Israel
Picking and Pressing Olive Oil in Israel
One of my favorite times of year Olive harvest season! This is my third year participating in this most scenic and satisfying of pursuits. I think I am perfecting my whackity-whack technique! I’ve definitely upped my game since last year. We picked 96kg over 2 days. Then we hauled it over to the olive press…
Read MoreHow to Attract Ladybugs to Your Yard in Israel
Every gardener wishes that they had ladybugs in their yard! Besides being iconic and adorable, ladybugs are voracious munchers of those pesky aphids. But how can we get these cute and hungry guests into our gardens? It’s not that easy, especially in the city. But BH we finally succeeded in creating a thriving ladybug colony…
Read MoreA Tale of 2 Cute Chicks and a Cute Little Farm
Today I went for a meeting at the Educational Farm to make sure that everything is ready to go for our launch event on Wednesday morning. If you remember, this is how our land looked before Pesach This is how our cute little farm looks today – all ready for us to build our raised beds…
Read MoreWhy Now is the Time to Plant a Tree in Israel (Nothing to do with Tu Bishvat)
There is an old Chinese proverb that asks: When is the best time to plant a tree? We’ll get to the old Chinese answer soon, but first let’s look at the answer that most Jews would give. When is the best time to plant a tree? Tu Bishvat, of course! AKA the Jewish New Year…
Read MoreVIDEO: Watch Our Latest Harvests
If you’ve always dreamed of harvesting your own food, it’s not as impossible as you might think! The past two months have been blessed with lots of picking, processing and feasting here on our tiny urban farm in the midst of the sprawling Israeli city of Beit Shemesh. This 1-min video gives you a quick…
Read MoreHow to Pick Nettle and Make Gourmet Nettle Soup
This nettle soup has SUCH a rich interesting flavor and inexplicably creamy texture, despite having so few ingredients and no flavorings. If you’re stuck at home and restless during lockdown, making nettle soup might be just the adventure you need. Wild Nettle Soup Recipe Step 1 – Find Nettles and Pick Stinging Nettles grow wild…
Read MoreHow to Grow a Loofah Sponge in Israel
Today was a big day nine months in the making. Today we picked and processed the loofah sponges that we planted back in April. Anyone who wants seeds to plant their own loofahs next summer should be in touch. I want to turn Ramat Beit Shemesh into the Loofah Capital of the World! (Yes, I…
Read MoreMaking and Lighting Olive Oil with Kids
In honor of Chanukah, I just ran a hands-on olive picking and pressing workshop for the family’s of the Community Garden of Arnona, a neighborhood in southern Jerusalem. The first step was to pick the olives off the branches that I brought in. Then we had to crush the olives. Then we pressed the crushed…
Read MoreAdventures in Olive Picking and Pressing
Recently, here in Israel we were blessed with the first rains of the winter. You know what that means, right? It’s Olive Picking Season! Over the past two weeks, I spent five mornings picking olives and pressing olive oil in a picturesque ancient olive grove on a hillside right outside my hometown of Beit Shemesh.…
Read MoreIsrael Egg Shortage: Time to Start Your Backyard Flock?
In the past week, several people have contacted me to ask where they can buy hens and how to care for them. This seems to have been spurred by Israel’s massive egg shortage, coming right before Pesach – the most egg-intensive period on the Jewish menu. Perhaps this egg-istential crisis is pushing people to reconsider…
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