The White Alpine or Yellow Wonder Alpine Strawberry plants are very heavy producers often sweeter than red strawberries. The white strawberries tend to have a bit of a pineapple flavor to them while the yellow have an exotic flavor much like passion fruit. You can enjoy the berries fresh or in any way you would any other strawberry. They can give a very unique and beautiful new look to some old favorite deserts! Most people have never seen a white or yellow strawberry before, so whether they are spotted in your yard or as part of a tasty treat, they are sure to spark intrigue!
Birds tend not to target the fruit of this variety, presumably because of the color. Just as nature intended and not genetically modified! There are many different named varieties available, most growing in conditions just as any regular strawberry. These are generally quite hard to find, so growing from them seed is often a Gardener’s only choice in obtaining these beauties for home! Starting Strawberries from seed is not as hard as you may think!
Learn more about starting strawberries from seed here!
Below search a wide variety of these interesting strawberry seeds and get growing your own!
After buying the strawberry seeds, place them in the freezer up to 72 hours. This will improve the percentage of seeds that will germinate, when you plant them. Freezing stimulates the natural process of the seed going through the winter months and will help jump start the strawberry seeds.
Prepare your seed tray by sterilizing your containers . The soil should be ½ an inch deep. A mixture of ¾ peat moss and ¼ organic rich soil is just right to start the strawberries. Sprinkle the seeds over the damp soil mixture and add a light dusting of peat moss over the top.
Keep the seeds moist and out of direct sunlight until they have germinated, I like to cover mine with a damp newspaper to keep from the light. The strawberry seeds can take 2-3 weeks to germinate. Once the strawberry plants have sprouted,wait for the 3rd true leaves to transplant into bigger containers.
Seeds Here:
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Thyme is a low growing Mediterranean perennial, best suited to full sun and well-drained soil. In very cold regions it may need protection in winter. Common Thyme (T. vulagris) is the most popular variety for culinary purposes. Purple or white flowers from May to October make Thyme an attractive ground-cover for Full sun. Thyme is a good companion to cabbages as it deters cabbage worm.
Leaves can be stripped off the woody stems by pulling them through the fingers, and are often chopped before use, the flavor is released during the cooking process. Thyme can be added to roast vegetables, stuffing, soups, stews and has a particular affinity to tomato and egg dishes.
Harvest Thyme when it is blooming and the most potent. Afterwards, prune the plants back hard to keep them from getting spindly. To multiply plants take stem cuttings 3 inches long with a heel of older wood attached at the base, then root then in propagation mix. Seeds should be collected soon after the flowers turn brown. The tiny seeds will dispense if left on plants for too long. Usual seed life: 5 years.
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Pick your Thyme:
English Thyme: Common grey leaved, aromatic, best for culinary uses.
Lemon Thyme: With a lemon kick, good for culinary purposes.
Creeping Thyme: Lowest growing, good for walkways and patios.
Silver Thyme: Drought tolerant and good for draping over walls.
Excerpt taken from The Zero-Mile Diet: A Year-Round Guide to Growing Organic Food
Add some Thyme to your garden!
Find some great products here:
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I love to grow purple veggies!
There are so many heirloom varieties of purple vegetables available for the home gardener – it’s fun for kids too, a great way to get the kids interested in gardening! Just because they are purple does not mean they have been chemically enhanced, most vegetables we see today were strange colors and shapes at one time. GROW HEIRLOOM ALL THE WAY!
A few fun purple varieties to try in your garden: Cauliflower, Peppers, Beans, Carrots, Spinach, Artichokes, Asparagus, Potatoes, Peas and of course the good old standby’s such as Eggplant, Cabbage and Kohlrabi <— I grow all these very successfully, just as you would regular vegetables. Just because they are purple doesn’t make them harder to grow.
There are a few additional health benefits to eating purple vegetables!
Purple Vegetables and fruit have a pigment called anthocyanin, a powerful antioxidant and as a safeguard to reduce the risk of cancer, improve memory and prevent premature aging. Purple colored vegetables also contains flavonoid component, called resveratol. Content is shown to inhibit endothelin-1, which is one cause of heart disease, beneficial to the cardiovascular system and can be heart healthy. Also facilitate the flow of blood to the brain, reducing the risk of stroke, cancer prevention and as an anti inflammatory. Purple Vegetables also contain ellagic acid, which is said to inhibit the growth of cancer sells and well as stop the process of mitosis (cell growth).
Even purple colored herbs and fruit contain loads of nutritional values!
There are far more purple veggies than what is shown and listed here!
Find a great selections of seeds below, or visit my Seed Shop for some of my favorites!
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Jerusalem artichoke is a bumpy, fleshy root vegetable of the sunflower family of plants.
Most commonly known as sunchoke, this perennial plant bears numerous starchy edible rhizomes firmly attached to the stem below the ground surface. The tubers feature grey, purple, or pink colour skin and sweet delicate white flesh inside. This nutty and flavourful, starch-rich root is eaten much the same way like jicama or potato, when eaten raw it has similar taste and texture to an earth chestnut. Scientific name: Helianthus tuberosus. “Often called earth apples or sunroot” With no relation to the regular green globe type artichoke.
Growing Sunchokes
The sunchoke is a hardy perennial that is very easy to grow, growing from 5 to 10 feet tall. The plant has rough-textured leaves 4 to 8 inches long and is topped with small yellow flowers 2 to 3 inches across, similar to a small sunflower. Sunchokes will survive a hard freeze if protected by a layer of soil or mulch making this plant hardy from zones 3 -9. Harvest your sunchokes regularly or they can become invasive when ignored. Give them their own space at the back of the garden or along a fence. This way they won’t shade out other plants or invade their territory with their height.
Planting is best done in spring. They require a sunny location and little care beyond a bit of water if the summer is dry. If you already grow sunchokes, dig up last year’s crop and add a bit of compost to the soil before replanting the smallest of the tubers to harvest for the following season. Harvest your sunchokes just before the first frost. Don’t get impatient. Cold weather brings out the characteristic sweetness and crisp texture. Add sunchokes to soups, salads and much more!
Health Benefits
Sunchokes are superstars when it comes to intestinal health. These little roots are packed with inulin which is a non-digestible dietary fibre with strong prebiotic properties. Sunchokes also play a role in the prevention of colon cancer. Studies show that the byproducts created during the fermentation process of the dietary fibre inulin, suppress and block cancerous tumour cell growth in the colon.
Sunchokes are high in potassium, magnesium iron and protein, one cup serving of sunchokes contains 643 mg of potassium, which is essential for overall health and can help to reduce heart disease. Increasing your dietary potassium, in addition to reducing excess sodium, is especially beneficial for people at risk for high blood pressure.
Eating sunchokes can decrease blood cholesterol. Along with normalizing blood triglyceride levels, these small vegetables affect the way that the body metabolizes fats thanks to their high levels of probiotics. (please consult a medical professional and/or do your own research)
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Borage leaves and flowers smell and taste remarkably like cucumber!
The Borago Officinalis is a very pretty herb with sky blue or pink star shaped flowers and distinct black centers. It is an annual that grows very quickly from seed to reach heights of 18 to 30 inches tall. It is not ideal for container gardening because of it’s long tap root, however a large deep pot may just do the trick. Allow your borage to self seed or save seeds and sow again in Spring.
Borage thrives in poor chalky or sandy soil with plenty of sun, it is quite hardy and will continue to bloom for many months – whatever the weather. Borage makes excellent honey!
The stems of borage have rough prickly green leaves which are a great source of vitamin c and can be cooked as spinach or eaten raw in salads. Borage is often used to infuse iced beverages such as punch because of its cucumber like flavour. Borage is used for medicinal infusions to help treat colds, bronchitis and rheumatic conditions as well as topically; to treat skin rashes, as an antiseptic for mouthwashes, eyes washes and poultices.
Today, the borage plant is grown and harvested not for its leaves and stems, but rather for the very valuable oil found in its seeds – borage oil. The great value of this oil is that it is the richest known source (24%) of an essential fatty acid called gamma- linolenic acid (GLA). Borage Oil is a little known secret for keeping your skin healthy. It is a natural oil that not only restores moisture and smoothness to dry and damaged skin, but can also provide relief to people who suffer from chronic skin disorders such as eczema and atopic dermatitis.
(please consult a medical professonial or do your own research prior to use)
Sow seeds 1/8″ deep indoors or direct in Spring in warm fertile soil, sunny location.
Hardy to zones 3 – 10
Approximately 40 organic seeds.
Always non-gmo seeds!
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I love all kinds of basil you can never have enough! This variety in the picture is called African Blue Basil.
One of the primary medicinal uses for basil is for its anti-inflammatory properties. This effect stems from eugenol, a volatile oil in basil that blocks enzymes in the body that cause swelling, making basil an ideal treatment for people with arthritis. Basil also offers many more important health benefits that will have you adding a little basil to your next meal.
This is a simple way to capture that unique flavor!
1) 1/4 cup basil – choose your favorites!
2) 2 cups olive or sunflower oil
Remove stalks from basil and begin to crush with a mortor.
Pound slightly continuously adding a little oil and a few more basil leaves.
This helps release the natural oils from the basil.
Pour into wide mouth mason jar and seal tightly.
Store in a sunny windowsill for about 10 days, shaking every other day.
Strain through muslin or cheese cloth into a decorative bottle finishing with a few fresh basil leaves for decoration.
You can use this oil for cooking, salads and more!
This recipe can be adapted for many other herbs such as dill, fennel, sage, thyme and more!
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Growing your own Soybeans
Planting directions for soybeans are pretty much the same as for any bush bean. Plant seeds/seedlings an inch or so deep, in rows about 2 1/3 feet apart. Your plants will grow about 2 1/2 feet tall, and will have a sublime green color.
From 3 to 15 flower buds develop at each node of the stem. One or two weeks after the first flowers are produced, the first seed pods appear. Most of the pods are set within the following three weeks. Three to four seeds are produced per pod.
Harvest the beans when they are fully-grown and ripe. Feel the beans inside of the pods. If they are firm but not hard, they should be ripe. You should harvest the soybeans before the pods turn yellow. Pop the soybeans out of the pod and taste them. If they taste good, they’re ready to harvest.
Soybeans are full of nutrition – why not give it a try!
]]>Anise is a herbaceous annual plant growing to 1 m (3 ft) or more tall.
While there are many culinary and cosmetic uses for the anise herb, Pimpinella anisum, member of the Parsley Family, many minor medical conditions and ailments can be treated using crushed anise seeds or the essential oil of anise.
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The Saffron Crocus
It has long been the most expensive spice in the world by weight, ten times more costly than vanilla. The reason saffron carries a hefty price tag is that its production is extremely labor intensive. It takes 80,000 crocus flowers to make only 500 grams of saffron after toasting. Despite its cost, many herbalists and natural health enthusiasts consider saffron’s health benefits to be worth their weight in gold. Saffron is a reddish-golden colored spice derived from the styles and stigmas of the flower of the saffron crocus (Crocus sativus). Used primarily for culinary purposes, a seasoning for rice dishes, pasta and more
In ancient cultures, saffron was used to relieve stomach aches and kidney stones and also as an agent in improving the circulation of blood. Saffron contains a number of carotenoids which are believed to be largely responsible for a number of saffron’s health benefits, including inhibiting skin tumors, improving arthritis and improving eye and vision health. Saffron also contains the compound “crocin”, which scientists believe to be the primary compound responsible for recent study results which found saffron promotes learning, memory retention, and recall capacity. Among the multiple health benefits of saffron are the treatment of asthma, menstrual discomfort, depression, atherosclerosis, whooping cough, and many other health problems. Some studies have also indicated that saffron may also have anti-cancer properties as well.
Growing Saffron at home is easy!
Saffron is planted in fall in moist, well-drained soil and it can be planted in full sun to partial shade. The corms are planted 3-4 inches deep, spaced 6 inches apart. Once the ground freezes, mulch the garden bed heavily and keep it watered if the winter is too warm and dry. The Saffron crocus will grow in approximately zones 6 and up, in colder areas lift corms after the first light frost/freeze and transfer to a container for indoor blooms. Remember the corms must “believe” it has been winter, so if you are planning to grow indoors you will have to trick them.
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