Talk about delicate links in a chain! Could Joshua Trees exist without the moth whose caterpillar eats its seeds? Consider this: http://www.livescience.com/environment/091113-bts-joshua-tree-coevoluation.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Livesciencecom+%28LiveScience.com+Science+Headline+Feed%29&utm_content=My+Yahoo

Organic Gardening Guru Willi Galloway honored me by asking I contribute an article to her Digginfood.com blog.

Find it here: http://www.digginfood.com/2009/11/a-backyard-greenhouse/

...and odds are if you enjoy gardenhelp.org, you'll adore digginfood.com!

Thanks Willi!

New evidence indicates gymnosperms (aka the plants that pre-dated flowering plants) may have actually been pollinated by early insects.

Read more here: http://www.livescience.com/animals/091105-scorpion-nectar.html

Looking for a job? Looking for a job in Horticulture? Check out this site for searchable postings by country and by state!

http://www.gethorticulturejobs.com/

The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan will soon be a PBS Documentary (launching on 10/28/09). If you haven't read the book, check it out. Plants control us more than you might think. The film looks to be pretty great too:

Check out the online preview here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdXOeWMwX-4

Looking for a local farmer, rancher or a CSA in your area? Check out this searchable site for great options throughout the USA: http://www.localharvest.org/

Blame the home gardener? Blame Home Depot? Or just blame mother nature? Or maybe, skip all the blame and look to the solutions.

Late blight - it just plain sucks!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/opinion/09barber.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1249952436-BJCAMko1zK7VoS%20HZv5bkw

Searching for that perfect summer signature cocktail? Look no further than this great Lemon Verbena Drop:

http://www.gardenhelp.org/books/cookbooks/lemon-verbena-how-to-grow-preserve-and-enjoy-all-year/

Not sure how I missed this in May, but now that I've found it, I can't help sharing:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-may-14-2009/little-crop-of-horrors

Margaret, thanks for asking about the snap peas. I have also ready they can be blanched and frozen, but I haven't done that to any in the past. I'm not much of a microwave user and do my blanching in a big pot of boiling water on the stove top then plunging the blanched veggies in ice water before packing them into bags for the freezer. I'm not sure how long you should blanch snap peas, but it must be very brief!

Enjoy :)