Category Archives: magazines

By Recycla

When Recycla is not busy in her roles as Eco Warrior, wife, mother, blogger, and more, she is an enthusiastic gardener.  Alas, her enthusiasm does not mean that she has vast stores of knowledge in her brain.  In fact, Recycla feels that she has a great deal to learn, particularly in the area of food gardening.  She has piddled around with it for several years, growing herbs (nearly idiot proof), blueberries, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, edamame, and asparagus — all of which she has grown in small, eat-as-you go quantities.

This year, however, things are going to change.  She wants to branch out and try new things, as well as grow more of everything so that she can freeze, dry, and can for the winter.  This means that she has been doing her research so that she can learn as much as possible.  She has mentioned before that one of her favorite resources is Organic Gardening, but she also has a new resource that she likes a lot.

Mother Earth News.

If you’ve heard of Mother Earth News, you probably have an image in your head of hardcore gardeners who live off the grid, use leaves for toilet paper, and dress their children only in homespun hemp.  And while that may be true for a small part of the target audience, Recycla suspects that a large number of readers are people who are weekend warriors like herself.  People who want to take control of their food and not rely so much on Big Agriculture.

Mother Earth News is not just a magazine for gardeners — it’s for anyone who wants to save Planet Earth.  Or, as the tagline says, “The guide for living wisely.”   Each issue contains a range of advice from information for the beginner to advice for the professional.  Recycla has read tips for such topics as increasing her tomato yield, but also why organic Fair Trade chocolate is best.  The magazine covers gardening, DIY, renewable energy, natural health, green transportation, and more.  It really is a magazine for everyone.

DON’T FORGET TO ENTER OUR GIVEAWAY BY SUNDAY EVENING!

The Eco Women are not employed by Mother Earth News, nor were they paid to do this review.  Photo credits:  Flickr, Mother Earth News.

When Recycla isn’t out saving Planet Earth, one of her hobbies is gardening. Recycla has spent years adding more and more plants to her gardens — shrubs, flowers, herbs, vegetables, and fruit. Recycla finds working in the dirt to be both therapeutic and good exercise, not mention the views from her windows are lovely. By having a kitchen garden, Recycla is also feeding her family, although on a limited scale at this point. This year, Recycla’s kitchen garden is modest and has only herbs, tomatoes, asparagus, edamame (soybeans), and blueberries. Next year, however, Recycla has plans — big plans. She is going to expand her kitchen garden and significantly increase the number and variety of edible plants she grows.

As part of the planning process, Recycla is reading up on plants with which she is less familiar. One resource that she has found invaluable is Organic Gardening magazine. Recycla has read OG for years and finds that each issue is chock full of useful information. Just yesterday, Recycla found a great article on tips for increasing tomato yields.

If you are thinking of starting a garden — even just a few pots of tomatoes on your patio — or you already have a garden, buy an issue of OG and see what you think. Alternately, checkout the website and sign up for the e-newsletter.

And now Recycla is off to wander through her garden and see what’s going on out there today.

Photo of the gardens at Monticello, courtesy of Flickr.