“Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food.”

Tomatoes are immensely enjoyable to grow and even better to eat freshly picked.  Americans love them so much that its by far the moist grown vegetable at home.

There are relatively easy to grow and can be grown in containers or small gardens,  while produce fruit throughout the summer.

Its estimated there are over 7,500 type with over 600 available commercially.   Best of all thy taste so much sweeter, juicer and more full flavored than store bought tomatoes.

Mint grows extremely fast, so leaves can be harvested very often.  It spreads quickly, so pay attention where you plant it or plant them in containers, like I do.  Mint is used in many recipes from ice teas, casseroles to dry rubs for lambs. 

Place a container of mint on your deck or patio, the scent of mint, will act as a built-in bug repellent. The scent comes from the essential oil that is naturally in it (and other herbs), and bugs tend to avoid it. The more herbs you plant, the less bugs you will have!

Lettuce celebrate!  Lettuce is the most widely planted salad vegetable in the USA.  Lettuce is an ideal garden vegetable as you can tuck it into small areas, it grows easily and it loves cool weather. 

Here in the I.E. area lettuce is an easy-to-grow annual vegetable. Considered a spring and fall crop, lettuce thrives when temperatures are between 60 to 70 degrees F. Many varieties are ready for harvesting in as little as 30 days, and some can even be harvested much earlier as microgreens. 

  Basil is one of the most popular of the culinary herbs, prized for its complex flavor that is both sweet and peppery. 

Besides being delicious, basil is also very nutritious! It is high in vitamins K and A plus has trace minerals like manganese, calcium, copper, and magnesium.  

 I have found that growing "Sweet Basil" is the easiest and best tasting one.  And, there’s no better way to heighten your salads and pastas than with fresh, chopped basil.  

  Most beans are green, but there are also purple, red, yellow, and streaked beans.  Bean plants are easy to grow.  Plant them in spring as the weather heats up. Harvest time varies, depending on the type of bean 

It is believed beans were first used about 9,000 years ago in Thailand area.  Beans were found in the tombs of the pharaohs in Egypt to carry with them to the afterlife. I also read that the first cultivated beans appeared about 4,000 years ago in Iberia and Trans Alpine Europe. 

 Rosemary is a great source of natural antioxidants that help neutralize free radicals. Studies show that rosemary can help prevent cancer and age-related skin damage. It’s rich in carnosol (anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory agent) and a rich source of vitamin E (another powerful antioxidant).   I

Next time you are roasting chicken or a big slab of beef, give it a generous rubbing of chopped, fresh rosemary! It’s not just for roasted meat or potatoes, try rosemary in cakes and sweet dishes.