TIPS & TRICKS Keep Those Pumpkins Pretty! We’re put together some tips for your jack-o-lantern carving for this Halloween. 1. Choose the right pumpkin. I like them taller than they are wide because that is the shape of a face. I also like them big and ugly because that makes them look interesting. 2. Decapitation or Back Surgery?: You don’t have to take off the top, you can also take of the bottom or the back,. I cut...

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TIPS & TRICKS Keep Those Pumpkins Pretty! By Ivory Harlow Decorating for the season is my favorite thing about fall. Whether you grow your own or purchase pumpkins, gourds and squash at market, these five preservation steps make autumn ornamentals last longer. Step 1. Harvest Well-developed fruit and dead vines are good indicators Cucurbitaceae are ready for harvest. The exterior rind should look dull and dry. Hasty harvest, scratches...

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A  Delicious Summer Dessert! This dessert is surprisingly easy to prepare, but there will be absolutely no left-overs. With a dollop of cream or scoop of vanilla ice cream it is a complete crowd pleaser! INGREDIENTS FOR THE TOPPING –  1/2 cup all-purpose flour –  1/2 cup quick-cooking oats –  1/3 cup sugar –  1 teaspoon ground cinnamon –  1/4 teaspoon salt –  1/4 cup canola oil –  2 tablespoons water...

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GARDEN HACKS SLUG BUG! Slugs. They are the bane of a gardener’s existence. The sweetest, would-not-hurt-a-fly gardener will gleefully crush the soft, slimy bodies of these ugly, plant devouring monsters. The best way to kill slugs depends on two factors. The first being how much work you would like to invest in eradicating slugs from your garden. The second is how much suffering you would like the slugs to go through. The Salt Method – This is...

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Cantaloupe Agua Fresca Agua fresca means “fresh water” in Spanish, and that’s exactly what this drinks is: a refreshing water-based beverage. Made up of little more than fresh fruit, citrus juice, and water, aguas frescas are the perfect way to cool down when it’s hot outside. What to buy: Look for the ripest melons available in the produce section—the riper the melons, the less sugar you’ll have to add to the recipe. A ripe melon...

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Tips & Tricks for Your Garden in July The secret to a long summer flower show is deadheading — removing dead blooms on annuals, perennials, and roses. Snipping dead blossoms encourages the plant to form more flower buds.  Cut mums to 6” high in the first week of July. If annuals, like petunias, in your flower garden look scraggly and tired, cut them back by one-third. New growth will emerge in a few weeks. Early-summer...

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