Herb-Infused Vinegar
Herb gardens are wonderful for cooking delicious meals, making DIY beauty treatments, and even natural household cleaners. One of our new favorite uses are homemade vinegars!
You’ll need:
- 2 cups wine, rice, or apple cider vinegar
- 5 sprigs of lightly crushed herbs (you can choose from oregano, rosemary, tarragon or thyme)
- For an extra kick, you can add 1 small fresh chile and 1 clove of garlic
- Jar with tight-fitting lid
To make:
Add herbs and vinegar to your jar and let it sit to infuse for 5-6 days. This will allow your flavors to blend. Strain your vinegar with a fine mesh sieve into a bottle of your choice. Feel free to add a sprig of herbs and a few chiles and garlic cloves to make it fancy. Store in the refrigerator.
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Grow-Your-Own Pizza Garden
Pizza is delicious. Crispy crust, gooey cheese, and whatever toppings your heart desires. Make that pizza taste even better (and better even better for you) with fresh ingredients straight from your pizza garden!
What you’ll need:
- 4×4 garden bed (you can also use containers if you require mobility)
- Raised bed soil
- 1 Greek oregano
- 1 Sweet basil
- 1 Spicy Globe basil
- 2 Italian Parsley
- 1 Rosemary
- 22 Onions (you can use whichever onions you prefer for pizza)
- 1 Roma tomato (with cage)
- 1 Banana pepper (with cage)
- 1 Green Bell pepper (with cage)
Be sure to set up your garden in an area that gets enough sun (tomatoes and peppers thrive in full sun). Follow spacing on the plant labels. If the weather cools back down after you’ve planted your veggies (sometimes weather is unpredictable), simply place a terracotta pot over it to shield it from light frosts. Just remember to remove it after the weather warms up so that your plants get the sunlight they need.
Have fun and enjoy!
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Mosquito-Repelling Garden
School will be out soon, and the warm, sunny days will be filled with barbecues, lazy paddling at the lake, and melting ice cream cones. Unfortunately, with the warmer weather comes the stinkin’ mosquitoes. Here are a few plants that you can add to your garden to chase away these buzzing pests!
Marigolds…These vibrant flowers are a favorite to gardeners for many reasons. They’re easy to grow. They bloom all season. They attract beneficial pollinators like bees and butterflies. They smell awesome. And more importantly, they are fantastic at repelling mosquitos!
Lavender…While most of us adore the relaxing aroma of lavender, mosquitos HATE it. You can add this butterfly-attracting herb to your garden and even make an essential oil for your skin which will also help ward off insects. Other herbs including lemon balm and basil have the same effect.
Catnip…This perennial herb has been found to repel mosquitos in close proximity. However, you might also attract every stray cat in the neighborhood so it’s a bit of a double-edged sword with this one.
Of course, if all else fails, a bug zapper is always a nice backup option.
