Backyard Stories – My Slice of Mexico

Homegrown Beans – Easy and Fun

August 28, 2019August 28, 2019by Irene8 Comments

Many people, including myself, have wondered why bother with homegrown shelling beans, since the small envelopes of seeds are more expensive than buying a bag of dry beans at the supermarket, probably the same price as a couple of cans, plus the time, work and space the crop takes in the garden. I have to say that not only are they "easy to grow and fun to harvest", but their flavour, texture and the thickness of their broth are definitely worth the effort … click on title for more

Tomatoes with a Grudge?

August 19, 2019by Irene20 Comments

Some of my backyard tomatoes this year seem to have a chip on their shoulder, or rather, a condition called “yellow shoulder" … click on title for more

Backyard Stories, featured

Four Bugs in My Garden – Friends or Foes?

July 30, 2019August 19, 2019by Irene15 Comments

When it comes to garden bugs, there are some clear heroes and villains, but there are also many others that cannot be classified as perfectly positive or negative; I found four examples in my backyard this week … click on title for more

Backyard Stories, Ingredients

An Edible Bouquet

July 20, 2019July 20, 2019by Irene14 Comments

This edible bouquet is not made of cut-up fruit, like the ones people send or gratefully receive as get-well-soon gifts, but of blooms from my backyard … click on title for more

Backyard Stories, Mexican Culture

Rosa Mexicano – Mexican Pink

July 16, 2019August 1, 2019by Irene13 Comments

Green, white and red are Mexico’s national colours, but another one that well defines Mexican culture is pink, specifically a shade known as rosa mexicano (Mexican pink, sometimes called Mexican rose.) The name was coined in 1949 by renown author, fashion designer and painter Ramón Valdiosera … click on title for more

Backyard Stories, gardening, Mexican Culture

My Backyard Milpa

July 7, 2019July 10, 2019by Irene10 Comments

Culturally, a milpa is a holistic way to grow food in harmony with nature. This year, my milpa has the three sisters (corn, beans and squash) growing once again, as well as other vegetables and quelites (pot herbs) … click on title for more

Backyard Stories, gardening

To the Point – Garlic Scapes

June 20, 2019June 20, 2019by Irene8 Comments

I grow hardneck garlic in my backyard, noble varieties that give an extra crop at the end of spring: garlic scapes. These pointy buds are removed young, before they bloom, to encourage the bulbs underground to grow bigger … click on title for more

Backyard Stories, Ingredients

Harvest of the Day

June 12, 2019June 12, 2019by Irene22 Comments

The eclectic still life pictured above shows my backyard harvest of June 7, 2019. It reflects the beauty of a backyard garden, with a delicious variety of produce at different stages, depending on the crop … click on title for more

Backyard Stories

Flower of the Day – Strawberry Blossom

June 7, 2019June 8, 2019by Irene5 Comments

Today, I am looking at my strawberry patch in a stolid manner, calculating which percentage of the fruit I will actually harvest over the next few weeks … click on title for more

Backyard Stories, gardening

All Lined Up

May 31, 2019by Irene6 Comments

A few weeks ago, I had mentioned that forsythias were blooming in my garden, indicating that it was time to sow my spring crops, in particular, carrots (click here to visit my post from April 25 2019.) Well, fast-forward to present time and, on the last day of May, I have spotted several rows of [...]