Onions Allium cepa
History The onion (or allium) family is a large and diverse one containing over 500 species. With such a large range of species the origins of the modern (or globe) onion are a bit blurred. […]
Articles by Trish Ish
Asparagus, Asparagus officinalis
Asparagus, early springtime is when this most delicious of all vegetables will start to appear. Asparagus is a relative of the lily family. Its name went through a number of changes from the Persian asparag […]
Lettuce – Lactuca sativa- Daisy Family
History The wild origin of our modern lettuce, Lactuca serriola , can still be seen all over Europe and the more temperate parts of Asia. It is likely that it originated on the Mediterranean rim […]
Rhubarb Rheum rhabarbarum
Fruit or Vegetable? As the stems and not the fruit of the pant are eaten botanically speaking rhubarb is a vegetable and not a fruit. However the US customs in Buffalo 1947 ruled that it […]
Carrots – Daucus carota
When one is asked to think of a vegetables the carrot nearly always the first thing to spring to mind. “In a recent Mori poll conducted for The National Trust Magazine the carrot came top […]
Broccoli Brassica oleracea- Cymosa group
History Broccoli is perhaps the most unusual of all vegetables. Botanically speaking it is not much different than a cauliflower. Like the cauliflower it is an immature flower of a plant belonging to the cabbage […]
Turnip – Brassica Rapa By Andy and Dave Hamilton
Turnip is a member of the mustard family and is related to cabbage. Origins of the Turnip It is likely that it originated in Northern Europe around 2000 B.C. although some sources indicate it may […]
The Broad Bean – Vica fabe – Pea Family
Known since Neolithic times find out why this pea relative would have kept the ancient Greek mathematician Pythagoras awake at night. History The broad bean or as many know it as the faba bean has […]
Making Seed Raising Mixture (Potting Compost) by Nev Sweeney
Editors Note – In England we might also call this potting compost! Nev has also found a substitute to peat that can be used! I recommend using this mixture in conjunction with biodegradable newspaper pots. […]
The Daddy of homemade Solar Ovens – By Nev Sweeney Selfsufficient Guru
So having now found out how to make a solar oven work, it was time to get serious. A cardboard no-tech oven is one thing, but I wanted something that would last and would be […]