THE BENEFITS OF GROWING YOUR OWN VEGETABLES.

THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COMPOST BIN I HAVE EVER SEEN

I have been in search of a compost bin for some time now and found this beautiful one on the web.  I'm inspired to recreate this in my own backyard.   


The plans for making this is posted by Seattle Tilth at http://seattletilth.org/learn/resources-1/compost/woodwire3bin.pdf/view?searchterm=compost        

MY SUNDAY AFTERNOON

The weather was amazing today.  Took advantage of the day by 

creating flower baskets and re-potting  plants.

                               
                                Just finished making Mother's Day Baskets for this Saturdays event.

                                       

                                      Re-planting tomatoes while enjoying a cup of Starbucks coffee. 
                  Here's an   interesting fact-did you know tomatoes were once thought to be poisonous. 

FIELDS OF AJI DULCE

Last years harvest of Aji Dulce Peppers-a sweet pepper similiar to the size and shape of a habenero pepper but without the heat.  This pepper is an important ingredient in the making of sofrito.  Please visit my blog  entitled "My Sofrito Recipe" to make your own sofrito and also visit my website at www.designbynaturenursery.com to purchase these wonderful plants.     

HOW TO BUILD A WATTLE FENCE (DIY)

Wattle fence technique is a quick and affordable (free) way to build fencing.  It's easy to make and beautiful for any garden.    They are traditionally made of willow branches.   If you cannot find willow then any type of branch that you can bend slightly and weave can be used.  

I love wattle fences because it adds an element of natural beauty to my garden and gives it a medieval feel.   The first time I saw this technique being used was at a community garden in my city park.  The person gathered branches of similar sizes and weaved them into a work of art.  It protected their vegetable garden from the deer and rabbits that roamed freely at the park expecially at night.  

Below are a few examples of different types of wattle fencing.  I am also attaching a link that provides intructions on how to build one yourself.

  

http://www.alaskabg.org/Education-Learn/HowTo/WattleFence.pdf

HERB & GARDEN FAIRE MAY 11 AND 12

Hello,

Just wanted to let you know that Design By Nature will be a vendor at the Herb & Garden Faire sponsored by Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum in Lancaster, PA on May 11 and 12th.  Hours 9am to 5pm.   Admission fee $10. 

My booth will be in spot 16; please look for me.  

I will be showcasing my Aji Dulce and Culantro plants this year.

I will also have available on that day - a wide selection of heirloom tomatoes, eggplants, artichoke plants, hot peppers plants, fruit trees, fig trees and kiwi vines.   Oh I almost forget the all time favorite pink blue-berry bush.  

The Herb & Garden Faire has been a Lancaster tradition for 24+ years and I am excited to be a part of it for two years now.   It is a great event for both gardeners and non-gardeners.  More than 70 vendors participate offering a wide selection of plants, including natives, perennials, annuals, vegetables, and heirloom varieties.  People from all over PA, NJ, CT, NY, DE and DC come to visit.   

I am anxiously awaiting this year’s event (I've been preparing since February).  Hope to see you there.   

Sincerely
Aida
Design By Nature


To find out more about the fair please visit www.landisvalleymusem.org

Design By Nature Grand Opening

Hello all please visit my website at WWW.designbynaturenursery.com.   

Website is officialy open and ready for business.

Thank you
Aida

HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD RECIPE

The Brandywine, Black Brandywine, GermanGreen and Black Zebra are wonderful heirloom varieties to use in this salad. They are juicy and have smaller seed pockets.

Heirloom Tomato Salad

2 pounds heirloom tomatoes of various kinds
coarse sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
extra-virgin olive oil
red-wine vinegar
handful basil leaves

Core tomatoes and cut 1/4-inch thick slices.

On a large platter, lay tomato slices overlapping. Season each slice with salt and pepper. Drizzle with about 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil and of vinegar.

Gather basil leaves together and roll into a cigar shape. Slice crosswise into very thin ribbons. Sprinkle over tomatoes. Serve salad immediately. Yield: 4 servings.

SOW WHAT WHEN

I found this great planting calender while surfing the web.   Its a great resource.

MY SOFRITO RECIPE

Sofrito  

Sofrito is the base and essence of Puerto Rican food.  It is not just an ingredient it is our culture.  Puerto Rican food is not authentic Puerto Rican food without the use of Sofrito.  Its the first thing to go into the pot and establishes the flavor and seasonings of what's to come.  The recipe is different in every Puerto Rican household and it is normally handed down from mother to child from generation to generation. 

The herb culantro and Aji Dulce’s are what gives Sofrito its unique flavor.   

My Sofrito Recipe:

4  Cubanelle Peppers

1 large  red bell pepper

1 lb of Aji Dulce

50 leaves of Recao-Culantro

A bunch of Cilantro

2 heads of garlic

2 spanish onions

1 teaspoon of olive oil

Prepare

Wash all the ingredients and remove the seeds.  Put all the ingredients in a

blender and put blender on coarse until all ingredients have been blended.    

You can store them in ice-cube trays  so that you can freeze and use as needed.   

Thank you for visiting and reading my post have a wonderful day.

Feel free to leave comments and share similar stories. 

You can share your comments in the comments section of this post. 

Please visit my website at  www.designbynaturenursery.com  

Sincerely,

Aida.  

COMPANION PLANTING

Companion planting is the practice of growing plants next to each other for mutual benefit.  Companion's attract beneficial or repels harmful insect and it can also improve the flavor or growth.  I personally have planted sweet basil next to my tomato plants because it will repel flies and mosquitoes and improve growth and flavor of the tomato.  I have planted Marigolds next to beans, peas and tomatoes because it is a natural way to deter beetles and other harmful insects.  I also love to grow mint next to beans and carrots to help improve the growth and flavor.  I have made flower and vegetable arrangements in containers for customers keeping in mind companion planting.   There is a wealth of information on the internet related to this topic.  I have tried to simplify it here for you and try to get you thinking about the planning process of your gardern.   I have attached a chart to help you get started it is published by Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening for companion planting ideas.   

Plant	Companion(s) and Effects
Asparagus	Tomatoes, parsley, basil
Basil	Tomatoes (improves growth & flavor); said to dislike rue; repels flies & mosquitoes
Bean	Potatoes, carrots, cucumbers, cauliflower, cabbage, summer savory, most other veggies & herbs
Bean (bush)	Sunflowers (beans like partial shade, unless you live up north, sunflowers attract birds & bees for pollination), cucumbers (combination of heavy and light feeders), potatoes, corn, celery, summer savory
Bee Balm	Tomatoes (improves growth & flavor).
Beet	Onions, kohlrabi
Borage	Tomatoes (attracts bees, deters tomato worm, improves growth & flavor), squash, strawberries
Cabbage Family (broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, kohlrabi)	Potatoes, celery, dill, chamomile, sage, thyme, mint, pennyroyal, rosemary, lavender, beets, onions; aromatic plants deter cabbage worms
Caraway	Loosens soil; plant here and there
Carrot	Peas, lettuce, chives, onions, leeks, rosemary, sage, tomatoes
Catnip	Plant in borders; protects against flea beetles
Celery	Leeks, tomatoes, bush beans, cauliflower, cabbage
Chamomile	Cabbage, onions
Chervil	Radishes (improves growth & flavor).
Chive	Carrots; plant around base of fruit trees to discourage insects from climbing trunk
Corn	Potatoes, peas, beans, cucumbers, pumpkin, squash
Cucumber	Beans, corn, peas, radishes, sunflowers
Dead Nettle	Potatoes (deters potato bugs)
Dill	Cabbage (improves growth & health), carrots
Eggplant	Beans
Fennel	Most plants are supposed to dislike it.
Flax	Carrots, potatoes
Garlic	Roses & raspberries (deters Japanese beetle); with herbs to enhance their production of essential oils; plant liberally throughout garden to deter pests
Horseradish	Potatoes (deters potato beetle); around plum trees to discourage curculios
Hyssop	Cabbage (deters cabbage moths), grapes; keep away from radishes
Lamb's Quarters	Nutritious edible weeds; allow to grow in modest amounts in the corn
Leek	Onions, celery, carrots
Lemon Balm	Here and there in the garden
Marigold	The workhorse of pest deterrents; keeps soil free of nematodes; discourages many insects; plant freely throughout the garden.
Marjoram	Here and there in the garden
Mint	Cabbage family; tomatoes; deters cabbage moth
Nasturtium	Tomatoes, radish, cabbage, cucumbers; plant under fruit trees; deters aphids & pests of curcurbits
Onion	Beets, strawberries, tomato, lettuce (protects against slugs), beans (protects against ants), summer savory
Parsley	Tomato, asparagus
Pea	Squash (when squash follows peas up trellis), plus grows well with almost any vegetable; adds nitrogen to the soil
Petunia	Protects beans; beneficial throughout garden
Potato	Horseradish, beans, corn, cabbage, marigold, limas, eggplant (as a trap crop for potato beetle)
Pot Marigold	Helps tomato, but plant throughout garden as deterrent to asparagus beetle, tomato worm & many other garden pests
Pumpkin	Corn
Radish	Peas, nasturtium, lettuce, cucumbers; a general aid in repelling insects
Rosemary	Carrots, beans, cabbage, sage; deters cabbage moth, bean beetles & carrot fly
Rue	Roses & raspberries; deters Japanese beetle; keep away from basil
Sage	Rosemary, carrots, cabbage, peas, beans; deters some insects
Soybean	Grows with anything; helps everything
Spinach	Strawberries
Squash	Nasturtium, corn
Strawberry	Bush beans, spinach, borage, lettuce (as a border)
Summer Savory	Beans, onions; deters bean beetles
Sunflower	Cucumber
Tansy	Plant under fruit trees; deters pests of roses & raspberries; deters flying insects, also Japanese beetles, striped cucumber beetles, squash bugs; deters ants
Tarragon	Good throughout garden
Thyme	Here and there in garden; deters cabbage worm
Tomato	Chives, onion, parsley, asparagus, marigold, nasturtium, carrot, limas
Valerian	Good anywhere in garden
Wormwood	As a border, keeps animals from the garden
Yarrow	Plant along borders, near paths, near aromatic herbs; enhances essential oil production of herbs

This link is also a free reference guide that I like to refer back to.

http://www.almanac.com/content/plant-companions-list-ten-common-vegetables