Fun in the Garden with Critters

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

Ahhh! Who doesn’t love a spring day? The birds are singing and the flowers are blooming and it’s just a beautiful free for all.  We’ve spent a lot of time in the garden recently, planting and weeding and the general stuff.  I was standing there in the garden, when a beautiful pileated woodpecker sailed by me and beyond, into the woods.  I suddenly thought of an interesting gardening experience from some years before – and in another garden. It involved a pileated woodpecker, a hollow tree, a mess of squirrels, and me.

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Why Save Seed? Patents in the Garden

by Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz –

Another issue related to GMO’s is the patenting of life forms by the grain giants and the pharmaceutical industry. Make no mistake – the money to be made on the ownership of genetic patents is staggering. That’s why the big agriculture, chemical and pharma-giants like Cargill, Monsanto, Syngenta and DuPont are racing to patent plant genes – and not just the GMO’s they create, but all plants with any value – like the vegetable crops that you and I grow in our gardens.

Seed Saving Time: Spinach

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz

Spinach is one of the very earliest crops planted and harvested from the garden in spring.  As a member of the Amaranth family (formerly classified as the Chenopodia family), spinach is naturally packed with fiber, protein, and high levels of essential vitamins and minerals.  If you’ve never grown your own spinach or had freshly prepared spinach, you are in for a real treat!  And if you already love spinach and grow it in your garden every year, then why not try saving your own seed?  You’ll not only be rewarded with oodles of eating pleasure, but you’ll save a ton of money, too!

The Indoor Winter Herb Garden

By Jill Henderson

Gardeners can enjoy the sight, smell and taste of culinary herbs long after summer’s end.  By providing adequate light, warmth and moisture, culinary herbs will grow well enough indoors to provide the discriminating chef with plenty of savory flavors for the pot all winter long.

Flying Flowers: The Beauty of Butterflies

By Jill Henderson – Show Me Oz

Butterflies must be one of the most beloved creatures of all time. They exist almost everywhere on the planet and their diverse forms are absolutely one of the most astounding feats of creation. In Missouri alone, there are 198 recorded species of butterfly; from the seemingly dull skipper to the fantastically impressive swallowtail. The Ozarks have enough butterflies to keep even avid butterfly lovers happy.

Grow Your Own Ginger

By Birgit ‘B’ Bradtke – Guest Contributor

When I began growing ginger I expected it to be difficult, but it’s not.  I’ve been growing ginger at home for years and it is a serious contender for the title of “most neglected plant” in my garden. In fact, I look at my ginger plants exactly once a year at harvest time. I harvest them, replant them and then forget about them for another year.  I easily grow a year’s supply of ginger and have plenty left over to give away. You can grow your own ginger using store-bought ginger root and you can easily grow it in pots or tubs.  On this page I tell you everything you need to know about growing ginger, so you can grow your own fresh ginger, too.

A Successful Community Seed Swap

On March 1st, the community of West Plains, Missouri, held their first-ever community seed swap!  It was a fun and busy day with over 35 people in attendance.  Dubbed the Ozarks Pot Luck & Seed Swap, my dream was to bring together area gardeners to share their knowledge and experience with other gardeners and to promote the concept of saving one’s own seed.   I was understandably nervous in the hours leading up to the swap, but all that quickly flew out of the window when I walked into the facility to find a room full of friends who had arrived early and were already setting up the tables!