Why you should love basil! (and preserving pesto)

I love basil. And I grew a lot of basil over summer. And when I say a lot, I mean I had six huge basil plants growing. I love basil on pizza, in pasta, with sun-dried tomatoes, and I definitely LOVE basil pesto! I love it on crackers, on pasta, with chicken, and in pastry…

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Capsi-YUM (growing capsicums)

Capsicums are delicious, crispy, juicy, sweet and oh so versatile. You can have them in salads, you can stuff them, roast them, have them on pizza. They add amazing flavor, and texture to whatever dish they are in. And the best part about capsicums, is that they are actually really simple to grow. I used…

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Growing Swiss Chard or Silverbeet

Swiss Chard. Silverbeet. Tomaytoe. Tamato. Same thing. Different name. But no matter what you call it, there is no doubt that this beautiful green leafy plant is so delicious, and so easy to grow. My Good Old Fashioned Swiss Chard and  also the Bright lights variety! And here at The Cottage Veggie Garden, I will…

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ANTS ON MY CORN

AHHHHHHH!!! I hate ants. Seriously. I hate them. Yuck. They get on you and crawl around really fast. UGH! And guess what. My corn has ants. What the?! WARNING! GROSS PICTURE BELOW! It looks like they’ve laid eggs and they’re just all over it! Has anyone else had this before?? I did some reading on…

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What is on my leaves?! Powdery Mildew! Yuck!

Yucky, yucky, yucky. Powdery mildew. Yucky. What is it you ask? It’s a fungal disease, that typically begins on squash or courgette plants, but that no plant is immune to. So bearing that in mind, it’s useful to know how to treat it! As even the best gardener may have a powdery mildew attack. How…

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Growing Squash!

Squash, like pumpkins, are insanely easy to grow. They are so rewarding because the amount of growth from one plant is amazing! They are a very simple plant to grow, and one plant can produce around 12 squash, depending on the type of squash you planted! I planted butternut squash, but the same rules pretty…

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Black Gold – and only the bits you need to know

Dirt. Or soil to be fancy. You put seeds in it, and your plants sit in it until they magically grow into delicious or just plain beautiful plants. Soil also provides the important thing that helps plants grow. The soil feeds the plants and the nutrients that are in the soil can determine what nutrients…

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Taming the TOMATO

Our tomatoes are getting us so excited at the moment!!! Look at all the gorgeous green fruit that will soon be ruby red juicy tomatoes! AHH!! SO EXCITING!!! However, as the plants grow heavy with fruit, there are a few things that need to be done in order to ensure good growth and also a…

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Growing Wheatgrass!

Wheatgrass is essentially a miracle plant. It is insanely easy to grow and then consume. It can be drunk in shots or added to fruit smoothies or juices, and the nutritional benefits are amazing! There is a lot of debate over HOW good wheatgrass actually is for you (1shot=1kg of veggies??), but what everyone can…

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