Beneath the Red Hat

A Stink Bug Solution Has Arrived!

Sprout — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 18:04:12 +0000

If you live in the Mid-Atlantic States then in the last year you have discovered a new pest wrecking havoc on your home and garden. The stink bug all but unknown to the United States until a few short years ago has spread its mass population from coast to coast with severe infestation levels throughout [...]

Homegrown Peach Hand Pies

Sprout — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 17:40:58 +0000

Peach hand pies are a perfectly portioned homegrown snack that goes anywhere. Though they require a few more steps than regular pie they are worth the extra effort. This is a simple to follow recipe yielding delicious results. If peaches aren’t your thing sub them out for any berry or stone fruit. Dough: Adapted from: [...]

Black Bottom Tomatoes: What’s the Cause and How to Fix it

Sprout — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 13:44:28 +0000

You head out into the garden to check the progress of your prized tomatoes only to find dark waterlogged spots on the bottom of the fruit. You then check your zucchini and notice the blossom end of the small fruit has shriveled and turned brown. Don’t panic! While your plants are suffering from a disease, [...]

Garden Spotlight- July 2011

Sprout — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 18:26:54 +0000

July always starts with a bang as family and friends celebrate Independence Day with bbq, fireworks and lawn games. Most of our gardens are now in full swing with hot summer days feeding plants loaded down with green tomatoes and a bright riot of colorful flowers. To help celebrate all those beautiful gardens we have initiated our [...]

Asparagus: Male vs Female

Sprout — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 15:49:12 +0000

I have been getting a lot of questions about asparagus over on our Facebook page. There seems to be some fear of the asparagus spreading and taking over the garden. Questions about what healthy asparagus plants should look like and what’s the difference between male and female plants. Well I am here to clear up [...]

Out with the Bolting in with the Seeds

Sprout — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 14:27:56 +0000

As I mentioned last week we have had some bolting greens in the community garden over the last few weeks due to record heat and no rain. Our collards were the first to go followed shortly after by the spinach. Those spring greens just couldn’t take the heat. Luckily for us temperatures have now settled [...]

Growing My Way? Heat Waves Lead to Shade Huts

Sprout — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 16:56:18 +0000

With temperatures rising across the country many gardeners are now witnessing their early spring crops starting to bolt. Our company garden has seen a heat wave with record highs and a 3 week dry spell that caused our collards and spinach to go to seed. We cleaned them out depositing the stems in our composter [...]

A Very ‘Green’ Greenhouse

Sprout — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 14:40:06 +0000

Last week we introduced you to our friends at Grow Food, Grow Hope, a wonderful AmeriCorps* VISTA project in Wilmington, Ohio. Today the Grow Food Grow Hope VISTA volunteers are back to show you an inventive use for your plastic pop or soda bottles. Going from this ———————————————— to this! Guest Post by: [...]

Celebrate Father’s Day in the Garden

Sprout — Thu, 09 Jun 2011 16:34:30 +0000

Every spring my dad would head out into the yard to prep his garden plot for new plantings. Our yard and garden was a point of pride and a great hobby for my father. My mother loved her flower beds but the vegetable garden and lawn were dad’s territory. He would spend endless hours tilling, [...]

Blue Ribbon Organizations: Grow Food Grow Hope

Sprout — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:47:16 +0000

Blue Ribbon Organizations are those organizations that go the extra mile to help their community while having a positive environmental impact. Here on MasterGardening Blog we love supporting a good cause therefore, we will occasionally be featuring these remarkable groups of people so they get the attention they deserve. The very first of these is Grow Food Grow Hope, [...]