We all have them – so why not EAT them? Dandelions, that is! With tough times for many, we have this FREE, nutrient-packed food right in our yards and fields, so let’s make the most of it!

Dandelions are bioaccumulators, meaning their deep tap root pulls minerals and nutrients from the subsoil that many other plants can’t access. As the tap root grows, it also helps break up compacted soils – a benefit any gardener can appreciate.

When it comes to food, dandelions can pass along all those collected nutrients to us. And there are numerous ways to enjoy them!

The young spring greens are delicious in salads and can even be found on restaurant menus. In many Asian cultures, they’re considered a delicacy, and you can sometimes find them at farmers' markets or even purchase dandelion seeds from certain mail-order seed companies.

As the greens mature, they can become bitter, but they make a fantastic sauté with butter, onion, and bacon (because, let’s face it, everything is better with bacon).

The root also holds value. When dried and ground, it makes an excellent coffee substitute. This caffeine-free, acid-free version is a great choice for those with dietary restrictions.

For those who enjoy something sweet, dandelion jelly is made from the flowers, resulting in a lovely sunny yellow treat that’s sure to lift your spirits during the winter months.

And that’s just the beginning – there are so many other possibilities! Dandelion wine, dandelion sandwiches, medicinal uses, dandelion beer... even dandelion mushroom calzone! (Check out the recipe here: Mother Earth News - Dandelion Recipes).

Instead of trying to eradicate these plants, we should embrace them and find more ways to enjoy them. Spread the word to your friends!

Remember, when foraging, always do your research. Make sure the area you’re collecting from hasn’t been treated with pesticides.

Foraging has become an increasingly popular trend for several reasons: the appeal of living off the land, the health benefits of wild edibles, and the potential to reduce your grocery bill by harvesting "free" food.

In our local area, there are several experienced foragers eager to share their knowledge with anyone interested. These experts offer classes, guided foraging walks, and even create educational DVDs. The audience for these teachings is diverse, ranging from young children to retirees, all curious about the nutritional and medicinal benefits of wild plants.

Here are a few important tips to keep in mind when foraging:

• Proper Identification: It’s crucial to be absolutely sure about what you are collecting and consuming. When you’re just starting out, focus on learning to identify a few key plants and gradually expand your knowledge. Studying under an experienced forager can be incredibly helpful.

• Know Your Foraging Location: Be mindful of where you forage. Pesticides are often used in public spaces, and you won’t always know what chemicals have been applied. For your safety, choose areas that haven’t been treated with pesticides. Organic farms are excellent places to forage, and many farmers are happy to let people harvest weeds from their lan

Plants love the sun—obviously. My poor seedlings seemed to be stuck in a holding pattern for what felt like weeks, and I couldn’t figure out why. Then my friend Dru pointed out how overcast it had been. After just a week of sunshine, new leaves are popping up everywhere, and it’s like a lightbulb went off.

This is the moment I’ve been waiting for!

You know you’ve crossed into full-on garden obsession when you get excited about the second set of leaves, and you can confidently tell a bok choy from a kohlrabi. My poor family has no idea what they’re in for tonight when they come home—hello, field trip to the greenhouse!

Luckily, my daughter shares my gardening enthusiasm, and my husband? Well, he tolerates it. Just today, I discovered he’d secretly picked up a moisture meter for me. Talk about stealth approval—the moisture meter just mysteriously appeared in the greenhouse.

Here in central PA, we’ve had a mild winter so far, which has its ups and downs. On the plus side, greens I planted outside in the fall are likely still producing, and root crops are still there for the picking. However, the downside to this mild weather is that some of our perennial and woody plants may not get the cold period they need, which could mess with their growth cycles. We’re also at risk of our perennials and woody plants putting out new leaves and flowers too early, only to be hit by a sudden cold front.

I can’t stand paying $6 for a box of salad greens at the grocery store, especially in the fall and winter when growing them outside seems impossible. Or is it?

I’ve spent hours flipping through magazines, books, and blog posts, fantasizing over photos of Swiss chard thriving in the snow, fresh salad greens being harvested in December, and turnips and kale surviving into January. The possibilities seem endless. I even read about gardeners successfully growing under plastic in Wisconsin—and if it can work in Wisconsin, why not here in Pennsylvania?

For my anniversary, I asked for something unconventional: a high tunnel. Not your typical anniversary gift, but then again, I’m not exactly a typical gift kind of person. I was fully prepared for my husband to say no, but to my surprise, he agreed. By Thanksgiving, we had gathered the supplies, and a few days later, my mini high tunnel was ready. We upcycled a lot of materials, used plenty of duct tape, and had a lot of helping hands along the way. (In case you’re wondering, a high tunnel is essentially an unheated greenhouse that provides protection from the elements while still allowing plants to grow in the soil.)

Now, I proudly stand beside my 20’ by 28’ high tunnel. When I planted my first seeds today, the temperature inside was nearly 100°F—who would have thought I’d be wearing jeans and a tank top in December? I planted kale, turnips, bok choy, lettuce, spinach, and even nasturtiums. If those nasturtiums bloom this winter, I will be the proud owner of some serious bragging rights.

As my project continues, expect more updates, complete with photos, successes, and a few failures. Wish me luck!

Composting is one of the most rewarding aspects of gardening for me. There’s something truly amazing about watching food scraps and yard waste transform into rich, dark compost. If you’re into worm composting, it’s even more fascinating—you can see the process happen right before your eyes. The worms munch through your kitchen scraps and produce some of the best soil amendment around. And yes, I’ll admit it—I get genuinely excited about worm poop!

My compost pile began with simple ingredients: grass clippings, leaves, and veggie scraps. But over time, I’ve discovered that many everyday items can also be composted. Shredded newspapers, old paper towels, pasta, pencil shavings, and even dust bunnies can safely be added to your pile. Plus, by composting these items, you’re keeping them out of the landfill.

If you already compost, I challenge you to inspire one friend to start. And if you’re new to composting, now’s the time—get started! A basic compost pile can be made simply by using inexpensive fencing to create a ring and filling it with your yard debris. Or, if you prefer a more polished look, compost tumblers are a great choice, though they’re often too small for larger needs.

There’s no secret formula for making great compost, but it helps to balance “brown” (dry) materials with “green” (fresh) ones. It’s really that simple. As your compost breaks down, it can be used in garden beds, as a top dressing for lawns, or mixed into container plantings. It’s free, nutrient-rich soil—what could be better?

If you’ve ever read gardening blogs (and I know you’re reading this one, so you’re on the right track!), you’ve probably come across posts about gardening in small spaces. My question to most of them is—are they for real? Sure, they look beautiful, but how many of us actually have a garden that looks that good?

I believe in real-life gardens, so today, I’m sharing not one, but two gardens that are 1/10 acre or less. These gardens are managed by regular people—not professionals—and they have full-time jobs (well, one happens to be a garden writer!). Their gardens may not always be pristine, but they produce real food and are true examples of what small-space gardening can look like in real life.

The Micro-Farm

Michael and Jeremy manage their 1/10-acre garden in Pennsylvania. They’ve made the most of existing plantings, engaged with curious neighbors, and overcome the limitations of their space. The back part of the lot is home to chickens, ducks, and rabbits (they’ve joked about adding a donkey, but think it might be a bit much).

The perimeter is lined with perennial fruits, herbs, and ornamental plants, all surrounding a small lawn area shared by three big dogs and a cat. Their ultimate goal is to incorporate more edibles, including vines and possibly espalier fruit trees.

As you approach the house, a compact vegetable garden, surrounded by picket fencing, is home to annual veggies. The plants are spaced close together to maximize space and help with weed control. Tomatoes, however, didn’t thrive in the limited space, and with the owners’ love for variety, they sought out a solution.

Enter the neighbor’s unused patch of grass. Despite the neighbor’s concerns about kids sneaking down the alley to steal tomatoes, it turned out to be the perfect spot. What it has brought instead are visitors—around six people stopped by during my brief visit. Once you get past the "guard" dogs, the place feels inviting and full of life.

Paradise Lot

Eric Toensmeier and Jonathan Bates, along with their families, manage a 1/10-acre lot in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Technically, their garden could be called a food forest, but I simply call it fun. Their goal is to be able to step into the garden at any time of year and find something to eat.

Using permaculture principles, their garden features a blend of edible trees, shrubs, and perennials, as well as the usual annual vegetables. Every plant has a role—some are edible, some enrich the soil by fixing nitrogen, while others attract pollinators and beneficial insects.

A four-season greenhouse shelters winter vegetables, while a small pond provides a haven for water-loving plants.

One of their goals was to show neighbors that a small backyard can be so much more than just grass. While their neighbors haven’t yet embraced the idea, the garden continues to draw interest.

Today, it’s become a teaching garden, with visitors from around the world stopping by to learn what’s possible in such a small space. If you’re looking for a great winter read, I’d highly recommend picking up Paradise Lot.

So, how’s that for small-space gardening?

It’s finally time to plant sweet corn, and we’re excited to share some of our top-performing varieties with you. If you prefer the classic taste of white sweet corn, we highly recommend Avalon Triple Sweet, an 82-day variety that delivers exceptionally sweet and tender kernels. For those who love yellow corn, Honey Select Triple Sweet is a fantastic choice. It matures in just 79 days and offers a delightful, flavorful corn taste. If you’re looking to grow a stunning bi-color variety, we introduce Sweetness, a new option that matures in just 68 days and boasts a vibrant mix of colors and flavor.

For the best pollination, plant sweet corn in blocks of at least four rows rather than a single row to ensure optimal ear development.

Last year, we installed raised beds in our small kitchen garden, taking advantage of some free, massive beams and the ability to build them ourselves (thank you, Dad!). With the beds in place, we finally found a use for the mountain of bricks we had dug up from our yard. (We seem to "grow" bricks—no idea where they came from, but they appear every time we dig into the soil!) We used them to create pathways through the raised beds, offering both charm and function by repurposing something that’s made to last.

With narrow strips of dirt left between our paths, we naturally began to think about how to use them. We also wanted something that could help control weeds. After some thought, we chose thyme, a reliable favorite for tight spaces. It’s not only attractive but also highly functional, with the added benefit of releasing a wonderful fragrance when walked on. Plus, thyme bounces back even after being trampled—perfect for those narrow gaps. There are several prostrate or creeping thyme varieties that thrive in such conditions.

But then we had an idea—why not try oregano in those same tight margins? We picked up a few 3-inch pots and tucked them between the thyme plants. These weren’t creeping oregano varieties; they grew a little taller, but we honestly didn’t overthink it—we just figured, "Why not?"

And they thrived! The oregano flourished, growing both up and out with vigor. Not only did we have fresh oregano all season, but we also enjoyed a dense, attractive patch of its dark grey-green leaves lining our paths. The scent was an added bonus every time we passed by, and the oregano took regular trampling in stride. It was as carefree as could be, even when we pruned it back.

This spring, we decided to remove the bricks from the paths. Our initial setup hadn’t kept them level, and they weren’t holding up as we’d hoped. The bricks are now neatly stacked by the chicken yard, waiting for their next purpose. Instead of bricks, we mulched the paths, which is likely a better solution, even if it lacks the charm of the bricks. In the process, we also had to remove the thyme and oregano. It was trickier than we anticipated, especially with the oregano, which had formed a dense root mat. Had we left it, it would have spread aggressively, potentially overtaking the thyme.

It turns out that oregano isn’t just good for adding flavor to pizza or Mexican dishes—it can be an excellent ground cover, too. While I consider myself fairly knowledgeable about plants, I love when something surprises me, and oregano definitely did. Of course, I know we weren’t the first to realize this; a quick internet search shows that oregano is often used as ground cover or even as a lawn replacement. But there’s something special about discovering it for yourself. It’s a reminder of how wonderful it can be to experiment with plants and see what they have in store for you.

This season, we decided to include peppers in our trials, primarily because one of our longtime favorite bell peppers is soon to be discontinued. To find a worthy replacement, we planted 11 varieties of sweet bell peppers.

Five of these stood out for their impressive sweetness and good size: Double Up Hybrid, Red Bull Hybrid, King of the North, Galileo, and Zavory. While the other varieties we tested—Bell Boy Hybrid, Touchdown Hybrid, Bayonet Hybrid, Cutlass Hybrid, California Wonder, and Chocolate Beauty—weren’t bad in taste or size, the first five were clearly the top performers.

In addition to sweet bell peppers, we grew several other types to give our employees the opportunity to see and taste the wide variety of products they’re selling. Among them were the long, narrow varieties Red Belt Hybrid and Mama Mia Giallo Hybrid, both of which produced large, beautifully colored peppers. We also tried two snack-size varieties: Orange You Sweet Hybrid and Yes To Yellow Hybrid. These small, apple-sized peppers were exceptionally sweet and flavorful.

For those who enjoy a little heat, we planted several hot pepper varieties: Mosquetero Hybrid (Poblano type), Cheyenne Hybrid (Cayenne type), Mexibell Hybrid (a hot bell pepper), Early Jalapeno (a low-heat jalapeno), and Black Olive (an ornamental with plenty of heat). Several of our employees eagerly sampled the hot peppers, embracing the challenge with enthusiasm.