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An Onion Appears
My wife's idea of "gardening" is secretly burying old vegetables around the yard to see if they grow. As a result, I now have a brown onion flowering among the tomatillos.
Peruvian Lily Piggybacker
These Peruvian Lilies (Alstromeria aurea) piggybacked in with some society garlic plants years ago. At nearly 4ft they're quite tall, but the flowers are amazing
Unusual Avocado Varieties
The other day a neighbor who's an avocado grower, brought us some rare Don Gillogly avocados from his private grove. It's a dwarf Haas variant with creamy, club-shaped fruit.
Lessons from the Keyhole Garden
A year after building my keyhole garden I've learned a few lessons. Here's a quick list of tips to keep your keyhole garden happy and productive through the growing season.
Video: Chickens sleeping weird
It's kind of disturbing to walk outside and see hens lying there like this. But there's nothing wrong.Just like your dog or cat sleeps in weird positions, so do chickens (as shown here). Still, how does that buff in the center just lay there with her leg sticking out like that?
Video: Timeout With Goldfish
I couldn't afford fancy fish like Koi for my pond, so I went to the pet store and bought 10 tiny "feeder fish" for 23 cents each. Here they are, 2 years later. There's still nine of them and they're all big and friendly (and still way cheaper than koi).
Peppermint Twist Rose in Bloom
All the roses are in bloom right now, but the Peppermint Twist rose is killing it. It has so many blooms on it right now that it looks like a peppermint tree!
A Hooded Oriole on Watch
This guy is a hooded oriole (Icterus cucullatus) whose mate is nesting in the orange tree behind him. He keeps an eye on me when I'm working from our back deck.
A Rescued Rose
My wife used to look at me funny when I would dig plants out of the dumpster, but she doesn't anymore. I rescued this rose from a trash bin last fall. She wasn't much to look at back then — just a stick really — but she turned out to be a real beauty.
Real Smoked Beef Jerky Recipe
Homemade beef jerky hits a new high point when you add real smoke. Here's how you can smoke jerky even if you don't have a fancy smoker.
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