Kitchen Gardeners

Joy Williams

Joy Williams's Blog (23)

Search Blog Posts

Ted Kennedy, Rest in Peace

The Lion of the Senate, Ted Kennedy, has finally succumbed to brain cancer at 77. Very sad news, he did all that he could to secure health care for all. He accomplished a lot of positive things for this nation, including getting the right for young people to vote at the age of 18.

His life was colorful, but he was an absolutely stellar example of a person who fought for the common person, even th… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on August 26, 2009 at 3:00am — 3 Comments

Preserving Food: Using the Tools at Hand

Hey there folks! We had enough cucumbers and zucchinis ready to pickle them this last weekend, so we went ahead and did so. Both Tom and I thought about the fact that we have this giant brew sculpture that Tom uses for brewing and it would probably work to boil all the jars in a hot water bath rather than do two batches, which was more than likely with our rather smallish ability to do so on the stove. Here's what we did:

… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on July 23, 2009 at 4:30am — 9 Comments

OK i'm just gonna blather, no agenda, trip to Italia

How is everyone? I'm doing pretty well. I have great news, I'm going to Italy soon (Sept), we have an all expense paid trip to this romantic country. I will definitely be looking at their gardening and their sustainability. It's only 3 days though. I would love to have a lot more, but this is paid by a company that's bringing us over so though I already asked Tom to ask if I can come, I can't ask more! So only three days in Italy. But that's ok, I probably wouldn't have even gotten the chance… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on July 7, 2009 at 11:48pm — 8 Comments

Interview with the Producer of Food, Inc., on PBS

You all will want to watch this. PBS doesn't offer an embed feature, so I'm doing it the old fashioned way, linking it. Continue

Added by Joy Williams on July 7, 2009 at 11:30pm — No Comments

Ok, Mother Jones mislead me

and a lot of other people about the White House Lawn. Here was the original article. And it had me alarmed. The Mother Jones article this derived from though is exceedingly misleading. This is very upsetting to me, and I'm disgusted with them. I used to work on lead issues, but that was 15 years ago and I haven't kept up. 93 parts per million is NOT high. Here's the… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on July 5, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Food, Inc.

This summer a new movie is coming out, in the tradition of Michael Pollan, and Alice Waters.... The movie is called Food, Inc. and it's about the condition of our food. We are facing a tremendous amount of obesity, heart problems and diabetes in this country, to say nothing of cancer and heart problems, and I really do believe that the reason for this is what we are eating! And it starts in the schools. Now all of us have taken a great step in the right direction by planting our own gard… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on June 26, 2009 at 1:57pm — 5 Comments

Shout out to Becca!

Thanks so much, Becca for helping with the shearing today. That was awesome of you! Had I not been part of this community I wouldn't have met you, and you shine! It went SOOOOO smoothly today, well except for Daja being thrown through the air by an upset alpaca, but you really helped.... I can't believe how you picked up Hadrian, that was hilarious. He looks embarassed now, but he looks cool (in terms of temperature). Thanks so much Becca, you are an amazing person! I will post pictures of th… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on June 8, 2009 at 8:30pm — 2 Comments

My Garden Pics

I have my latest pics of my garden here. I would put them up on this site, but there's an awful lot of them :) Continue

Added by Joy Williams on May 31, 2009 at 4:00pm — No Comments

Where would I get plastic labels

that slip around a rod, not one stuck in a pot? I would like to label the tomatoes in my cages, but I can't figure a source for a pernament tag that will go around one of the wires on the cage. TIA, Joy Continue

Added by Joy Williams on May 30, 2009 at 10:33pm — 5 Comments

Weird, weird weird!

I just got a blog post in my email today from a food blog that I visit, Pinch My Salt . Instead of her normally picture heavy recipe blog, this time she had a post about a really weird problem. Apparently, rancid (though they aren't toxic) pine nuts are making it onto the shelves of Trader Joe's and other grocery stores, and what this does is create a VERY bitter metallic taste in one's mouth that affects… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on May 2, 2009 at 5:00pm — 4 Comments

Success!!!

Well, at least initially. Yesterday I discovered that SOMETHING, or SOMEONE was devastating my bean plants, and I thought it might be spider mites, but when I scanned that under the leaves there was nothing ... So I looked later at night with a flashlight... and discovered all kinds of teeny tiny slugs having a feast on my leaves. Frantic, I decided to research slugs and how to deflect them if not kill them.. I'd rather just discourage them. I sorta have this love of snails and slugs and know… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on April 23, 2009 at 2:37am — 4 Comments

What I'm doing in my Garden

… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on April 16, 2009 at 4:00am — 8 Comments

Rep. DeLauro responds to attack on H.R. 875

Over at Huffpost today, Ryan Grim wrote an blog about his conversation with Rep. Delauro about the controversy revolving around H.R. 875 She's understandably overwhelmed with the internet campaign against this bill, which she claims is merely trying to be able to make it easier to track down sources of contamination in the food supply.
"The intent of the bill is to focus on the large, ind
… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on April 12, 2009 at 1:16pm — No Comments

It's SPRING!!!

As we set our clocks ahead one hour, finally, a glorious spring day, the birds know it, I feel it, and my plants are budding forth. There's a few things I want to talk about today. Maybe I'll even get a photo up. First of all, I was up last night perusing around the internet and looking at my usual haunts when I happened across this story: Be a Citizen Scientist. Apparently, now that we have a new… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on March 8, 2009 at 9:00pm — 6 Comments

People are so STUPID

I couldn't believe I saw this in the LA times today:

Here's the story Well as someone who lives with the beautiful acorn woodpecker, I can't imagine shooting these birds to "control" them:

… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on March 3, 2009 at 6:26am — 1 Comment

A New Perspective on our Economy, that Includes Community Gardens

I was delighted and dismayed today by both the recognition by the new Administration about our failing middle class and it's solution to it, and the lack of media coverage, even by someone I thought would be all jazzed by it:

Why? Because it's "Infrastructure - BABY!" She thinks infrastructure is sexy, and so do I. Ok, I'm weird. Now you are pr… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on February 28, 2009 at 5:00pm — No Comments

The Power of Community: Very POWERFUL video

Enjoy: Trailer. Full video here. A very informative video on how Cuba survived after the Soviet Union collapsed, this is a video that shows how the Cuban people transformed their agriculture from an oil dependent model to an organic, self sustainable, community based agriculture. I don't really want to get into the politics of US-Cuba relations, I want people to see how the Cuban people came together when they were faced with a huge economic crisis and… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on February 20, 2009 at 1:30am — 2 Comments

Path to Freedom

This is a great video on Youtube. I saw this the other day and have actually sent them an invitation to join us. "Like Victory Gardens of yesteryear, start your own homegrown revolution, grow your own food in your back or front yard -- for more information visit the urban homesteaders at http://www.PathtoFreedom.com" Seems like our intentions line up, don't you think? Continue

Added by Joy Williams on February 17, 2009 at 4:47pm — No Comments

President's Day

Well, it's not really a day to garden, as it's raining like nuts. Feeding the alpacas and chickens was a mucky mess. But I did have some seeds, and I do have a green house, and so I went out to start some seeds in the greenhouse. So far I have chives, snow peas, basil, catnip, broccoli, spinach, cilantro, sage, watercress, flat leaf parsley, chervil, mandarin cross tomatoes, dill, marjoram, and thyme planted. I think I might have something else, but I have to go and look. Since it's really rai… Continue

Added by Joy Williams on February 16, 2009 at 3:29pm — No Comments

Just discovered a great Eco-Blog

The Elephant Journal They are promoting this project on it. Go take a look! Continue

Added by Joy Williams on February 14, 2009 at 4:30pm — No Comments

Latest Blog Posts

Most Popular Blog Posts

Blog Topics by Tags

Monthly Archives

2009

KGI's book of the month

Latest Activity

Muhammad Nadeem Iqbal added 4 photos
2 minutes ago
2 members updated their profile photos
9 minutes ago
Glenn Fletcher commented on Glenn Fletcher's blog post 'What is an Allotment'
I pay £50 pounds a year approximately for my allotment. This amount has doubled in the last few years as their popularity has increased. Mine is 300 square yards, although there are smaller ones. The trend nowadays is to split them in two, so they...
2 hours ago
Glenn Fletcher added a blog post
Allotments are now very popular in the UK. I used to have empty ones around mine for years. This site describes what an allotment is. The main advantage of an allotment is that it does not have to be too tidy, so is ideal for trying out different ...
2 hours ago
Glenn Fletcher commented on Salma Kamal's blog post 'Pakistan: “Home Kitchen gardening to crush hunger”.'
I believe the British allotment system was developed in the late 19th & early 20th centuries to feed the urban poor mainly in the north of the country. Areas of land in urban areas were owned by local government and small parcels [300 square yards...
3 hours ago
Glenn Fletcher added a photo
My Allotment
3 hours ago
Kathryn left a comment for Mussarat Nadeem
5 hours ago
Kathryn commented on Salma Kamal's blog post 'Pakistan: “Home Kitchen gardening to crush hunger”.'
I am not in Pakistan as you know but there are very many similarities. The populace is very poor with the basic wage being given to most and usually without health insurance included, even though that is illegal here. The basic wage is not enough ...
5 hours ago
amna mufti added 6 photos to the album 'My farm'
2 more…
9 hours ago
amy left a comment for Everett H. Scott
10 hours ago
amna mufti commented on amna mufti's photo 'turnips'
I don't eat turnip greens but some people use them in a mixture of other leaves i;e.mustard, fenugeri ,spinach and turnip greens.These leaves are collected when very young, the variety is also different.
10 hours ago
PiscesGirl replied to PiscesGirl's discussion 'Seed Sources?'
Cool! Thanks Mike - I'm off to check it out now! :-)
11 hours ago
Mike Taylor replied to PiscesGirl's discussion 'Seed Sources?'
I like seeds of Italy as well. My southern California coastal climate suits many of their varieties well. I also get excellent results from Renee's Garden seeds. Renee's seeds are tested in a number of different climates. Another source is Seeds...
11 hours ago
Everett McDonald commented on amna mufti's photo 'turnips'
hello Amna, Do you eat the turnip greens as well as the turnips?
11 hours ago
Letti replied to Penelope's discussion 'Feeling Stuck'
Penelope, I used to enjoy watching the cooking shows ten years ago. I do not watch them any more. Turn of your TV and enjoy your cooking again. I grow lots of herbs and I enjoy adding them to whatever I am cooking. I love preparing simple and crea...
14 hours ago
amna mufti commented on Salma Kamal's blog post 'Pakistan: “Home Kitchen gardening to crush hunger”.'
Labor is going to foreign countries since ages.In medieval times warriors were required, they left their homes and now you can see many races spread all over the world.In past decades they were called in western and middle eastern countries,its a ...
19 hours ago
Salma Kamal commented on Salma Kamal's blog post 'Pakistan: “Home Kitchen gardening to crush hunger”.'
Dear Amna! Get ready for much bigger population flow.In past it used to be skilled and semi skilled workers,but now workers with agriculture back ground are in great demand.I recently read an advertisment in news paper ,an overseas recruiters agen...
19 hours ago
Muhammad Nadeem Iqbal commented on Salma Kamal's blog post 'Pakistan: “Home Kitchen gardening to crush hunger”.'
This is what we need::::: “Nation Building through Self Reliance” WHAT IS NATION BUILDING THROUGH SELF RELIANCE??? It is a bouquet of Attainable, Retainable and Sustainable initiatives and projects, addressing Best Improvement Practices in all wal...
19 hours ago
Muhammad Nadeem Iqbal commented on Salma Kamal's blog post 'Pakistan: “Home Kitchen gardening to crush hunger”.'
I fully agree with the issue that has been highlighted and also agree to the Amna Mufti sahiba's point of view. Please visit www.vegegarden.net and see the presentation on food crisis. I am trying to raise voice since last 3 years. PLEASE! don't w...
20 hours ago
amna mufti commented on Salma Kamal's blog post 'Pakistan: “Home Kitchen gardening to crush hunger”.'
Salma apa! Problem is many fold,our syllabus should be looked again.I remember in our childhood every body have at least wheat,rice and fuel for them selves.They use to do different duties at village level.Some are laborers in fields,some are pott...
20 hours ago

From the KGI Main Site

Gardeners Have the Power!

Braised brussels sprouts with pine nuts

Garden Q & A: extending the salad season

New White House kitchen garden videos

KGI is going to the White House (and we want to take you with us)

Optimal timing for your garlic harvest

Garden Q & A: Harvesting tomatoloons

Roasted potatoes with basil vinaigrette

Garden Q & A: Organic pest controls

Paella with tomatoes

Notes

HOW TO - ADD A LINK

Several people have experienced difficulty putting working links into comments and blogs etc and I know it is clumsy.... so here is how you do it.....

First type the text you want to appear....  ie  IAN'S PAGE

Then go back and highlight the link text.

Then hit the hyperlink button...a pictogram of a chain link.

Your browser may intervene and request permission to allow temporary scripting or some similar message.   Allow it and go back and highlight the text again

… Continue

Created by Ian Jun 7, 2009 at 7:28pm. Last updated by Ian Jun 8.

Forum Policy

Hi, I'm starting to put together a few guidlines on using the discussion forum on here.

I would be happy to hear any comments you may have.  This is very much a work in progress so plese feel free to ask me to add anything you think is needed.

I don't want to make our community hide bound by rules and regulations but I think that, as the community has grown, some explanation of what is expected is needed.

Administration

You can refer any que

… Continue

Created by Ian May 23, 2009 at 1:55am. Last updated by Ian May 25.

Climate maps

Hi following recent discussion I have put climate maps of the USA, Australia and Europe on here for reference..

 Climate map of the USA

Climate map of Australia

Climate map of Europe

 

… Continue

Created by Ian Sep 12, 2008 at 6:20pm. Last updated by Ian Apr 14.

Recipes, Recipes, Recipes

Hi Everyone,  I've started to collect together recipes from various posts on the site and put them all together here.

If you have a recipe you want to add on here, just post it on the site and leave a comment on my page telling me where it is and I'll go and fetch it back here.

They are organised in Contributor Order but I'm open to better suggestions!

BEVA'S RECIPES

… Continue

Created by Ian Jun 2, 2008 at 9:54am. Last updated by Ian Apr 13.

US STATES ABBREVIATIONS

 

US STATE ABBREVIATIONS

AK - Alaska               AL - Alabama              AR - Arkansas
AZ - Arizona              CA - California           CO - Colorado
CT - Connecticut          DC - Dist of Columbia *   DE - Delaware
FL - Florida              GA - Georgia              GU

… Continue

Created by Ian Jan 27, 2009 at 4:27pm. Last updated by Ian Jan 27.

HOW TO - MAKE COMPOST

Recently there was an excellent discussion about composting. I’ve pulled together all the various comments here. You can also watch KGI's video on composting here.

 

 

KATE’S ADVICE

I used to have a tumbler that we made from a wine-barrel but

1 you have to fill it up all at once

2. it seemed mostly

… Continue

Created by Ian May 30, 2008 at 5:29am. Last updated by Roger Jan 15.

Notes Home

Welcome to Notes.

To view notes that are in the system hit the "all notes" button above.

Continue

Created by Ian May 28, 2008 at 12:10pm. Last updated by Ian May. 30, 2008.

A Note about Notes

I have just written this note so that I can see what we can achieve by using this new feature.

If you read this and have any suggestions then please leave a comment on my page or email me.

Ian

Continue

Created by Ian May 28, 2008 at 6:19pm. Last updated by Ian May. 28, 2008.

© 2009   Created by Kitchen Gardeners International

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Privacy  |  Terms of Service

Sign in to chat!