Weeding is one of the most important, yet least popular parts of maintaining your garden. Unfortunately, weeding must be done regularly to prevent unwanted plants from taking over your vegetables and herbs. Here are some tips to make weeding easier and more efficient.

Wetting the ground before you weed can make pulling the weeds out more efficient, and easier on you. When the roots and soil are wet, they are easier to remove from the ground. Younger weeds are easier to pull out of the ground too, so be sure to catch those unwanted plants before they get big and cumbersome. If you have weeds between the cracks of your pavement, pour boiling water on them to try to kill them, before you invest time in backbreaking work trying to pull them out. Mulching your garden can also help prevent weeds, so use a quality mulch around your vegetables to avoid weeds. Remember, a few weeds will not ruin your entire crop, so if you don’t get every weed in your garden, that’s okay. Try to weed regularly to avoid a lot of unnecessary work, and weed smarter, not harder.

Community gardens are a wonderful way for towns and cities to come together and build something beautiful and sustainable for their community. These gardens also serve to educate people on the value of growing their own vegetables and appreciating the Earth.

Especially in urban areas, and areas with a dense population, it’s important to remind people about the benefits of being outdoors, and to teach people how vegetables grow. If you live in a city, it may be easy to forget the work and time commitment that goes into growing a single tomato. However, by building a community garden, people can come together and experience how fun it is to grow vegetables, and how important it is to eat vegetables regularly. Communal gardens are also a great way to educate young members of the community, and to get them involved in an activity that’s healthy and informative. Seek out a community garden in your area, and find out how to get involved. If there isn’t a community garden, ask how you can start one today.

Summer is in full swing, and the heat is on! Cooking meals for your family often involves cranking the oven up, which can heat up your whole house. If you’re wondering how to feed your family without turning on the oven, you’re in luck!

There are plenty of simple meals you can make without turning on the oven. For example, make pasta and toss it with fresh tomatoes and basil for a fresh uncooked tomato sauce that’s hot and delicious. Grill some chicken and make a salad for an easy meal that doesn’t require you turn on the stove at all. If you’ve got a grill, definitely take advantage of it by cooking corn and potatoes on the grill. Try cooking meats quickly on the stove instead of broiling them or baking them. This way, the stove is only on for a few minutes, and the oven stays off. Adjusting the types of meals you cook for your family during summer just makes sense. Don’t crank up the oven and heat the whole house – instead try easy summer meals that everyone will enjoy.

There are so many healthy fruits and vegetables that are excellent for our minds and our bodies, it’s no wonder Americans don’t take advantage of them. Avocados are one of the healthiest vegetables you can put in your body for a variety of reasons, and they taste great in so many dishes.

Avocados are high in potassium, which is essential for our circulatory health. This wonderful vegetable is also high in folate, which is important for heart health. Avocados are considered high in fat, but the type of fat in avocados in monounsaturated, and can actually help lower cholesterol. The fat in avocados is also great for hair and skin health, to keep these parts of your body looking young and beautiful. You can try avocados in guacamole, or eat with a low fat cottage cheese. Many people enjoy avocados by themselves, or chopped up in a healthy salad. Whether you grow your own avocado, or purchase them at your local grocers, it’s important to add this valuable vegetable to your diet regularly. However you choose to enjoy avocados do so for the plethora of health benefits they provide for our minds and our bodies.