Gretchen Kruesi

Turn Fallen Leaves into Gardener’s Gold

By Gretchen Kruesi / September 5, 2025 / Comments Off on Turn Fallen Leaves into Gardener’s Gold

Mulch is essential to soil health. It acts as a barrier against water loss and heat, reduces weeds and  improves soil structure. Its an easy way to boost your soil’s health!

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two people gardening

Food Forests: What is a Community Food Forest?

By Gretchen Kruesi / September 3, 2025 / Comments Off on Food Forests: What is a Community Food Forest?

With more than 80 percent of the US population now residing in urban areas food forests help provide a local food source. And they also serve as perfect platforms for community-building.

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Delicious Delights: Zucchini Fries & Corn Ribs with Queso Fresco

By Gretchen Kruesi / August 29, 2025 / Comments Off on Delicious Delights: Zucchini Fries & Corn Ribs with Queso Fresco

This recipe is a wonderful vessel for leftover pieces of vegetables, and offers a healthier alternative to traditional fries, with an added crunch from the panko. While the corn ribs recipe uses every part of the corn from husk to cob. The process takes hardly any time and can serve as an easy snack or side dish.

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Weeding: Work Smarter, Not Harder

By Gretchen Kruesi / August 27, 2025 / Comments Off on Weeding: Work Smarter, Not Harder

Weeds are the bane of every farmer and gardener’s existence. Before you go crusading against the weeds in your garden follow these tips and tricks!

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lanternfly on tree

How Did the Lanternfly Become the Enemy?

By Gretchen Kruesi / August 24, 2025 / Comments Off on How Did the Lanternfly Become the Enemy?

We’ve been told to kill a lanternfly because they’re “invasive.” In reality, they are living like any other insect would. So why are they under attack?

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storing cucumbers

Capturing the Crunch: How to Harvest and Store Cucumbers

By Gretchen Kruesi / August 20, 2025 / Comments Off on Capturing the Crunch: How to Harvest and Store Cucumbers

With these easy tips and tricks, you’ll be prepared to successfully harvest and store the cucumbers until they’re ready to eat.

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Beyond the Root Cellar: Storage Room Conditions

By Gretchen Kruesi / August 14, 2025 / Comments Off on Beyond the Root Cellar: Storage Room Conditions

Success in long-term storage comes down to nailing the storage conditions, of which temperature and humidity are the most important. There’s also that critical period just after crops go into storage

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feeding your flock

Naturally Feeding Your Flock: Feed Poultry With Fresh Greens

By Gretchen Kruesi / August 5, 2025 / Comments Off on Naturally Feeding Your Flock: Feed Poultry With Fresh Greens

Feeding your flock naturally wild wild greens comes with many benefits, from boosting poultry health to saving you money on feed bills.

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Must Make: Lavender Sage Earl Grey Mocktail & Lavender Sage Honey Simple Syrup

By Gretchen Kruesi / August 3, 2025 / Comments Off on Must Make: Lavender Sage Earl Grey Mocktail & Lavender Sage Honey Simple Syrup

This simple syrup is straightforward and easy to make and use. Sage and lavender offer unique and complementary flavor profiles.

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seed oil

Heart Health: Herbal Formulas and Medicinals

By Gretchen Kruesi / July 25, 2025 / Comments Off on Heart Health: Herbal Formulas and Medicinals

Whether you use them as a precautionary measure or for their restorative properties, there’s no denying the power of herbs when it comes to caring for your heart. You may already know that garlic reduces arrhythmias but are you aware that black currants can improve lipid ratios? As always, when working with herbal formulas you…

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Pickled Anything! Garlic Honey & Garlic Confit

By Gretchen Kruesi / June 26, 2025 / Comments Off on Pickled Anything! Garlic Honey & Garlic Confit

The Garlic Clove! This small crop adds a big punch of flavor that complements almost every delicious dish you could think of. And the best part? These two recipes are a breeze to make together!

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beaver

The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter

By Gretchen Kruesi / June 25, 2025 / Comments Off on The Surprising, Secret Life of Beavers and Why They Matter

Beavers are ecological and hydrological Swiss Army knives. Capable of tackling just about any landscape-scale problem you might confront.

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amaranth

An Amaranth Love Affair

By Gretchen Kruesi / June 23, 2025 / Comments Off on An Amaranth Love Affair

Our love affair with amaranth began long before the pseudo-grain became a trendy staple for gluten-free folk. The luscious leaves of this annual plant are not only packed with a plethora of health benefits.

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four season farm

Vegetable Farm Tips: The Keys to Efficient Veggie Production

By Gretchen Kruesi / June 9, 2025 / Comments Off on Vegetable Farm Tips: The Keys to Efficient Veggie Production

If the idea of running a vegetable farm sounds daunting, you’re not alone. What can you do to simplify techniques and reduce expenses? Where do you even begin?

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mushrooms

Foraging 101: Where to find your bounty

By Gretchen Kruesi / June 6, 2025 / Comments Off on Foraging 101: Where to find your bounty

Don’t know where to start for foraging wild plants? Read on for the information you need to begin foraging on your own: where to do it and how to be safe.

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farm

Farming Against Nature

By Gretchen Kruesi / June 2, 2025 / Comments Off on Farming Against Nature

When you’re walking around the grocery store looking at the vegetables, it’s probably hard to imagine that a century ago there was twice the amount of options.

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Zesty & Simple: New Classic Rainbow Coleslaw

By Gretchen Kruesi / May 23, 2025 / Comments Off on Zesty & Simple: New Classic Rainbow Coleslaw

Easy rainbow coleslaw! Transform your salad game with this colorful recipe. It is surprisingly packed with flavor and is a great addition to your repertoire.

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Tomato Plants in a Greenhouse

Types of Tomatoes: Deciphering the Many Varieties

By Gretchen Kruesi / May 21, 2025 / Comments Off on Types of Tomatoes: Deciphering the Many Varieties

If you love tomatoes, you probably already know just how many varieties of these summertime staples there are. But do you know what makes each one unique?

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Embracing Sustainable Food Production: Integrating Trees and Crops

By Gretchen Kruesi / May 16, 2025 / Comments Off on Embracing Sustainable Food Production: Integrating Trees and Crops

Adding the long game of trees to your system results in a deeper and more reliable, resilient and profound presence to your annual vegetable production.

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basket of mushrooms

Foraging for Mushrooms: Gourmet Root Systems

By Gretchen Kruesi / May 12, 2025 / Comments Off on Foraging for Mushrooms: Gourmet Root Systems

For people who enjoy foraging for food in the wild, there are plenty of mushrooms to choose from — “ten thousand mushroom species to be considered on the North American continent alone”. But foraging for mushrooms should never be thought of as a game of chance. You need to know all the clues when it comes to identifying…

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How to Create the Perfect Bee Hive: A Home Worth Buzzing About

By Gretchen Kruesi / May 5, 2025 / Comments Off on How to Create the Perfect Bee Hive: A Home Worth Buzzing About

For all the beekeepers and future beekeepers out there, this one is for you! Your journey to successful beekeeping begins with constructing a suitable haven for honeybees, otherwise known as the bee hive. The following is an excerpt from Raising Resilient Bees by Eric and Joy McEwen. It has been adapted for the web. Bees…

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Duo of Tapas: Cucumber, Fennel, and Garlic Dip & Savory Pie of Wild Greens and Feta

By Gretchen Kruesi / April 30, 2025 / Comments Off on Duo of Tapas: Cucumber, Fennel, and Garlic Dip & Savory Pie of Wild Greens and Feta

Appetizers, meze, tapas . . . whatever the name, these small plates symbolize hospitality. Every culture has a unique collection of dishes to share. Here are our favorite savory bites to enjoy before a meal. Serve a few together for a vibrant lunch or dinner. In Chile, Clove, and Cardamom explore mouth-watering recipes from the…

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farm animals

Silvopasture: What in the world is it?

By Gretchen Kruesi / April 25, 2025 / Comments Off on Silvopasture: What in the world is it?

Have you heard of silvopasture? This system of managing grazing animals is an ancient practice that integrates trees and pasture into a single system for raising livestock. These systems are managed for both forest products and forage, providing short-and long-term income sources in a mutually beneficial way for healthier animals, better soil, less pest control and mowing, and…

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salt-rising bread

On the Rise: How to Make Salt-Rising Bread

By Gretchen Kruesi / April 23, 2025 / Comments Off on On the Rise: How to Make Salt-Rising Bread

Want to spice up your traditional bread recipes? This salt-rising bread recipe by fermentation expert Sandor Ellix Katz has all the simplicity, flavor, and uniqueness you’ve been searching for! The following is an excerpt from Sandor Katz’s Fermentation Journeys by Sandor Ellix Katz. It has been adapted for the web. What Is Salt-Rising Bread? Salt-rising…

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herbs and tools

The Art of Herbal Formulas: Asking the Right Questions

By Gretchen Kruesi / April 21, 2025 / Comments Off on The Art of Herbal Formulas: Asking the Right Questions

Learning how to ask questions that will elicit relevant information is as much an art form as creating an herbal formula. Follow this broad list as a starting point.

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