Herbs: Lemon Balm

As promised, here's a post to start telling you a little about some of the herbs I'm growing for medicinal purposes.  I d…

HERB HUNTER - How to get started

While there are a lot of edible plants out in the wild, there are also many medicinal plants. Those are the ones I'm talking…

It's Blackberry Time in Tennessee

I hope you and yours had a safe and happy Independence Day holiday! Ours was quite enjoyable here at Chez Zen. Fireworks, house …

Results of using homemade insecticidal soap and price comparison

I mixed up some Fels-Naptha insecticidal soap last night and sprayed the pea plants with it. This morning, there was nary an aph…

Aphids and homemade insecticidal soap

Early this morning before heading off to work, I stepped out to the garden to have a look at the peas. I noticed some little gree…

Our rainwater / graywater system

As I've mentioned before, if you're not prepared for the increased cost of water for watering your garden, you may be in …

Garden update and more about green onions

Garden update: The potato plants have grown tall enough to clear a second tire. We'll be adding another tire layer and fill …

Earth Day: Conservation from a Libertarian perspective

Happy Earth Day to one and all. Enjoy the day and enjoy our home. Conservation and ecological awareness means different things t…

Knoxville EarthFest recap and Eco-Libertarianism

This past Saturday was the Knoxville EarthFest. Perfect weather was in order and there was a multitude of vendors and exhibitors…

Garden update: English Peas

Garden update This past Sunday we planted: Bell peppers - green California Wonder bell peppers, and a color mix of yellow Canary …

All Points Bulletin for those planting cucumbers

Last year, we tried to grow cucumbers. The key word there is tried . We planted the seedlings and did everything that we were sup…

Planting, for REAL this time

If you couldn't guess by my previous post (about the snow), just let me say that I did not get the tomatoes et al planted thi…

Protecting young seedlings and other stuff

Weather-wise, it's been crazy! Last night, we had snow! It's not completely out of the ordinary, but it is unusual. We …

Pamper yourself for cheap

We've all seen the pictures of people at the spa, their faces slathered in masks of various concoctions and slices of cucumbe…

BFF - Marigolds and Tomatoes

Garden Update: The potatoes have sprouted and the plants are visible now - some over an inch tall. The English peas are 4-5 inche…