Bloomah’s in Mishpacha: What My Rabbi Said
Today, October 14, is an exciting day for me and my mission: a 6-page feature article about Bloomah’s City Farm came out in Mispacha’s Jr Magazine! I am excited and nervous – especially about the cover, because I never expected that they would feature a photo of my son there. My No Photo Policy I […]
NEW: City Farming Workshops at Bloomah’s
Let the beauty and wonders of nature inspire you! Want to plant, harvest, make, and sample the most incredibly fresh, wonderous and natural foods and products on the planet – right here in the middle of the city? This is your chance! Bloomah’s City Farming Workshops for Women! I have wanted to do this for […]
Our Winter Vegetable Garden Plan
Sukkos is behind us and that means it’s time to get serious about winter vegetable planting. I just ordered a bunch of seeds from my favorite seed store. Now I’m mapping out my growing beds. Here are some considerations in my planning: two of my beds get very little sun in the winter. Really most […]
Animal Instincts: Do Humans Have them?
The amazing thing about living with animals is I get to observe a very powerful force of nature up close: Instinct. For example, my pet hen Stripey knows exactly how to incubate and hatch eggs, even though she never read a parenting book, never saw another chicken do it, and she herself was born in […]
How I Made Homegrown Crushed Tomatoes – And Will I Ever Do it Again?
We eat a lot of tomatoes in our family but very few of them fresh. Usually they take the form of canned crushed tomatoes or tomato paste (and, of course, ketchup). Tomatoes are so easy to grow but I never grew many of them because processing them myself seemed so daunting. Last week I was […]
Homemade Fruit Leather: You MUST try this!
If you only try one food preservation project this year – this is the one! It’s ridiculously simple, requires no special equipment and you will be amazed by the scrumptious results! Homemade Fruit Leather Recipe Ingredients: 1 kg of summer fruits – eg. plums, peaches, mango, nectarines. A mix is best. Add a bit of […]
Is Bloomah’s Photogenic Enough?
Tomorrow a photographer from a major magazine is coming to do a shoot at Bloomah’s City Farm AKA my backyard. This is part of a article featuring me and my kids and our city farming adventures. I’ve known about the shoot for weeks and been flip-flopping my attitude to it: 1. Arggggh… my yard is […]
The Secret Truth About Growing Your own Vegetables
I have a confession. Many of the vegetables I grow on my farm are imperfect. The kind of vegetables that if you saw them in the produce section at the supermarket, you’d be shocked at the low quality and wonder if you should start shopping elsewhere. I also wouldn’t pay good money for an eggplant […]
Why I never planted peanuts before – and why I did now
My peanuts sprouted! I have wanted to grow peanuts for such a long time but I never did. Since they are legumes (kitniyot). there is a halachic imperative to leave a big space between them and other vegetables (48-60 cm, depending on which halachic opinion you follow) Beans are also kitniyot – another summer favorite […]
Recipe: Bloomah’s Zucchini Lasagna
My two youngest kids and I wait for the big zucchinis to grow and then save them for this recipe, which we make once a week during the summer.We prefer it to “real” lasagna! It’s also perfect for people eating gluten free or low carb. Ingredients: 1 liter marinara sauce (we make it at home […]