Page 11 - Home & Garden

When it comes to food safety, I take it to a whole ‘nother level. Never shall meats and vegetables touch the same surfaces during preparation, and after making chicken, the kitchen smells like a swimming pool with copious amount of the bleach I use in the clean up. So, when home fermentation started becoming popular many years ago, even with all of its nutritional benefits, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do have food soaking in brine on the counter for a week or more, possibly with white fuzz growing somewhere on the liquid, and actually eat it. Thankfully, speaking with Sandor Katz (a.k.a. Sandorkraut), author of Wild Fermentation and The Art of Fermentation, alleviated my fears. His decades of research and international experience convinced me that I wasn’t going to kill my family, and in fact, fermenting food will act...

The lettuce and spinach are finally planted, but it’s still going to be weeks before they’re big enough to make a salad and, truthfully, I am ready for vegetables that haven’t traveled more than I have. To satisfy my taste for something fresh, I decided sprouts and microgreens are the perfect remedy for a quick, fresh treat any time of the year. Microgreens are fast growing and super nutritious. What is the difference between sprouts and greens? Sprouts and microgreens are the very early growth of seeds, whether those are Asian greens, alfalfa seeds, broccoli, or beans. The difference is how you grow them. Sprouts are a soilless method using a jar and some sort of screened lid to drain out the water. Microgreens are grown just like any new plant, but they are harvested as soon as the first true leaves emerge. Both pack a boatload o...

I am an Ohio born corn snob. A fair amount of the corn I’ve eaten in Montana reminded me of the field corn grown on my family’s farm, and it took a lot of butter and salt to make it palatable. Of course, one of my gardening goals has been to grow good tasting corn, and after all of these years in Big Sky Country, I’ve figured it out. Plant corn in a block of rows. Know when and what to plant Choosing the right variety of corn is key to a successful corn crop since we don’t have the warm nights, nor the extended season of the Midwest. Unfortunately, you’ll have to bypass varieties such as the long standing Silver Queen that takes 92 days to harvest. For our shorter season, Ambrosia and Bodacious are both super sweet types that mature in less than 80 days, making them good Western choices. The 68-day Kandy ...

The spring garden is weed-free and full of promise. Every year I strive to keep the unwanted plants at bay valiant efforts and consistent care. Then hiking season happens and the weeds take over unless I am smart enough to employ techniques to stay one step ahead of them. There are few things more likely to make a gardener throw up his or her hands in frustration than weeds. They seem to reproduce exponentially overnight, choking out the vegetables or covering your flowers to where you can’t even see them. Fortunately, there are also a variety of ways to stay ahead of them. Cobrahead is the champion weeding tool. Nip them before the grow If you have only plants in your garden, either established perennials, annual flowers, or vegetables, use a pre-emergent, such as Preen, to reduce the growth of weed seeds in the soil by forming a bond...

Anytime there’s a chance to grow bigger and better tomatoes, I’ll grab it. Years ago I learned about grafting them as a way to raise longer season varieties in our short season climate, which was a big benefit in my eyes since so many of the larger tomatoes are better suited for regions with over 85 days of warm growing season. We might have that in the total season, but it’s rarely optimum tomato growing weather during the entire time. Grafting also provides an increased level of disease resistance, especially to Fusarium and Verticillium, which particularly plague heirloom varieties that do not have resistance bred into their makeup. The good news is besides disease resistance, the plants demonstrate increased production with many growers claim up to a 40 percent greater harvest. From commercial growers to the home garden Grafting...

One of my favorite summer activities is to sit outside and listen to the garden. When it’s alive with the sound of buzzing, chirping, and singing, I know all is well in our little microcosm. In the end, having an array of insects, along with a healthy number of birds, is the ideal mix for a productive and low-stress garden, not to mention a nice mindset. We all understand the role that honeybees play in the garden, with their hard work flying from flower-to-flower so we don’t have to hand-pollinate our squash and other vegetables. But there are a multitude of other insects that share this task. On top of that, there are a whole band of other insects, as well as birds, that will take care of a lot of your pest problems before they become an issue. The key is creating a suitable landscape for all. Spiders are a great help in the garde...

The bright red, luscious looking strawberries in the grocery store might be a shining example of perfection, but don’t let them fool you. The taste is closer to sweetened styrofoam. I’ve succumbed over the years to the store-bought berries, but am frequently disappointed. This year, I’m planting more beds of these delicious fruit to be able to eat them fresh, freeze them, can them, and hopefully dehydrate some for the trail. And this may be something you want to do, too. New strawberries in the bed Choosing June-bearing or ever-bearing berries June-bearing is a bit of a misnomer as you can find varieties of strawberries that bloom at different times of the summer, but the basic premise is these strawberries give you a single big harvest in the summer, oftentimes with nice-sized berries. If you prefer larger crops, particularly if ...

Spinach and early greens are a sure sign of spring, but finally harvesting fresh asparagus makes my heart happy. Asparagus produces its bountiful stalks once the soil reaches 50 degrees Fahrenheit. This continues until hot weather causes the plant to produce beautiful fern-like foliage. My asparagus patch is now in its third year and I am looking forward to serving it several times a week as soon as the weather warms. Perennial event A native of Europe and Asia, settlers brought asparagus to North America in the 1700s and planted it in their early gardens. These early gardeners typically planted crowns, but asparagus does reseed and, subsequently, naturalized in areas throughout the country. A wild patch of asparagus is a treasured—and guarded—secret for the finder. Fortunately, it’s equally easy to raise your own asparagus at home...

Lightweight and handcrafted, Danner Men’s 8” Waterproof Gritstone Work Boots give your feet support and protection on the job, with an improved fit. Rugged-tough-durable, these boots feature waterproof full-grain leather and triple stitching. The oil-and-slip resistant outsoles meet OSHA safety standards, while the Danner 610 can be worn by all foot shapes; meaning you’ll be sure-footed and comfortable on your feet all day long. Click the video below to learn more or buy your Danner Gritstone boots here. Hello. My name is Lee Mishke and we're at the Mid State Show. I'm with Danner and Lacrosse Footwear and I want to tell you a little bit about the Gritstone Boot, new from Danner. Gritstone takes kind of the Danner heritage to using the stitch down construction where the leather comes down, is flared out and actually sewn all the wa...

Photo courtesy of Alex Few of Wildlife Services My first bee venture started decades ago when I kept a few hives at my home outside of West Glacier, Montana. I knew bears could be an issue, but lived in denial and enjoyed trouble-free hives for several years. I should have taken the grizzly licking my barbecue grill on my porch one night as a clue that I needed to be proactive, but the bear destroyed the hives before I could pound a t-post. That learning experience made it clear that all bee yards should be fenced in bear country. Bears looking for an easy meal With more people keeping bees in bear country, it’s important to understand that having a bear destroy your hives not only ruins the colonies, it potentially sets up the bear for future trouble. They are ruled by their stomachs and unprotected hives are veritable bruin bento box...

So... you grow (or are thinking about growing) cucumbers in your garden this year... well, congratulations, you just struck internet gold. This is the world's best spicy pickle recipe for water bath canning cucumbers that has ever been created by man (okay, this was voted on by one content creator who is wildly biased towards the recipe... considering he made it up--but that's beside the point)! "What's water bath canning," you innocently ask... read this complete guide to water bath canning I respond (knowing you will spend hours reading it). One of the joys of taking all the time to learn to grow, and successfully growing, your own food is actually eating the produce you produce. One thing you'll realize when you're growing food is the AMOUNT of food your garden actually produces... it's a LOT. For instance, take the garden cucumb...