The Cost of Canning

After a sweaty afternoon spent laboring over pots of boiling water and green beans, I can’t help but ask myself: is it worth it? Is it worth a couple of hours on my feet–fingertips turning to prunes as they’re plunged repeatedly into the rinsing water–to turn 6 1/2 pounds of fresh beans into 5 quarts of canned ones? I…

The Resilient Gardener

I’ve read a lot of gardening books in my thirty-one years, and I’ve learned something new from every one. But it isn’t often that a book comes along in which I not only learn something new in every paragraph but each bit of new information feels absolutely vital. Carol Deppe’s book The Resilient Gardener is…

Jewish Agricultural Advice

There’s a Jewish proverb that says, “If you’re planting a tree and hear that the Messiah has come, finish planting the tree, then go and see.” I like this saying for several reasons. One is that it seems humorously skeptical about the prospect of deliverance: if someone tells you things are about to get a…