a nice gardening book

Timberpress sent me a copy of a new book that I really enjoyed reading. "Sugar snaps and Strawberries" by Andrea Bellamy.

Its about small-space edible gardening and has really nice photos of container gardens. Great photo (page 46) of a garden planted in an old canoe! Nice section (page 58) on building raised beds. And (page 67) a chart of "the dirty dozen": 10 fruits and vegetables that consistently test highest for pesticide residues. They include kale, potatoes and spinach. Makes me glad to know I grow these at home. A nice book for a new gardener or an old one - to sift thorough as we wait for the gardening season.

pickles!!

My first try at making pickles! They are yummy. I made the recipe called Famous Back Eddy House Pickles from the book Quick Pickles by Chris Schlesinger and others. This book has lots of similar recipes and I'm hoping to try more of them soon. I like pickle recipes that use a mix of vegetables, in addition to cucumbers. I added beets (striped Chiogga's) to the recipe, which darkened my brine.

gift for a friend

This is a beautiful book that I was given to review. It has wonderful pictures and seems perfect for my friend and her very young girls who are budding gardeners. I also gave them broccoli and pea seeds, since broccoli is their favorite vegetable. They are container gardeners with a rooftop patio, so I'm interested to see how these will do for them. Its time to plant both now!

The Family Kitchen Garden: How to Plant, Grow, and Cook Together (link)
By Karen Liebreich, Jutta Wagner, and Annette Wendland
(Review copy from Timber Press)