Gardening Season Begins Now

In places with four relatively distinct seasons, most people treat gardening as a warm-weather pastime that creates beauty around the home and abundance on the table. And with Mother’s Day in the rearview mirror, now’s the time to start if you haven’t already.

Avid gardeners have been planning for months, cultivating seeds indoors, prepping their tools and so on. But those who are late to the game can still get plants into the ground and experience satisfaction of growing their own flowers and vegetables.

The first step is to know your location’s plant hardiness zone at USDA’s site. This will help you determine the optimal times to plant, as well as inform any decisions on about which trees, flowers and crops grow best in your area.

Pretty much everything is fair game for planting at this point in the season, though gardeners in the northernmost reaches of the country — Zones 3 and 4 — may need to wait until the end of the month to allow the soil to warm sufficiently and protect against a final frost.

Early-season crops such as radishes, spinach, onions, lettuce, cabbage, beets, peas and carrots can go in immediately. Depending on location, seedling tomatoes, squash, eggplant, peppers, sweet corn, cucumbers, potatoes, and herbs can be transplanted.

Continue planting warm-weather crops such as flowers and vegetables into June. Once seedlings are established, mulch to keep weeds at bay. Have stakes, cages or trellises ready for plants that climb or weigh themselves down with fruit, like tomatoes.

From here on out, maintenance is the name of the game. Keep your plants watered and fed with compost; weed if necessary. Deadhead annual flowers to keep them blooming. When vegetables mature, harvest in the early morning or evening when plants are least stressed.

Any foods you grow yourself will be healthier and more flavorful than what you buy in the store; they may even spur you to try a new recipe. And those flowers and shrubs will beautify your place and enhance your mood. Enjoy the fruits (and vegetables) of your labor!

Phil Says: Eat Healthy, Lose Winter Weight

Punxsutawney Phil here! It’s a busy week for me, but the kind folks at ClothingDonations.org have asked me to #chuck a few of my #healthy #hibernation habits with readers. First, let’s talk about nutrition — healthy eating is a must if you plan to spend more time indoors. As a vegetarian, I gorge myself on grasses, berries and tree bark in preparation for winter, when I can lose up to a quarter of my body weight. You may have bulked up during the holidays, so now’s the time to introduce more unprocessed foods — especially fruits and vegetables — into your diet in order to get into shape for spring (and the television cameras). Shameless plug: Remember to livestream my prediction tomorrow morning at VisitPA.com!

Summer’s Last Hurrah: The Labor Day Cookout

The best way to celebrate Labor Day is to have a cookout with family, friends and fun activities. Foodies can wow guests with grill-friendly takes on the freshest fruits and vegetables in season now such as summer squash, tomatoes, corn, melons and peaches — or keep things traditional with hot dogs and hamburgers. Whatever you choose, most people want to get one last hurrah in before the (observed) end of summer, and have and extra day to do so before they return to work.

Cut Kitchen Clutter in the New Year

Experts agree that small, incremental New Year’s resolutions are easier to keep and may turn into healthy, lifelong habits. For example, Good Housekeeping suggests keeping the kitchen clutter-free by putting all recipe cards, small appliances and incoming groceries in their place immediately. One study found that women who were surrounded by kitchen clutter tended to eat more cookies, the magazine says; so, this resolution can contribute to other common goals such as losing weight and eating right.

Recipes for the Red, White & Blue

Be true to the red, white and blue when you’re assembling dishes for your Fourth of July cookout or potluck, says The Gracious Wife blog. Simple recipes for “red, white and blueberry” popsicles, Rice Krispie treats, Jello cookies, cupcakes and a refreshing patriotic punch all find ways for foods to sport the colors of the flag in commemoration of the nation’s birth. Looking for something a bit healthier to serve in celebration? Loaded with superfoods, a strawberry/blueberry spinach salad might be the ultimate healthy-yet-patriotic dish to pass.