Freedom Garden Pallet.

Frees up Space, Frees up Time, No (tilling, Digging, weeding). Built to your specs. average cost. $64.00, Just a Phillips head screw driver needed to assemble. Made in America, By American Veterans. So who wants to Shop American ? Order Now for Christmas or Spring. Plants / Soil / Irrigation tips & tricks extra.
Thank You for your consideration. carolgardens@gmail.com

These will be sample donating plant material, along with Fox Farm, Happy Frog organic soil plant media. Our donation is to help those who choose to teach this talent.

Get Out and Participate

  
Get Out and Participate, Between Black Friday and Cyber Monday is a day
dedicated to supporting small businesses nationwide. Last year,
over one hundred million people* came together to Shop Small® in
their communities on Small Business Saturday®. Thanks for all of your Support, tommy.

click here to read more. - Shop Small

Holy Basil Chicken

Yield Serves 4 to 6
 Ingredients
10 cloves Garlic, minced 6 fresh Thai chiles , thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 pounds boneless,skinless chicken breasts,cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Asian fish sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
4 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Freshly ground pepper
3 cups loosely packed fresh holy basil leaves plus more for garnish
sticky or steamed jasmine rice, for serving

Directions

Mash together garlic and chiles using a mortar and pestle or the flat side of a large knife. Heat oil in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic mixture. Cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is just golden, about 20 seconds.

Add chicken; cook, stirring often, until chicken is cooked through, about 4 minutes. stir in fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar , and1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Add basil; cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute .Season with motre pepper, if desired. serve over rice. Garnish with basil.

lattice

lattice:

3D model by woodguy

A simple lattice constructed from treated dimensional lumber

Market stand

Market stand:

3D model by ProVillage

A simplistic market stand. The design has been made bearing in mind easy erection and dismantling. Originally the beams are made of wood.

Drying Herbs

 Perhaps one of the most important thing is a place, protected from the elements,Pets,and where it will not be disturbed. Drying is so moisture can be removed so bacteria and mold won't develop and they can be stored and preserved. 

 Best herb dryer i found with the least investment and tried and true, the old cardboard box.
a few holes poked in both sides at the top across from one another,line a fishing string through the holes, secure it taunt. Most of our usable herb will be towards the top of a fresh stem, cut it lower so to encourage fresh new growth later. After pruning the stems to a six or eight inch piece, just hang them on the fishing line allowing branches to secure them to the line.
 Close the box, place in a cool area, closets work best, checking every three days allowing fresh air to exchange for an hour or so. Its what has worked best when planned.

 Again there's always the Oven, however this is my last resort. Quick exchange of heat tends to lead to under flavored. Simply placing on a cookie sheet and set to 150-175 degrees for an hour or so. Remember this. If its a soft leafy Herb such as Dill , Basil, Fennel,Thyme use common since and adjust your time in the oven. Rosemary,Sage,Savory, Lavender will take the most time since it's a tougher Leaf.

 Most Herbs are pinched or cut fresh in the morning hours , they have the most essential oil at that time of day, Lavenders, Basil Blooms, Mint, Chamomile blossoms and others have much more aroma that lend to the dish or tea. Enjoy your gardens.
  

Is Lemon Grass in your diet.

Can Lemongrass Tea Treat Cancer?

Only now is Lemongrass Tea being recognized as an effective tool in the treatment of cancer.

Lemongrass tea kills cancer cells? This is just fascinating! For people who are suffering from cancer and the side-effects of taking prescribed drugs and treatments like chemotherapy, this is good news. Studies done at the Ben Gurien University, http://voices.yahoo.com/a-natural-herbal-remedy-cancer-lemongrass-tea-2548155.html  in Israel show that an active ingredient of Lemongrass Tea kills cancer cells leaving healthy cells unharmed.

Scientists made this extrodinary discovery whilst conducting a lab experiment where they grew both healthly and cancerous cells in a petree dish. When they introduced the active ingredient in Lemongrass Tea, they found that the cancer cells destroyed themselves while the healthy cells remained unharmed.

Our Stuffed Anaheim Pepper/Chili

First may I recommend this to anyone who loves Peppers & Cheese.

6-8 Anaheim chili's

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup Jack or Machego cheese

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup green onions, diced

1/2 lb. chorizo sausage, browned and drained ( optional )

3 garlic cloves, diced

Salas, homemade or good quality store bought

1/2 cup Queso Fresco or Jack cheese, shredded

Cilantro for garnish

Roast chili's on the grill until skins are blackened. Place in paper bag and tightly close and allow to steam in the bag 1/2 hour, this makes it easier to remove the skins.The skins will come off easily in less time but its better to allow chili's to completely cool before handling. Once cooled, carefully remove skins,cut a slit down one side of each Chile but leave at least one inch uncut at both ends and leave stem on. Use a spoon to remove seeds and pith.

Brown the sausage and diced garlic until cooked through and drain the excess fat.

In a Bowl mix cream cheese with 1/2 cup Machego or jack cheese, egg yolk,diced onions and chorizo sausage. blend until well mixed and softened.

Preheat oven to broil, You can use a toaster oven if large enough.

Place chili's on an oven baking pan. stuff each with the cheese mixture. Close opening of chili and pour a little salsa or I add Feta cheese. or shredded cheese on top. Broil in oven until cheese mixture is bubbly and top is lightly browned, 5-15 minutes depending on oven, mine took 5-6 minutes once hot. 

Before Oven














              After Bake.

Natural Pesticide.

You know the signs are there , chewed leaves, stunted growth, almost dormant when everything else is thriving. Try a little Cayenne pepper and Garlic with a little dish soap as a sticking agent.

10 or so cloves of Garlic
4-5 hot chili peppers, fresh or dried
2 1/2 cups of water
1 tsp. mild dish soap
8-10 drops of mineral oil, Rosemary,or eucalyptus oil

Puree this concoction  less Dish soap. Add dish soap and let stand over night. Strain the concentrate pulp out with cheese cloth or coffee filter. This can stand in a cool, dark area for months. with a Qt. spray bottle add two teaspoons of concentrate and water. Spray the leaves complete under and top completely.Do not apply in direct sun light. Reapply in two weeks.

Sharing is Caring.

Seeing Expressions of Amazement , Wonder, Tasting & Feeling texture of the gifts of the garden, sharing the wonder with an OMG moment of Our Youth this week is a blessing to All.

Best Practice.

Carol Gardens
Great idea & Question, most Herbs- Veggies that are grown in container's vary in size. Most plants grow within a Width / 8" x Length / 8" root area. Yes i know roots can grow much larger, however that said, they will thrive & produce in containers that are 14 to 22 inch size. Plant amounts or count for each container ,a good rule of thumb, 1 gallon of soil for each plant.The trick is additional water & nutrient in a smaller container. Now Fertilizer Vs. Compost both are a giving natural nutrient to soil & plant. Most compost products ether purchased or produced have a place in the garden generally Pre- plant area nutrient/amendment,then watered in prior to plant to dilute the high rate of nitrogen.Your Herbs require low rates of nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus. light feedings, you can always reapply as necessary.

Stevia, nature's sweetener.

Carol Gardens, is raising awareness about Stevia, a South American herb used as a sweetener for hundreds of years. Now approved as a sweetener in the US by the FDA, you can now safely use stevia as a natural alternative to sugar. You can order and reserve yours prior to market. @ carolsgardens@gmail.com.

Our Gardens

Our gardens are a test of patience and reward after a long arduous process of Do's and don'ts. Well and old friend made a visit today and his wife reminded me that it's a longer process of  practice. Based on your gardens own location, factors of shade/sun, breeze or wind,water retention, relative humidity, nutrient uptake in our roots, to pest and rodent vulnerability. I could go on about many factors that make us all Master Gardener's , but as i type, it makes me more proud that everyone who visit's with there defeat's and Victory's continue's on to Grow, Practice and enjoy the rewards of the Harvest.So don't faint, continue to master your garden.

9 Spices With Super Healing Powers.

9 Spices With Super Healing Powers , thought everyone can benefit. We have you covered..

Contest begins, Now thru April 5TH 2012 ! Join In..Easy.Simple.

Okay,who would like to have this at there entryway,for your perfect cup of Herbal Tea, Potpourri, Aromatherapy blend's ready to enjoy. English Thyme, Blue Star Sage, Grosso Lavender, Purple Sage, Kew Red Lavender, French Green Lavender & Native California Mint. All in a 10 Gallon container with Happy Frog Organic Potting Soil for indoor or outside grow..Totally Organically Grown and produced by Carol Gardens*. *Well it's easy subscribe to Our newsletter and you will automatically be entered to win our drawing on Thursday April 5Th 2012. So click on the following link, http://carolgardens.com , Winner will be picked at random by a third party. Congratulations and Good Luck to All.

Follow Carol Gardens on Facebook..

Follow us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carol-Gardens/205747022783632 ., Like Us.

All Participants.......Thank You

Well that seemed like a lot of extra work but not really, 3 new guest Bloggers joined and received a free planted vegetable,from Carol Gardens on Sunday , Saturday and Friday. What a great turn out Sunday with even a few old friends from school . Give a shout out to Eisenhower High School class of 1976.Rialto, Ca.
  Remember to plant those deep and separate 24 inches apart. Extra water, the first week. Again thank you to all who participated. Tommy

Join and Win......

Any New members of Carol gardens Blog as of "February 20Th thru the 25Th 2012" will receive a free plant start that will give you more back in food than any amount of spam you would ever get from us. Gift will be a selection of our broccoli,cabbage or Cauliflower season starts.

Continued Support.....; )

Such a wonderful weekend, meeting old acquaintances,and former clients,sharing our gardens celebrations,and loses.And as always meeting new people,with that look of " I can do this" attitude. Happy Days ahead. And of course this weekends top producers, #1 - Chocolate Mint all three Days #2 - Salad Blends & #3 - Heirloom Brandywine Tomato. A great time was had by all. Thanks for all of your continued support.

Grilled Broccoli anyone.

  Yesterday was Valentines Day, so a quick shout out to all Valentines present and future.Our day was perfect,we marinated the Broccoli, and Steak. Poked our Yams and prepared our grill. Very basic and simple procedure.
  We placed the Broccoli in a large plastic bag with virgin olive oil, some crumbed feta, diced garlic, Italian seasoning and a little Basil and let marinade at least one hour. Placed the heat on low to medium, started with the Broccoli placed right on the upper grill. Then placed the Steak on the lower grill so as to heat the broccoli with semi indirect heat, 10-15 min. turning as needed. Baked the Yam in the oven for 30-40 min.( you can cheat with a microwave, or chef Mike..)
This Broccoli was a great toasted / roasted flavor and texture i loved. A Tip, as i grilled the broccoli i had a little extra marinade drizzled over as it cooked. Enjoy with a good wine.