Scientists at the Salk Institute have found further evidence that a natural compound in strawberries reduces cognitive deficits and inflammation associated with aging in mice. The work, which appeared in the Journals of Gerontology Series A in June 2017, builds on the team's … [Read more...]
Useful Avocado Hacks Every Guacamole Lover Should Know
Sure, we have all eaten guacamole. But aside from Mexican food, have you ever eaten an avocado? If not, you should try them! … [Read more...]
Deep Clean Your Microwave in 10 Minutes with this Nontoxic DIY Recipe
Cleaning the microwave is hard, dirty work. But here's a nontoxic and easy way to do it! All you need is a bowl, a lemon, some water and some apple cider vinegar. … [Read more...]
Human Antibiotics Sprayed on Orange Trees for Greening Disease: What this will mean for us?
Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services wants to spray antibiotics on citrus groves to combat greening disease, and is applying for an exemption with the EPA. Similar to the fight of routine antibiotic use in animal agriculture, there's concern over human … [Read more...]
Human Antibiotics Sprayed on Orange Trees for Greening Disease: What will this mean for us?
Similar to the fight of routine antibiotic use in animal agriculture, there's concern over human antibiotics treating crop disease. Florida's Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has through the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) applied to … [Read more...]
19 Surprising Ways to Use Lemons
When life hands you lemons, make lemonade! Or... use them in 19 surprising different ways! Here's how you can use lemons around the house to clean, as natural beauty products or in the garden: 1. Whiten socks and linens. To whiten socks and linens, boil some water and throw … [Read more...]
6 Tips for Better Results Growing Strawberries
Strawberries are a versatile little fruit. From cereal/salad topper to smoothie flavoring to tart pastry filling, this is a fruit you can incorporate into breakfast, lunch, dinner, beverage, or dessert. In addition to packing a bounty of Vitamin C, you’ll also get 5% or more of … [Read more...]
How to Grow Lime Trees
By Julie Christensen Lime trees are among the most cold-sensitive of all citrus trees, growing outdoors only in warm, mild climates. But, you don’t have to live south of zone 9 to grow lime trees indoors. If you’ve got a sunny window with southern exposure, you can grow lime … [Read more...]
Common Diseases of Orange Trees
By Julie Christensen When properly planted and cared for, orange trees don’t suffer a lot of disease or insect problems. Preventing frost damage is often the most pressing issue, depending on where you live, because orange trees can’t tolerate temperatures much below 32 degrees, … [Read more...]
Common Diseases of Lemon Trees
By Julie Christensen If you’re lucky enough to live in USDA plant hardiness zones 8 through 11, you should add lemon trees (Citron limon) to your list of landscaping plants. These trees are valued not only for their tart, flavorful fruit, but their shrub-like form and large … [Read more...]
Common Diseases of Lime Trees
By Julie Christensen With their arresting tart flavor, limes are most often used for their juice, which flavors dishes from key lime pie to margaritas to guacamole. Like all citrus trees, limes are heat-loving plants that only grow outdoors in USDA plant hardiness zones 9 … [Read more...]
Watermelon Calories and Nutrition Information
You love watermelon, especially as a refreshing treat to beat the summer heat, but is it any good for you? After all, watermelon’s little more than water and sugar, right? That’s what most people believe, but in recent years, researchers have discovered the surprising health … [Read more...]
Best Watermelon Varieties to Plant
By Julie Christensen Seasoned vegetable gardeners are a bit like fishermen boasting about their catch. They gauge their success as gardeners by the size of the fruit in their watermelon patch. Growing watermelon in the home garden is a cinch -- if you have the right conditions … [Read more...]
20 Fun Facts About Watermelon
By Julie Christensen What would summer be without juicy, sweet watermelon? Watermelon makes the perfect snack, picnic food or summer dessert. It’s also refreshing in smoothies, fruit pops and sorbets. Have you ever wondered where watermelon came from? How about the old wive’s … [Read more...]
Healthy Watermelon Recipes
By Julie Christensen Juicy, sweet watermelon, one of the bounties of summer, was long believed to be less nutritious than other fruits. After all, it’s 92 percent water so how nutritious can it be, right? Researchers have discovered that this delectable cucurbit is actually … [Read more...]
Healthy Peach Recipes
by Julie Christensen Late summer and early fall mean peach time. Enjoy this all-too-brief season by eating peaches to your heart’s content when they’re available in local markets. They’re not nearly as tasty come January. One fresh peach has about 40 calories and moderate … [Read more...]
Guide to Grilling Peaches
Consider your favorite foods of summer and peaches are likely to top the list. These fragrant, sweet fruits are available year-round, thanks to refrigerated shipping, but those peaches in the stores in January are only a pale shadow of local summer peaches in all their … [Read more...]
Preserving Peaches: Freezing and Canning
Few things say summer more than sweet, ripe peaches. You probably have fond memories of sitting on a porch eating peaches, the juice dripping down your chin. Home-grown or local peaches taste infinitely better than those trucked from hundreds of miles away, but the fresh peach … [Read more...]
Snow Apple Tree: History and Resources
The Snow Apple -- aptly named for both the fruit’s white flesh and the tree’s winter hardiness -- is one of the oldest known apple varieties. Also called the Fameuse, it originated in France, probably in the 1600s and was introduced to Canada and America one hundred years … [Read more...]
How to Grow an Apple Tree
Johnny Appleseed, aka Johnathan Chapman, was a horticultural hero responsible for planting thousands of apple trees throughout the Midwest in the early 1800s. Some of the descendents of these trees are still growing. Johnny traveled on foot over 100,000 square miles, and started … [Read more...]