My Garden Plan and Strategy!

My garden plan is done and I'm super excited! This year I'm trying to find the right balance of familiar and new plants to keep me experimenting without getting overwhelmed. Here's some info about what I'm growing and my strategy for everything.

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What I'm Growing

Tomatoes (small)

• Black cherry
• Blondkopfchen
• Green Grape
• Mexicon Mediget
• Tommy Toe
• White Cherry

Tomatoes (large)

• Aunt Ruby's German Green
• German Pink
• Gold Medal
• Kellog's Breakfast
• Nyagous
• Paul Robeson

Tomatillo

• Aunt Molly's Ground Cherry
• Green Husk
• Purple

Peppers (sweet)

• Bull Nose Bell
• Chocolate Beauty
• Jimmy Nardelo's

Peppers (hot)

• Aji Crystal
• Martin's Carrot
• Mustard Habanero
• Santa Fe Grande
• Thai Hot

Cucumbers

• Mexican Sour Gherkin
• Parade

Beans

• Calypso
• Provider
• Purple Podded Pole
• Rattlesnake Snap

Leafy Greens

• Arugula
• Bok Choy
• Bronze Arrowhead
• Green Oakleaf
• Mizuna
• Red Velvet
• Tango

Squash

• Summer Crookneck
• Black Beauty Zucchini
• Winter Luxury Pumpkin

Radishes

• Early Scarlet Globe
• Cincinatti Market

Carrots

• Dragon
• Paris Market
• St. Valery

Peas

• Amish snap

Melons

• Boule d'Or
• Petit Gris de Rennes

Herbs

• Italian Basil
• Globe Basil
• Thai Basil
• Cilantro
• Chives
• Garlic Chives
• Catnip
• Mint
• Lemon Balm
• Oregano
• Rosemary
• Sage
• Thyme

Flowers

• Blue Boy Bachelor's Buttons
• Borage
• Calendula Mix
• Globe Amaranth
• Black Velvet Nasturium
• Empress of India Nasturtium
• Tansy
• Titan Sunflower
• Sunflower Mix
• Beary's Giant Zinnia

How to Make Pumpkin Puree

Fall means pumpkin everything! If you're a pumpkin fan, why not make your own pumpkin puree at home? It's simple, easy, and you can use it the same way as you would the stuff from the can.

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Pumpkin Puree

Ingredients

1 or more whole pumpkins

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Remove stem from pumpkin and cut pumpkin in half.
3. Removes seeds and pulp from pumpkin with a spoon, ice cream scoop, your hands, etc. Set seeds aside to clean and roast later.
4. Slice pumpkin into smaller sections for roasting. If using a small pumpkin, slice into quarters.
5. Place pumpkin sections skin-side down on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 40 minutes or until done. Depending on how thick your pumpkin is, it might take a little longer. You'll know the pumpkin is done when you can easily pierce the pumpkin flesh with a fork.
6. Remove pumpkin from the oven and allow to cool.
7. Once cooled, removed pumpkin flesh from the skin with a spoon (or your hands) and place in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth.

Make Your House Smell Like Fall!

If you love all of the warm, cozy spices we use in the fall, you probably wish you could make your whole house smell like them. You totally can and all you need are a few simple ingredients that you probably already have!

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Holiday DIY Projects + Winter Squash Guide | Real Food Round-Up

Holiday food DIYs are the best! Today we're talking citrus ornaments and herbed garlic salt. Plus, a guide on winter squash. [x_video type="16:9, 5:3, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2" m4v="" ogv="" poster="" hide_controls="" autoplay="" embed='' no_container="true"]

Dried citrus ornaments

Homemade herbed garlic salt

Winter squash guide

How To Make Natural Food Coloring For Valentine's Day

In this video, I teach you a couple simple ways you can make you own natural red and pink food dyes at home. Be sure to send me pics if you try any of these tips! [x_video type="16:9, 5:3, 5:4, 4:3, 3:2" m4v="" ogv="" poster="" hide_controls="" autoplay="" embed='' no_container="true"]

DIY: Easy Non-Toxic Goo Remover

We've all had that experience.  The nightmare of the terrible sticker. Maybe it's a price tag. Maybe it's a label. It could be small or quite large. Whatever shape it is, it leaves behind an awful goop that simply won't come off. In the past, I would have reached for a commercial goo remover. In fact, that's almost what I did when we were faced with lots of sticker residue on our wedding gifts. However, once I was in the store and reading the label, I couldn't bring myself to buy the stuff. With all of the warnings on the packaging and the information I found online, I knew there had to be a better option out there. And guess what? There was! By simply mixing two kitchen ingredients, you can create an effective goop-getter without any worries about harsh chemicals.

This is so easy it's barely even a recipe. Ready? Ok.

Simply mix equal parts coconut oil and baking soda...

Until it looks like this:

Then poor it in a cute baby jar and let it sit to solidify. You'll be left with a thick paste.

This stuff really does work just as well as the stuff you buy in the store. The coconut oil adheres to the stickiness and the baking soda acts as an abrasive to scrub the gunk away. If you want proof, I've got a couple examples for you.

First is a jar with a paper label.

I slathered on the paste and then let it sit for a bit.

The paper means you have to scrub a little more than if it was just gunk, but here is the final result.

Another example is this plastic container. I took the label off and there was some sticky stuff left behind. Because the container is white you couldn't really see it in the picture, so you'll just have to trust me on this one. :) I rubbed on the goo remover and waited a little while.

And here is the clean bottle!

If you try this out be sure to let me know! Also, if you want to see how I mix this mess together, watch the video below!

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Have you made any DIY cleaners? What were your results? Let me know in the comments below!