Garden and Food books by Gayla Trail

Red Mulch

It’s really far too early to start getting supplies or thinking about tomatoes but with the weather outside being in the minus kill-me-nows I can’t help but start peaking at the Lee Valley catalog. I’ve already decided that I’m going to sacrifice a couple of my tomato plants to “research” and give red plastic mulch

Grow-op Set-up

Guest post by Amy Urquhart There have been some whispers in the Forums about starting seeds already. Some of the members of You Grow Girl live in areas where it’s already the season for growing. Here in Southern Ontario, though, we’re still experiencing snow and wind chill warnings. I’ve started to think about what I

Unkillable Herb: Broadleaf Thyme

Loads of gardening articles and books proclaim that it is easy to grow herbs indoors; however, it is my experience, and I bet it’s yours too, that most herbs are fine during the summer months, but many take a real beating towards the last half of winter. The conditions inside a typical North American apartment

Your Questions Answered: Gift Orchids

A constant stream of questions comes flooding through my inbox on a regular basis. I try and answer as many as I can but it’s quite an arduous task. It suddenly occurred to me that maybe I should start answering these questions publicly where everyone can benefit from the information or add their own thoughts

A Five Minute Break

A consortium of French environmental groups called L’Alliance pour la Planète / The Alliance for the Planet are calling for as many people as possible to turn out their lights and shut off all electrical appliances for 5 minutes today. This action is meant to acknowledge the UN report on global climate change set to

If You Can, Plant a Garden

I really hate to get all gooey and girly and squeee here because it’s very embarassing and unbecoming but holy cow how much do I love Michael Pollan. I believe you have to be a subscriber to read it, but take a look at this article in the New York Times. “Cook. And if you

I’m on the Stereo, Stereo-o

I’m going to be interviewed live on “The Artist’s Lifestyle” talking about You Grow Girl, gardening, and the art. When: Tuesday, Jan 30. 5:30-6:00pm What: 93.3 FM CFMU To listen online: Go to the website and click on “webcast” [left sidebar].

Grow This: Paphiopedilum Orchid

Living room gardeners needn’t be limited to corner-store variety orchids. Paphiopedilum, aka ‘slipper’ orchids (not to be confused with the cold hardy North American Lady’s Slipper) are an exotic tropical that produce a stunning, solo blossom sometime between late fall and spring. Each bloom lasts as long as 2-3 months and many varieties have dramatic,

Veggie Garden Ribbon

It’s a tad pricey at $13.00 for 2 yards but this fancy-pants woven ribbon from the Cooper Hewitt shop would make fantastic trim on your garden apron. Or maybe use just snip a little piece for a bookmark in your gardening journal. And well… it’s not just ribbon, it’s ART! via Julie Jackson

Growing Independent Media

This is not at all related to gardening but as this site is about to hit its seventh anniversary early next month (I no longer have a record of the exact day but Feb 2000 was the launch), today’s cover story in local Toronto weekly Eye Magazine really hit a nerve, touching me in all

The 6th Street and Ave B Community Garden, NYC

I recently returned from a short trip to New York City. This was a purely personal trip so despite the cold I did what I love best, wandering the streets with my camera. My favourite part of the city is The Lower East Side, The East Village, and Alphabet City areas. This upper part of