Home and Gardening Today

The Green Movement is here and is in full effect. Everyone’s finding new and improved ways to lower their carbon footprint and live in an eco-friendly way.

We’ve been composting for years by throwing our food waste, minus anything with protein, into our gardens.

* Tip: Removing the protein keeps rodents much less interested in the organics.

We get fabulous results and have really reduced our waste we throw away in the garbage at the curb.

Now, we have a composting recycling program in Ontario, but we still try to supplement our own gardens with great organic waste.

It would be very helpful, however, to have an Earthmaker composter - one which contains the organic waste until it’s viable compost.

This would cut down on biodegrading time, flies and would be a lot prettier to look at in the garden than egg shells and onion peels.

Worried about animals trying to get in your earthmaker aerobic composter? No need to worry.

They have a secure, swiveling door at the top that keeps these animals out.

I know you caught the word, “aerobic” above. Aerobic means it uses Continue Reading…

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When you go to the store and buy beans for bean plants, you can’t simply come home and plant them straight into the ground.

The same goes for peas as well.

When you get home, open up the packages and place as many of each type of bean plant into their own separate dessert bowl by type of bean (or another tiny bowl) with lukewarm water in it.

Allow the beans and peas to Continue Reading…

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Ready for the Planting…and exclusively from Cooking With Kimberly!

Get your Rhubarb Plant Seeds into the ground for beautiful, lush and hearty plants right here:

Our seeds are all naturally and organically produced and will develop into a beautiful plant with edible green and red streaked stalks with large, beautiful leaves.

Beautiful, even if you’re not going to harvest the food from it!

We are seeing a “green” trend whereby people are planting their own fruit, veggies and herbs, not only because they can control the conditions in which they grow, i.e. organic & natural, but they’re saving money in this economic downturn too.

Also, it’s fun to see your food grow, especially for kids!

What Can I Do With Rhubarb?
Rhubarb is a integral part of some of my fondest memories as a child.

When I was hungry or bored, mom would send me out to our huge rhubarb plant to cut the stalks for her to make something delicious for me…

…or she would send me outside with a small saucer of sugar to dunk the fresh stalks into to eat raw.

Mom’s rhubarb pies and mouse (German fruit stew) are so amazing.

A few days ago, I harvested a laundry tub full of rhubarb stalks, which after chopping into 1″ chunks filled 4 large Ziplocs to the brim.

To easily store your rhubarb for future tasty treats, wash, chop and put into large Ziploc freezer bags with 1 cup of sugar mixed in and freeze until ready for use.

This year, I’m making some rhubarb jams - delicious mixed with fresh, local strawberries too.

I’m also going to can some rhubarb chutney, which will be fantastic for appetizers, or hors d’oeuvres anytime!

What Else is Rhubarb Good For?
Rhubarb is a hearty plant that can often grow where no other plants will. Place them in areas where the garden is bare or you simply cannot grow anywhere else.

Also, when we harvest the rhubarb stalks, we cut off the large leaf at the end and place them in between the rows of the veggie garden to prevent weeds from coming up and they hold the moisture in the ground longer too.

Nutrition & Health Benefits of Rhubarb:
Due to it’s slight laxative effect, rhubarb roots and the like have been used as “slimming” agents in the diet industry for years, as well as being used in body cleanses the world over.

Rhubarb is low in calories, until sugar is added to it, at 28 calories for 1 cup.

In just 1 cup, you’re getting 74 mg of your Omega-6 Fatty Acids, 50% of your daily required intake of Vitamin K, it’s full of Vitamin C & Calcium too, not to mention a myriad of other nutrients we all need.

For a more detailed look at the nutritional analysis of rhubarb, go to: NutritionData.com

Purchase Details:
I’m going to send you 10 rhubarb plant seeds ready to go, grown naturally and organically, from our garden to yours for only $1.59 + S&H of $1.99.

Order Now:

* As I’m unsure about the regulations shipping seeds overseas, this offer is limited to the USA & Canada.

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I hope you enjoyed this Fruit & Vegetable Garden post on Home and Gardening Today! Until next time…

Plant Your Rhubarb,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Get your own seeds for a beautiful Rhubarb Plant for only $1.59 +S&H right here:

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As I mentioned in my earlier post, Just Planted My Herbs & Veggies In October, I planted cherry tomato plants for the winter window sills.

I read on the back of the “growing instructions”, something that I hadn’t heard before about tomato seedlings.

When the sprouts appear, to gently brush the palm of your hand against the tops of the seedlings to encourage strong stem growth.

Who knew? Great idea that will spark the plants receptors to instruct the plant to strengthen the stems…

Wow, nature is amazing!

Now that the sprouts are getting almost that size, I will have to remember that great tip to grow strong tomato plants!

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I hope you find this Vegetables post on Home and Gardening Today helpful! Until next time…

Brush those sprouts,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Be sure to feed your tomato plants! When your seedlings are 2-3″ in height, use tomato fertilizer and follow instructions on package:

Tomato Boomers Does the maze of fertilizers and “nutrient blends” available for tomatoes leave you dazed? Simplify your life and increase your harvests with easy-to-use, pre-mixed Tomato Boomers. Nothing to mix, time, or otherwise mess up — these little oblong stakes are handy! $3.50

Technorati Tags: tomato plants, cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, cherry tomato plants, vegetable plant tip, gardening tip, sprouts

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Yes, it’s the end of October, and I just planted tomatoes, peppers, and a variety of herbs.

I know, you’re asking yourself if I’ve lost track of what time of year it is…

Nope! Absolutely not!

I know it’s fall and we’ve even gotten some frost thus far, but I just planted these gems in small pots on the sunny window sills of the house, so that we’ll have fresh herbs and cherry tomatoes throughout the winter and spring.

Then, we’ll be able to plant our beautiful plants outside in the spring and have beautiful, big plants ready to go for when the sun and heat hit!

How exciting…

Sweet, green, red & chili peppers, cherry tomatoes, Continue Reading…

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