Garden Informational Links – Grow Vegetable Plants.com

flower garden

Flower garden at the Botanic Gardens,

Churchtown, Southport, Merseyside, England

A small vegetable garden in May outside of Austin, Texas

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REE Gives the Gift of Agricultural Research and Innovation in 2018
Like many of you, I bask in the excitement of the holidays—wrapping gifts, planning holiday dinners, and spending time with loved ones. However, this month also means the end of the year is near, ushering in a time of reflection and anticipation. In USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area, this time of year […]
Winter Weather Food Safety
With the hurricane season of late summer and early fall behind us, it may be tempting to believe that the weather-related threats to food safety are behind us as well. However, winter storms can cause power outages that disable refrigerators and freezers just as well as summer storms do.
Private Forests, Public Benefits
Privately-owned forests provide water, recreational opportunities, timber and other forest products, as well as habitat for fish and wildlife. However, as forests become fragmented by roads or converted to development, the benefits they provide can be compromised or lost altogether.
Rural Aging Occurs in Different Places for Very Different Reasons
As the United States population ages, many Americans age 65 or older are making their homes in rural communities. In fact, 19 percent of the U.S. rural (nonmetro) population is 65 years or older, compared with 15 percent in urban (metro) areas. Rural counties make up nearly 85 percent of the 1,104 “older-age counties”—those with […]
A New Year with New Data
This time of year, I can’t help but think about cycles – everything coming full circle – from agriculture (planting through harvest) to the holiday season marking the end of one year and the start of the next. Here at USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), we are at an exciting time in the five-year […]
Tips for Eating Cannibal Sandwiches this Holiday Season
With each holiday season, there are hundreds of people in the Midwest who are sickened after eating cannibal sandwiches – a dish featuring raw ground beef, often seasoned with spices and onions and served on bread or a cracker.
Fighting Fire with Fuel Treatments: A Shared Stewardship Approach
Fire season is now about two months longer than it was in the 1970s. Before summer even begins, forests are primed for large fires that spread rapidly in trees that are dehydrated from drought, compromised from fighting off bugs, and often competing for space in overly dense forests.
The Name, the Pin, and the Bee
She leans over her dead subject and deftly pushes a pin through its body, securing it to the foam below. To be clear, this is not about a morgue or a serial killer. This is about taxonomy, or the science of identifying, classifying, and naming organisms. The woman in question is a scientist, and her […]
Stand Up Your Holiday Feast with a Tasty Rib Roast
December is filled with holiday observances and family gatherings, many highlighted by a seasonal feast. While the centerpiece for these feasts is as diverse as our nation, beef is a popular choice, particularly the standing rib roast, a traditional favorite. Last holiday season, the standing rib roast accounted for one fourth of all beef roasts […]
Your Holiday How-To: Keeping Hot Foods HOT and Cold Foods COLD!
The holidays are here, which means plenty of gatherings with family, friends and food! These get-togethers are usually fun-filled with catching up, laughter and occasional dancing, so don’t let foodborne illness crash your party. One of the best ways to keep foodborne illness off the guest list is to keep your food items at the […]