Tag Archives: garden

Eat Bamboo Like a Panda: Sustainable Produce From Your Backyard

It’s nearly impossible to hang around foodies these days without hearing the words organic, sustainable, or some form of the word local (locally sourced, buying local, locavore). Well, today I’m going to propose a new type of backyard crop that’s all of these things – you might even have some in your backyard already.

Most people know that bamboo grows like a weed in hot climates like the ones found in Texas, so there’s no need for fertilizers or pesticides to get it to grow (containing it might be another issue). What many people don’t know however, is that bamboo is an excellent and delicious food source.

While we can’t eat bamboo straight-up like pandas do, billions of people around the world (mostly outside of the United States) find boiled, freshly sprouted bamboo shoots to be delicious (see the recipe at the end of this post).

Click here to learn more about growing and eating bamboo, and my parents’ farming adventures

Guest blog from j9online – Marinara: Tomatoes…and Basil…and Squash… Oh My!

J9's Marinara Sauce

This post is courtesy of our great friend and Blogger Jeaneane McNulty from j9online!

Sometime around late July/early August, my garden gets unruly. It’s getting enough water (thanks to my handy-dandy timer-controlled drip irrigation system), an abundance of sunshine, and not enough human attention, so the things that like it hot start to get a little, um, “frisky”. One day, I noticed a pile of very ripe tomatoes where my countertop used to reside. Curious, I ventured out of the AC to check on the growing things and – gasp – the basil is bolting! The eggplant has suddenly produced a dozen ripe fruits! A mega-squash is visibly lengthening on the vine and the bell peppers, while copious, are tiny from overcrowding.

Folks, it’s time to stop the madness and make some marinara!

Click here to read about marinara mania!