• DIY Dog Tug Toy – GF Video

    Learn how to make a dog tug toy in this DIY GardenFork Video. Our dogs tear through store bought toys, maybe the toys are made for smaller dogs, not sure. So I bought 100′ of rope and now we make our own dog rope toys. This video is one of several we are working on for Dog Toy series. Sign up for our newsletter to find out when we post new vids.

    One precaution here: In this video we are using a polyester rope, and some dog have issues with this kind of rope, it can get stuck in their stomach. Our pups do not have this problem. I suggest you use cotton rope, which you can get at a camping supply store or a good hardware store.

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    This tug toy is not perfect, the dogs manage to tear it apart in a week or two, but then I just make up another one. And they love it when they see me with the large hank of rope making them a new toy. Moose, the black lab, loves to get hold of the whole hunk of rope, which makes a mess of it.

    Charlie Pup and Moose are the main users of the tug toy, Henry will want to play with Moose, and then Charlie Pup jumps in. Not sure if this is a dominance thing or just Charlie Pup being jealous, or maybe its just dogs being dogs. But it is a blast to watch, below is a video of the dogs playing with the tug toy. You can watch more Lab videos on their YouTube Channel here. As you can see, it works very well, and it wears them out, which is a big goal of mine. Sleeping dogs are a good thing at the end of day, and this works well for that.

    I can barely hold onto the rope when I play with them, its amazing how much pull strength they have. Their jaw clamps onto that rope and then they pull back with their hind legs. I let go the rope, lest I wreck my back.

    Do you make your own dog toys? Let us know below:

  • Eric Tries the Gluten Free Thing – GF Radio 355

    We follow up on Leda Meredith’s fermentation how to book, and why Rick buys his how-to books in hardcover and not an ebook. Rick likes Leda’s book finding it easy to follow. Links are below.

    breadWe read some mail based on our podcast about dog allergies, its seems a raw food diet helps some dogs with their allergies. A good quality dog food does contain the right stuff, Rick and Eric believes. And you can buy frozen raw food in some pet stores, it looks like frozen bologna.

    Eric tells of his two weeks of gluten free and how he realized how much he loves bread and how it makes him sleepy during the day. We reference Mark Bittman and his books, Food Matters and VB6.

    Rick tells about how he has lost weight by walking every day and avoiding bread. He uses two fitness apps, My Fitness Pal and Moves.

     

  • Easy Fermentation Recipes & Foraging Tips with Leda Meredith – GF Radio 355

    New Fermentation recipes are here in a new book by Leda Meredith. Leda, a foraging and food preservation expert joins Eric today to talk about fermentation, making cheese, and foraging. Leda has two new books out, Preserving Everything: Can, Culture, Pickle, Freeze, Ferment, Dehydrate, Smoke, Salt, that has a bunch of easy fermentation recipes and Store and a foraging book, Northeast Foraging: 120 wild and flavorful edibles from beach plums to wineberries. (Affiliate links)

    easy-fermentation-recipesWhat I like about Leda’s new book is the easy way it has. You don’t have to go out and buy a big crock to make sauerkraut, you can use mason jars. Nice.

    Despite many people’s constant use of anti-bacterial soaps, fermentation is becoming very popular, and it celebrates bacteria, the good kind at least. We talk about how to prepare your fermentation properly, how much salt to use, what is a brine, and a neat thing I did not know about, a fermentation starter culture!

    Food prepared by fermentation is safe, and has been done for years. How long you ferment it is a matter of how you like that kind of ferment.

    Leda brings up that you can ferment apples and cherries and other fruit, something most had not thought of before. The fermentation recipes are in her new book.

    There is a difference between fermentation and pickling. Pickling uses acid, usually vinegar to preserve food, but there is no pro-biotic properties to those kinds of pickles.

    A fermentation starter culture is the leftover brine from batch of a fermented vegetable that you pour into a new batch. You can also use the whey from yogurt as a starter. Be sure the yogurt has live cultures , it should say on the container. If you made the yogurt yourself, it has live cultures.

    Something not thought of before is preserving food with sugar, we talk about sugared grapefruit rinds. Take them out of the compost and get something for nothing. Neat.

    We move onto foraging, specifically foraging for edible plants in the Northeast. Japanese Knotweed is edible. Go harvest it when its young and help save the planet.

    Sandor Katz on Fermentation – GF Radio 316

  • Grilled Tomatoes with Spinach and Cheese, an Easy Tomato Recipe – GF Video

    An easy tomato recipe to use up some of those giant beefsteak tomatoes that doesn’t involve making a salad or a BLT. Grill big tomato slices, make a cream sauce, add in spinach, top with cheese, and you’ve got a nice appetizer or side dish. This recipe comes from GF viewer Marcus, who sent us a nice note about his friends food blog, Cheater Chef, and this recipe.


    Be sure to oil the grill grates after preheating your grill, take a paper towel with vegetable oil and use tongs to apply the oil from the towel onto the grates. I use a propane grill for this easy tomato recipe, be sure to heat it up, mine takes a while, mbe your grill doesn’t. A charcoal grill will heat these up quickly.

    You can also use the broiler of your oven to make these, ideally one would put a grate into a baking sheet so the tomato slices sit above the pan. I think many people forget about the broiler function of their ovens, restaurants use the broiler all the time, we should use it more too.

    The original recipe calls for using heavy cream, and this appetizer or side dish is quite rich with the sauce, I think you can use half and half or even whole milk and dial down the richness a bit, the tomatoes will do just fine. I like a sharp cheddar for this, but use what you got, Mozzarella would work, but also some drier cheeses too, like Emmenthaler.

    easy tomato recipe

    Easy Tomato Recipe

    Grilled Tomatoes with Spinach & Cheese, based on the recipe by Cheater Chef

    1 large beefsteak tomato, nice and ripe.

    1 bag or large bunch of spinach, about a 1 pound bag would work

    small onion or half of a larger onion, chopped up fine

    1/2 cup half/half or whole milk, your choice

    1 clove garlic minced, depending on how much garlic you want.

    Butter for the pan

    2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

    • Preheat your grill

    • Slice the tomato into half inch slices, oil the grill grates carefully, and place slices on grill, close grill cover

    • Chop spinach, discarding large stems, and microwave on high for about 3 minutes, you want it to wilt, but not overcook.

    • Melt butter in fry pan,  and add chopped onions, cook them down until starting to brown.

    • Add garlic, be sure to get the garlic to grown a bit too.

    • Go check on slices grilling, turn them when they are starting to have grill marks

    • Add half/half or whole milk to the pan and let it thicken, don’t burn it like I did.

    • Toss in cooked spinach and bring cream sauce out to grill

    • Turn slices if you haven’t done so already, and place a big spoonful of the cream sauce on each slice

    • Top with cheese, and close grill to allow the cheese to melt. Don’t walk away from the grill right now.

    • When the cheese is melted, the dish is ready.

     

    Do you grill tomatoes? Let us know below:

     

     

  • Changing Your Headlight bulbs & When to Call the Professionals GF Radio 354

    Rick tells of how he tried to change the headlight bulbs on his Toyota Prius, and how it all ended up a the mechanic’s garage instead. We learn when its time to call the professional and walk away from a DIY repair.

    headlightEric has been watching great car repair videos by Eric The Car Guy on YouTube, lots of great car repair how to videos done well. We learned that we will not attempt to change the struts on our car, we will take it to the experts who have the right tools. Eric the Car Guy also has a website and discussion forum on his site here.

    We read a letter from GF team member Kent, or at least Eric tries to read the letter, mangling several sentences.

  • Pet Allergies & Basement Flooding Solutions GF Radio 353

    dog-allergyWe talk with Monica about her dog’s pet allergies and behavioral problems, and her basement flooding problem. Monica has a 2 yr old mixed breed rescue pup that has developed food allergies and has been become aggressive towards squirrels and rabbits. Rick talks about his experience with pet allergies with his Cairn Terriers and how his vet is doing some interesting research. Eric tells of how they solved his Labrador’s food allergy with a special prescription food, Royal Canin Selected Protein . Its not cheap, but it has saved Henry’s life.

    Basement flooding comes next, Monica tells of her basement flooding with heavy rains. She just had her basement floor re-poured, with french drains and a sump pump. This is the best solution, Eric thinks. The other thing you can do is put drains around the foundation wall footings, aka  curtain drains. These are similar to french drains, but deep in the soil and outside the basement wall.

  • BBQ Rub Recipes And Fix Your Air Conditioner – GF Radio 352

    A few ways to fix your air conditioner before calling the AC repair person and BBQ rub recipes on the show as Mike joins us. Mike talks about BBQ rubs and tells us a few simple things you can do to fix your air conditioner, and if those don’t work, its time to get the experts involved.

    Mike updates us on his BBQ competitions, and we talk about the Ugly Drum Smoker – UDS – that he encountered at a recent Bar-B-Que contest. You can learn more about the UDS smoker on Instructables here.

    bbq-rub-and-fix-your-air-conditionerThe  issue of how to get a clean 55 gallon drum comes up, and we, as usual, don’t have an answer to that. What do you think?

    Talk about BBQ rub recipes, or spice powder one applies to the meat, comes next. Mike thinks doing it the night before works for him. You can make your own rub, or get a store bought one. Whatever works for you. Dry brining comes up, rubbing the meat with salt, which then flavors the meat if you do it ahead of time. BBQ is great and subjective, says Mike.

    For brisket, we go with Daniel Delaney’s base for a rub, salt and pepper.

    Mike’s most simple rub is 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/2 cup kosher salt. You can add chili powder and paprika too. With pork, sweet and salty is great, and anything more is a bonus. Rick, we find out, has never heard of the term ‘bark’ when talking about BBQ. He is always learning something from us.

    Eric cites his high school senior thesis teacher Dr. Paul Hirth of Lafayette High School who says, “if you at least try, you can’t fail”

    We move on to car repair, and Mike tells us about how the serpentine belt broke on his Dodge Caravan, and what he did to fix it. While Mike was replacing his serpentine belt, he also replaced the tensioner and idler pulley, two less things to break on the road.

  • Cherry Tomato Recipe: Make Pesto! – GF Video

    A cherry tomato recipe that is a new one to me: Cherry Tomato Pesto. I heard about this from Lidia Bastianich, who was interviewed on ATK Radio and mentioned it. I was surprised at how well it turned out, never had I thought of making pesto this way before. What fun to have a new and unique cherry tomato recipe just in time for the tomato overflow from the garden.

    Another interesting ingredient in this pesto recipe is the use of almonds, which i had not thought of before but now seems so obvious. One thing I did learn while working on this recipe was that the almonds need to be ground up in the food processor before adding in the rest of the ingredients. Just dumping them in with the tomatoes doesn’t work, as the almonds are still pretty chunky when the rest of the ingredients have been mixed together.

    Basil does play a role here, but you could also use parsley, both work well when paired with tomato. I imagine you have both growing in your garden somewhere near the cherry tomatoes, do a mix of the two if you like.

    And do not use cheap olive oil for a pesto recipe, use the best you can get, or almost the best. There are a lot of adulterated olive oils out there, you can check out Truth In Olive Oil for a list of good olive oils you can buy in your area.

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    Not your usual Cherry Tomato Recipe

    Cherry Tomato Pesto Recipe  based on Lidia Bastianich’s recipe

    • 1 pint cherry tomatoes, not the super sweet kind, a mix is good.
    • 3/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, buy a wedge and grate it yourself
    • Approx 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
    • 3/4 cup raw almonds, not salted or roasted, but you could use the salt-roast kind in a pinch
    • 1 medium clove of garlic, smashed or minced
    • 1 small handful of basil leaves and young stems
    1. Mince of smash the garlic and let it sit out while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
    2. Put the almonds in a dry saute pan on the stove, and toast lightly. Be careful not to burn them. The almonds will click when its time to turn them.
    3. Grate the Pecorino Romano cheese with the large holes of a box grater.
    4. Pull the basil leaves and young stems from the woody older stems.
    5. Put the toasted almonds in the food process and break them down to small chunks and some powder
    6. Add the cherry tomatoes, cheese, garlic, basil.
    7. Turn on the food processor and mix this all together, be careful not to over process, you want this to have some texture.
    8. Slowly drizzle the olive oil into the food processor as it mixed the ingredients together. The pesto will thicken a bit.
    9. Test for salt, it may or may not need some.

    Do you have a favorite cherry tomato recipe? Let us know below!

     

  • Go Out And Dig Post Holes – GF Radio 351

    Eric tells you to go out and dig post holes, stop procrastinating about it, its easier than you think. And once its done, he tells you how to fill the holes with cement. Its easy. Then Eric segues into more stream of conscious stuff. There you go.

  • Backyard Stump Removal

    The large mulberry tree had to come out. The neighbors complained about the berries that littered their yards each year, and got tracked into their homes by the feet of kids and dogs.

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    So down came the tree, and what was left for me to deal with was about 5 feet of tree. Time for the 20″ bar chainsaw and a lot of sawdust.

    This tree was one tree that had two limbs right at the base, and those limbs kinda fused at the bottom of the tree, and it was my job to cut this as flat as I could. I’m not good at level cuts – it always seems to look good while you are cutting, but by the time you get to the other side of the cut, its not.

    Why is that?

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    To keep the bar of the chainsaw from getting pinched by the cut portion of the tree, I drove a wedge in to keep the cut open. I had forgotten my plastic wedges, so a metal wedge had to do. One usually uses plastic wedges so if the chain touches the wedge, the chain is not damaged. Metal wedges are bad for chainsaws. But I paid close attention to keeping the saw away from the wedge.

     

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    I did do the smart thing and bought two new chains for the saw before starting this project. It is amazing how quickly a chainsaw will cut through a tree with a new chain. wow.

    Plus look the wood shavings it left behind, a clear sign of a sharp chain. If your saw is putting out dust rather than flakes, its time for a new or sharpened chain.

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    We  have several chainsaw videos here for your to check out:

    chainsaw-tree

     

  • Thaw Meat Quickly How To – GF Video

    Learn how to thaw meat quicky, defrost steaks, chicken breasts, fish and other smaller pieces of meat with this simple method. No longer does one have to defrost meat in the fridge overnight. No when you get home from work, you can thaw meat quickly and have it for dinner that night.

    The information presented here was first published in the NY Times in a article by our favorite food science writer, Harold McGee.

    The science behind how to thaw meat quickly

    Liquids transfer heat more efficiently than air, so if you want to change the temperature of an object, putting it in a liquid instead of the fridge will cause the objects temperature to change faster. Putting a frozen steak in the fridge overnight, the steak is surrounded by slightly warmer air, and over time, an equalization of temperature happens.

    Putting that same frozen meat in a warmer tray of water, the temperature equalization will happen much faster. The warmer water will cause the meat to warm up, and the water will lose of of its warmth, both the water and steak come to an equilibrium eventually.

    For a long time, we’ve been taught that you can run cold water over a piece of frozen meat to thaw it. But this still takes some time and lots of water, despite the water running at a trickle. Now we’ve learned that you can use warm water – I use about 100F water – to defrost meat quickly.

    A few rules here:

    • One must cook the meat right after defrosting it
    • This works only for small pieces of meat- steaks, fillets, breasts, etc.
    • The meat must be fully submerged in the water, weigh it down with something heavy.

    An alternative to the hot water running over the meat is to fill pot with 125F water, and put the meat in it. Stir the water occasionally, and the meat will defrost. Its important to stir the water. This method saves water too.

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    Chicken Breasts can be thawed quickly with this method

    What do you all think? Let us know below:

  • Apple Tree has lost half of its leaves

    Our standard size apple tree has lost half of its leaves for the second year now. Its the middle of summer, and the bottom half of the tree drops its leaves, and we are not sure why. I think this tree may be a Winesap, but I’m not sure. This tree usually fruits bi-annually, every second year, but has not set any fruit recently.

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    An initial web search has not turned up any concrete info, but I’m still looking. I’m thinking its some sort of fungus. This tree is in a line of trees, so parts of it do not get a lot of air around it to keep the leaves dry. Spraying the tree is not practical, as the top if it is about 25′ high.

    The tree does have apple maggots, which accounts for the fruit drop that occurs, and i have tried to deal with that with the red spheres coated with pine tar. I have also bought pheromone traps from Fedco Seeds.

    This tree was planted by Mike, who built the house and live in it for bout 50 years. He loved to garden and when we bought the house, it had two large apple trees in the yard. This one, and another in the lawn that is easier to prune. I have not been able to prune this one much, as it is so tall. I’m not big on climbing up a ladder with pruners to lean into a tree.

    We have made cider from the apples from this tree and also applesauce, you can check those out below:

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    How to make hard cider link

  • Quick Coleslaw Recipe -GF Video

    Here’s a quick coleslaw recipe that takes no time to put together. This is a perfect addition to one of our pulled pork recipes. The pairing of BBQ and coleslaw is a given in the GardenFork world, so here we go!

    We use the grater disc on our food processor for this quick coleslaw recipe, you can also use a box grater or a mandolin, but it will take longer, hence, less quick. OK? We used a larger size grater hole for the carrots. I think big chunks of cabbage are unappealing, but I also don’t want the cabbage to look like sawdust. Just my thoughts here.

    You can use red cabbage for part or all of the cabbage in this recipe, but I’d suggest adding some red cabbage but not 100%. Its just too much, and i think red cabbage is a tougher chew when it is raw. We do have some great red cabbage recipe videos here, so check them out after make this coleslaw.

    Quick Coleslaw Recipe

    1 medium head of green cabbage

    4 good sized carrots, washed well but not peeled.

    2 teaspoons of caraway

    1 tablespoon deli or brown mustard

    1/2 cup virgin olive oil

    4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

    salt and pepper to taste

    Cut the cabbage into quarters and remove the core. Then cut into chunks that will fit into your food processor. Put on the grater blade and shred the cabbage.

    Change the blade to a coarser one and grate the carrots.

    In a large bowl add in the olive oil, vinegar, caraway, mustard, salt and pepper. Whisk this together. The mustard will bind it all together. Taste for salt, you may need to add more afterward.

    Add in the shredded cabbage and carrots, and toss well. This tastes best when put in the fridge overnight, I think, but you can serve it right away as well.

     

  • Dr Pepper Pulled Pork Slow Cooker Recipe – GF Video

    Pulled Pork is a GardenFork favorite, and I’ve heard of adding soda to the slow cooker, so here is our Dr Pepper Pulled Pork Slow Cooker Recipe. I like how the soda adds some sugar-caramel flavor, plus that raspberry taste that Dr Pepper has. Plus it was just fun to put this together to see what happened. What did happen was a great pulled pork. Add a side of our easy coleslaw recipe and you are good to go for a summer BBQ. Yet another great slow cooker recipe

    We used a smaller pork shoulder for this recipe, but you can use a large one if you have a large slow cooker. The cut of shoulder we use is also called a Pernil, you might see that on the label at the butcher. We like skin on and bone in, but you can use a boneless pork butt if that is what you have. Use what you got. The skin, aka fat cap, adds flavor, and you peel it off after the pork shoulder has spent its time in the crock pot.

    Dr Pepper may sound like an odd choice, but I like it. I do not drink a lot of soda, but Dr Pepper has that cola taste with a touch of raspberry that makes me want to try it with this. Colas in general have sugar and caramel, which work well for slow cooking meats, I think.

     

    A key tool to have here is a gravy separator, which I did not own until recently, but I’m glad I have it. After the pork is cooked, pour the cooking liquid into the gravy separator, and add some of this braise liquid back into the pork after it is pulled apart. I’ve seen a bunch of recipes that toss this cooking liquid, not sure why.

    Cole Slaw is a must for pulled pork, and we have a companion video with an easy Coleslaw recipe here. I like apple cider vinegar in my slaw, and sweet tomato BBQ sauce in BBQ pork.

    Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork Slow Cooker Recipe

    3-4 lb pork shoulder, bone-in, skin on

    1 bottle Dr. Pepper

    1 medium onion, chopped into rough chunks

    This is one of those throw it all in and turn it on pulled pork recipes. Some people brown the pork before braising it, and we have another pulled pork slow cooker recipe where you can do a dry rub overnight here. But this is super simple

    Take all three ingredients and put them in the slow cooker. You want the Dr. Pepper to cover about 2/3 of the pork shoulder.

    Put the cover on the slow cooker and turn it on Low and let it go for 5  hours, check it with a fork. If the pork is not falling apart tender, put the lid back on and let it go longer, check again in an hour. Repeat.

    Once cooked, remove the pork, and pour the braise liquid into a gravy separator. Remove the fat cap and shred the pork with two forks.

    Pour the braise liquid over the pork, using the separator to avoid adding the liquid fat back into the pork.

    This is best when put in the fridge overnight, but you can dress it right away with BBQ (sparingly) and have at it.

    The accompanying Coleslaw recipe is here.

    cole slaw vid

     

  • Podcasts we like & cucumbers Rick doesn’t – GF Radio 350

    Rick joins Eric to talk about new stuff. First off is Eric’s favorite weather website, WeatherUnderground.com . Eric’s personal weather station is connected to the Weather Underground site, where you can get hyper-local weather data and nice radar.

    cucumbersNew podcasts Eric has been listening to lately while repairing plaster and drywall. Eric recently found The History Chicks  http://thehistorychicks.com/ , two women talking about women in history. Its a well researched show, the hosts clearly know what they are talking about, and have an interest in sharing history.

    New Tech City  http://www.wnyc.org/shows/newtechcity/  is produced by WNYC in NYC, its a technology show but it isn’t a super geek nerd type of thing. Recent shows have been about  getting teen girls involved in technology and a startup vs. the postal service.

    Rick likes the You Are Not So Smart podcast http://youarenotsosmart.com/ which explores self delusion.

    Rick drops in some constitutional history and talking for free on a podcast.

    Eric has been watching the PBS documentary series Carrier, a 10 part series on life on the USS Nimitz http://www.pbs.org/weta/carrier/

    Rick gives his secret recipe for the best way to cook okra, and its clear he likes his okra. And we find that Rick thinks cucumbers are useless.

    We touch on the new GardenFork videos,
    Grilled Pineapple: Noreen of Noreen’s Kitchen  – Youtube channel here – notes that you do not have to cut out the core when grilling pineapple, it cooks nicely. https://gardenfork.tv/grilled-pineapple-gf-video

    A new GF raised bed video using dimensional lumber.

  • Grilled Pineapple – GF Video

    Are you grilling some food tonight? Then try this Grilled Pineapple Recipe while you’re at it. I like the idea of making dessert outdoors, one less thing to heat up the house with.

    We’ve touched a bit on grilled fruit before, with mixed results, but this one works well and is easy to do. Its a good way to get your kids acquainted with grilling and the payoff is a healthy dessert. Nice.

    Grilled Pineapple How To

    At its simplest, we take pineapple, slice it up, and place it on an oiled hot grill and keep our eyes on it. Half inch pieces work well for us, any thinner and they burn quickly and can be hard to lift up off the grill. Learn from my experience.

    This grilled pineapple can be cooked on a gas or charcoal grill, or you can use the broiler in your oven. In the summer I’m all about keeping heat out of the house, so if we are already grilling some meat or vegetables, I automatically think about grilled fruit. One could also make this in the fireplace with a grate like the one we use in our fireplace cooking videos here.

    Variations on grilled pineapple

    There are a lot of recipes that say to put the pineapple in a marinade or glaze it with oil or sugar. I don’t see the need for this, but go ahead and try it with honey or brown sugar. We drizzle some of our balsamic vinegar reduction on it (video here), and sprinkle on cinnamon or nutmeg. Chunky salt flakes are good too for that sweet – salt thing.

    A few thoughts on cutting up pineapple here. You can add the skin and top to the compost pile, but it will take a while for the top of the thing  to break down. Its kinda like a cactus or spiny aloe vera plant with thick leaves. One GF viewer suggested saving the skin and cuttings and put them in a juicer, had not hear of that one.

    Let me know your thoughts below on how to make grilled pineapple.

     

  • Love the Podcast! Viewer Mail – GF Radio 349

    garlicEric goes solo and reads viewer mail about Garlic, raised beds, weeding from Matty, & free libraries from Christina.

    The NY Times article we talk about is here. More info on Bucky Buckaw is avail here.

    You can watch our how to grow garlic videos here: https://gardenfork.tv/tag/garlic-video

     

     

  • Bear or Varmint takes apart an empty hive

    I had been using this empty hive as a bait hive, hoping to catch a swarm from – no luck there – and I had just left this outside the garage. I had meant to put it inside the garage, but you know how that goes.

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    Then that night Charlie Pup was barking at the window looking towards the garage, and i figured she was barking at a shadow.

    But then come morning I see some animal has taken the empty hive apart. Luckily it wasn’t too broken up. There was a mix of wax foundation and plastic foundation frames that hadn’t been drawn out yet.

    Can’t say this was a bear, it may have been a raccoon or skunk, but it reminds me not to leave beekeeping gear outside anymore.