This Week's Bounty: Make Natural Dyes from Vegetables, Invisible Deer Fence, 7 Tips for Cloning Fruit Trees, and More!

Our weekly roundup of advice and tips for growing good food at home. [Food Gardening Network Weekly]( April 28, 2024  [Freebie Text-Ad]( [Start Your Garden Off Right—Know Which Seeds to Start Indoors … and Which Can Start Outdoors!]( [GET THIS FREEBIE NOW!](  Featured Weekly Video [How to Make Natural Dyes from Vegetables]( [Video]( Have you ever wondered why so much packaging these days proudly says that they are dye-free and why so many children’s products only use natural dyes? It’s because commercial dyes used to dye foods have a proven track-record for ill effects on humans. [Read More...](  [Spring Garden Planning Calendar Kit]( [FREE for You Now: Printable 2024 Spring Garden Planning Calendar Kit!]( Download this kit when you join the Food Gardening Network Gold Club: - Plan your Spring food garden today! - Never miss an important Spring task. - Be inspired to plan, plant, and enjoy! [Read More ...](  Pests & Diseases [How to Make an Invisible Deer Fence for Garden Protection]( [invisible-deer-fence]( I love deer. They’re beautiful, graceful, serene animals. I also hate deer. They eat the apples from my tree, munch on my kale, and eat my strawberries. How do I reconcile these feelings? Invisible deer fence, of course! [Read More...](  [Asparagus]( [Asparagus—King of the Garden Gardening Guide Available Now!]( Want a home garden crop that will produce delicious, nutritious, stately vegetables for decades? Then plant asparagus. You’ll need a little patience at first, but once established, asparagus will reward you for years to come. With the Asparagus—King of the Garden Gardening Guide, you’ll have everything you need to know about growing and enjoying this versatile food. [Read More ...](  Growing Fruits & Berries [7 Tips for Cloning Fruit Trees to Expand Your Orchard for Free]( [cloning fruit trees]( When I hear the word “clone” I either think of Dolly the sheep or binge-watching Battlestar Gallactica. But cloning fruit trees is neither of those things and it shouldn’t be feared. In fact, farmers and gardeners have been cloning fruit trees for centuries as an easy way to jumpstart a fruit tree’s life. [Read More...](  [Apples]( [Audacious Apples Gardening Guide Available Now!]( Apples are the perfect portable snack. They’re delicious, nutritious, and packed with antioxidants! You can grow soaring, full-sized trees in your yard; grow smaller trees in raised beds or containers; or even train an apple tree to grow along a fence or a wall! No matter how small your garden space, there’s an apple variety for you! Learn about it all in this Audacious Apples Gardening Guide right now! [Read More ...](  Composting [The Best Plants for Straw Bale Gardening]( [best plants for straw bale gardening]( To talk about the best plants for straw bale gardening, it’s probably important to clarify what straw bale gardening is exactly. The short version is that you can grow vegetables in straw bales just as you would in a raised bed or large container. [Read More...](  [Lemons]( [Tart & Tangy lemon Guide Available Now!]( Lemons may seem like an exotic tree to grow, but all they need is a little TLC to give you years of tangy harvests! You don’t have to live in a subtropical zone to grow lemons—there are plenty of varieties happy to grow as productive houseplants! With this Gardening Guide, you get all the details that go into growing and harvesting bright, fragrant lemons. Get recipes for dishes sweet and savory that make it all the more rewarding to grow your own lemons. Get it all in this Tart & Tangy Lemon Guide right now! [Read More ...](  Pests & Diseases [How Does Lettuce Get E. coli and How to Prevent it in a Home Garden]( [How Does Lettuce Get E. coli and How to Prevent it in a Home Garden]( I love lettuce. It’s so easy to grow, it’s ready to harvest pretty quickly, and the multitude of varieties have so many different qualities. Who can deny the appeal of crunchy, slightly sweet lettuce on a sandwich? I also admit there’s something that bugs me: How does lettuce get E. coli? [Read More...](  [Oregano]( [The Oregano Grower’s Guide Available Now!]( Get everything you need to know about growing versatile herb. Oregano is an indispensable herb for every kitchen, offering a burst of Mediterranean flavor that can elevate your culinary creations. With the ease of growing oregano at home, you’ll wave goodbye to the days of bland, store-bought oregano! [Read More ...](  Vegetable Gardening [Vegetables for Hot Dry Climates: A Zone 9+ Planting Guide]( [A Zone 9 Planting Guide]( Planting zone 9 and higher is hot. For gardeners, that means a long growing season. In fact, if you plan it right, you could grow vegetables almost all year long! That seems alright by me! As any gardener knows, though, some vegetables are a bit “particular” about where, when, and how they grow. Then there are those vegetables for hot, dry climates that don’t need much more from you than a hand getting into the ground. [Read More...](  [Magazine]( [RecipeLion Magazine Spring 2024 Issue Available Now!]( In this issue, you’ll enjoy 27 Sweet Surprises of Spring! You’ll discover 6 No-Bake Cheesecake Delights and 7 Irresistible Cookies, along with 5 Luscious Light Treats and 9 Cobblers, Cakes & More. This issue includes a huge collection of sweet treats for spring and beyond. Many are easily packed up for warmer weather barbecues, so enjoy! [Read More ...](  Member Posts: New This Week - [Savor the Flavor: Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Soup Recipe for a Healthy Fiesta!]( - [My Ongoing Love of Cauliflower]( - [Caribbean Magic: Chicken Cordon Bleu with a Herbaceous Twist]( - [Olive You a Lot: Adventures of an Accidental Olive Farmer]( Member Favorites - [How to Set Timers for Sprinklers in a Vegetable Garden]( - [The Best Weeding Tool for Your Vegetable Garden]( - [What's the Charles Dowding Multi-Sowing Seeds Method?]( - [12 Cool Gardening Tools and Gifts for the Plant Lover in Your Life]( - [How to Grow Figs in Any Climate]( - [How to Make Banana Peel Tea for Plants]( - [How to Celebrate Naked Gardening Day]( - [Easy Composting at Home: 5 Ways to Compost from Hardest to Easiest]( - [How to Save Water with the Clay Pot Irrigation Method]( Premium Recipes of the Week - [Yellow Squash Patties]( - [Summer Squash Bread]( - [Low-Carb Yellow Squash Casserole]( - [Chocolate Zucchini Bread]( - [Teriyaki-Glazed Zucchini Skewers]( [GP]( [FREE for You Now: Printable Butterfly Garden Planting Chart!]( Download this FREEBIE now and get: - Beautiful full-color printable chart. - Which plants attract butterflies? - Best flowers for your garden. - Fun facts about each of the 24 plants. [Read More ...](  [FREEBIES: Get Them Now!]( [Composting 101 Chart]( [ GET MY FREEBIEÂ]( [Kitchen Garden Planting Charts]( [ GET MY FREEBIEÂ]( [Tomato Garden to Table]( [ GET MY FREEBIEÂ](     About Food Gardening Network: Food Gardening Network brings you expert in-depth information and daily advice to help you grow good food at home and become the best food gardener you can be. Our worldwide community of gardeners, farmers, and cooking enthusiasts share advice and practical information on how to plan, plant, grow, tend, harvest and enjoy great-tasting and nutritional food from your home garden. Our magazine articles, in-depth gardening guides, how-to videos, recipes and cookbooks, and planning calendars help you improve your gardening skills, be a better cook, and enjoy all the benefits of successful food gardening—including saving time and money. 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