The bulk of okra crop production in California remains in Imperial County, 129 miles from Fallbrook. Though a relatively small amount of acreage there (184 acres) is devoted to this plant, okra remains an important and lucrative crop for California farmers and everyone who loves it. Oh, you don’t care for okra? All you can think about is its gooey or mucilaginous insides? And you always thought it to be strictly an old Southern vegetable mainly found in gumbo. Think again. Mainly grown in India, okra (abelmoschus esculentus) or lady’s fingers is technically a fruit, like string beans, eggplant and squash. In the mallow family, with a gorgeous yellow, cream, pink or white flower, it is related to hibiscus, cotton, cocoa and hollyhock. Valued mainly for its pods and seeds, the entire plant is edible. The “slime,” or mucilage inside the pod is especially medicinal. Okra is high in fiber, …

Over the past year I have lost interest in the “mindful” preoccupation being drilled into almost every aspect of our lives. And if you believe you are not mindful of your actions, countless magazines, newspapers, talk shows on radio and TV and aisles of books at stores and in the library will show you how to turn your mindless life around. The fact is, I am mindful. Always have been. I am a gardener. I am mindful of Nature, and all that it comprises. The environment, the soil, what I grow in that soil as well as what I give back to it have always been paramount in my mind. I know this holds true for most of the people in this world, no matter their profession. We know we are all connected. Being mindful of that fact, we try to make this a better world everyday. Implying that I …

Suddenly celery is the star of the produce aisle everywhere. In fact, some grocers have spotlights shining down on overly misted and perfectly stacked bunches of celery. And this display remains as is for days due to prices of $3.49 – $5.99 or more. Some glance at the price, then look at the thin stringy ribs on the sparse bunches and walk away. Without hesitation others blindly pick up two bunches, quickly stash them in the store-provided produce bag, and place them into their cart. Celery has always been there for us. It’s the crunchy, green leafy herb that flavors our salads, soups, stews, stir-fries and more. It was usually a fair price and a vegetable drawer staple. But what happened? It seems back in December “The Celery Juice Challenge,” started by New York Times bestselling author Anthony William, challenged people to drink celery juice daily for a week. This …

Living where we do, you are most likely aware that 95% of the world’s Easter lilies are grown on the coastal fertile land along the California and Oregon border. If you didn’t know, well, there’s some trivia for your back pocket. You may also know that the Easter lily is native to the Southern islands of Japan. After World War 1, in 1919, a soldier brought a suitcase of hybrid lily to the Southern coast of Oregon. He gave them to lucky gardening friends and neighbors, who quickly planted and continued to raise them. Later, the source of these bulbs was cut off due to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Gradually, as the source and production of this valuable bulb increased, it remained centered here at home along the Pacific West Coast. However, the Easter Lily, with its beauty, folklore, medicinal, magical and Biblical reference is not the lily I …

Having spent the past Christmas holidays in Wisconsin where the weather was brutal, I was surprised to return to such cold weather in Fallbrook. A fresh new year has begun, but I must admit a few holiday decorations still adorn various spots in my home. And the cold rainy weather outside finds me still thinking of Santa and deer. In Wisconsin, it was lovely to see graceful beautiful deer quickly leap into the pines as our car approached a few of themgathered along the road. When the setting is a moonlit snowy night, you forget how destructive they can be to a garden and native vegetation, as they also were in my previous home in Virginia. But besides delicious venison steaks, I was surprised to learn deer provide another valuable feature, and it’s highly medicinal. They even carry it with them; on top of their heads. Herbal antlers; who knew? …

How long has it been since someone told you to “take a powder?” I hope it was recently. Confused? What comes to mind for you? How about the late 20s and 30s gangster slang, where “taking a powder” meant to “vanish, scram, hide from sight,” maybe from the “coppers.” It may also mean to disappear for good, if you catch that meaning. How about the early doctors’ obsolete instructions to take a laxative powder? This one would cause you to leave the room quickly, especially when laxative powder was secretly added to your drink, as in a “Mickey Finn.” The most familiar meaning, though, means to exit suddenly to the ladies’ room, when you realize your nose needs to be “powdered.” Today, this expression means something entirely different. And taking or using a powder will be a usual expression popping up everywhere in the days ahead. Only this time it …