gift of gardening those video game lovers will play and learn at the same time. It teaches good, green earth-wise gardening practices.

Read more about the Gardening Mama Video Game here.

How to Remove Blueberry Stems Easily

Blueberries are easy to grow, a bit time consuming to pick, but downright frustrating to pick all the tiny little stems off when it comes time to prepare them for jam making. Learn how to remove blueberry stems the easy way by clicking here.

Spruce Up Your Landscaping for Holidays

Discover quick, easy ways you can spruce up your landscape or yard just in time for holiday festivities or those surprise visitors.

Article: Spruce up Landscape Tips

Chicken of the Woods:Wild & Edible Mushrooms

Chicken of the Woods is a beautiful, edible mushroom. You can't grow this in the garden, but you might be surprised to find it growing all on its own in your forest. Learn more about Chicken of the Woods Mushroom here.

Learn how to Can Mushrooms.

Zucchinis Coming Out Your Ears? Zucchini Recipes

As the summer ends, gardeners find a new challenge--What to do with the wheelbarrow loads of zucchini. Here are some ideas:

1) Offer to friends, family, neighbors
2) Take to church, however placing zucchini in the offering plate doesn't work well--tried it.
3) Donate to the local food bank
4) Feed to livestock (my cows, pigs and even the chickens enjoy zucchini)
5) Save the seeds for next year's garden. Learn more about the importance of seed saving.
6) BAKE, BAKE and BAKE some more..........

You can bake zucchini bread, cakes, cupcakes, muffins, and even delicious Italian zucchini recipes with the whopper zucchinis you couldn't pick fast enough.

You can then freeze your baked goods to enjoy year-round or bake some up and take them to your local fire/police department. The firefighters, police and other volunteers and staff will greatly appreciate homemade, healthy treats.

Here are some fabulous links to great zucchini recipes:

Zucchini Recipes (Baked Italian recipe is at this link, as well as how to cook Zucchini blossoms--a truly delightful way to eat the blossoms)

Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cake or Cupcake Recipe (BEST recipe ever and the baked goods freeze very well for lunches)