Winter
VIDEO: 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 Brew Your Own Apple Vinegar
Making your own apple vinegar is a very satisfying city farming project because: It makes magical use of waste scraps of fruit – rather than throwing them away It produces a useful, expensive-to-buy product that is great for food flavoring, home remedies and for cleaning (See my recipe for homemade citrus-infused all-purpose cleanser) Since this…
Read MorePure and Scrumptious Homemade Apple Sauce
Don’t you love it when a SINGLE natural ingredient can be transformed into the most delicious spoonful? Homemade apple sauce is like that. So simple, so pure, just the delight of freshly harvested apples attaining their delicious perfection. It’s one of my ultimate winter comfort foods. *Step 1 Peel and core apples. As many as…
Read MoreVegetable Gardening Workshop this Wednesday
Want to experience the delight of watching vegetables grow on your balcony or yard? Want to see your family pick and eat homegrown organic vegetables? Want to get your hands in the soil and be inspired by the wonder of Creation? Hands-On Winter Vegetable Gardening Workshop When: Wednesday, December 23 – 10am – 11:30 Where:…
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 MoreVIDEO TOUR: Our Winter Vegetables + Hydroponics
This is an early December tour of my vegetable growing beds. Winter vegies such as kohlrabi, onions, fennel and snow peas are getting established. Some of the summer vegetables are still going strong, including sweet potatoes, eggplants, peanuts and ground cherries. We get a glimpse of my hydroponic lettuce too! You can read about our…
Read MoreOur 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…
Read MoreMake liquid fertilizer at home for $0
Most people buy fertilizer at the garden store but you can make it yourself, using Stinging Nettle, a plant that grows wild everywhere in Israel at this time of year. “Nettle tea” gives your plants nitrogen, chlorophyll, magnesium, sulfur, iron, potassium, copper, zinc and calcium. Nettle Tea Fertilizer Recipe Step 1: Find some Stinging Nettle.…
Read More