Linda Ly's Blog

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Authentic Chimichurri the Way an Argentine Makes It

I cant get enough of chimichurri.

After trying it for the first time in an Argentinian restaurant almost 20 years ago, I found myself slathering the tangy condiment on nearly everything I ordered, from bread to potatoes, churrasco to empanadas.

I started buying my favorite version of it from a local carnicería and for years I ate the bottled stuff, even though its silly easy to make.

Now that I have a garden where I grow half the ingredients in this sauce, theres no excuse not to make my own...

Know When to Grow: A Planting Calendar for Your Garden

So your soil is rich and crumbly, your seed starting game is on point this season, and all of your seedlings look stout and strong.

But are they ready to move into the garden?

One of the trickiest pieces of the puzzle when it comes to growing food is knowing when to start your seeds and when to set transplants in the garden.

Plants need an uninterrupted growth cycle in order to thrive, and that can be tough if your spring weather feels like winter one week and summer the next.

If youve...

10 Sleep-Promoting Fruits and Vegetables That Help You “Spring Forward” Easier

I have a love/hate for Daylight Saving Time.

On the one hand, I’m thrilled that the days are about to get longer and I can get a little more work done in the garden, finish my bike rides while it’s still light out, and not feel like it’s time for bed when it’s only 8 pm.

On the other hand, “losing” that hour of sleep makes me feel off kilter for weeks as I struggle to nip my late-night habits in the bud.

Research has shown that our circadian rhythms never fully adjust to Daylight Saving Time,...

How to Find the Root Depth of Vegetables [Printable Chart]

What’s the secret to growing a healthy, vigorous plant this season?

Hint: It doesn’t start with what you see above ground.

Root depth is a topic that isn’t often considered when we think about growing in containers, building raised beds, or planning an irrigation system for our garden.

But knowing how deep the roots of your plants reach is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle, especially if you’re working with limited space.

We tend to visualize our plants growing up or out, but...

How to Find the Root Depth of Vegetables (Printable Chart)

What’s the secret to growing a healthy, vigorous plant this season?

Hint: It doesn’t start with what you see above ground.

Root depth is a topic that isn’t often considered when we think about growing in containers, building raised beds, or planning an irrigation system for our garden.

But knowing how deep the roots of your plants reach is one of the most important pieces of the puzzle, especially if you’re working with limited space.

We tend to visualize our plants growing up or out, but...

The Mystery of the Teeny Tiny Fart Egg

I think Iman is hiding eggs from me again.

She likes to do that a few times a year, and seeking out her stash becomes an Easter egg hunt as the hubby and I scour the chickens’ 2,500 square feet of foraging space for their secret nest. (Last summer’s search yielded almost a dozen eggs!)

So I was very confused the other day after I skipped a day of egg collecting and, in three different locations, ended up finding an Iman egg, a Kimora egg, and a mystery egg that looked like a bantam had come...

Defending the Dandelion: It’s Not Just Another Weed

The ever-pervasive dandelion.

It’s one of the first plants to sprout in spring, when the ground is barely free of frost, and remains steadfast through the season with vibrant pops of yellow and downy balls of seeds so nostalgic of childhood wonderment.

The benefits of dandelion are many yet somehow, somewhere along the way, this humble plant that has fed and healed humanity for thousands of years became a blight on our landscape.

Dismissed as a weed, eradicated at all costs, cursed and...

Perlite vs. Vermiculite: Know How and Why to Use Them

Back when I was new to gardening (green, you might say), I walked into a plant nursery looking for perlite, as I’d run out of it for my DIY potting mix.

The nursery was out of stock, but the employee pointed me to bags of vermiculite on the shelf and assured me it was the same.

“This is what we use in our greenhouse. It works the same way perlite does,” he promised. “You can use it in your potting mix.”

It’s true that vermiculite was one of the components of my potting mix, but could I really...

Propaganda Told Us Carrots Can Improve Eyesight — Here’s the Truth

As children, we’re often told little white lies or half-truths in order to be coerced or persuaded into doing something we resist.

I didn’t think this was fair game until I became a parent myself, and find myself making promises to my toddler that, at her age, she easily forgets. (I’m sure this will come back to bite me in the butt in a couple of years.)

So it makes me smile when I remember the oft-repeated “motivations” (read: manipulations) by my parents to encourage me to eat more...