Google It, Part 2

This is the second part to a post I started yesterday detailing the Google searches people are using of late that brings them to this blog. I thought it would be helpful to list the hot topics and to give brief answers and information, as well as links to posts with more detail. Here are the last 5 topics.

6. burger buns/Ellens moomie buns/famous hamburger bun recipe

The is one of the more popular searches that bring people to visit. I found this recipe the same way, by searching the web, and fell in love with it the first time I made it. My version of Moomie’s Famous Burger Buns uses whole wheat and white flours and results in a light but healthy homemade bun. This recipe makes 12 burger buns, and they also freeze beautifully after they are baked. I’ve got other recipes for buns, but I keep coming back to this one over and over again. If you’ve never tried homemade burger buns before, this is a good place to start.

Moomie’s hamburger buns (click on any photo to enlarge)

7.  Homemade cold frame/cold frame southern indiana/using cold frames

I’ve been using cold frames for what seems like forever. Inspired by the TV show Crockett’s Victory Garden back in the 1970s, I made my first ones out of exterior plywood with tops of corrugated fiberglass. I used them as a mini-greenhouse to grow seedlings for the garden, and to protect crops and extend the season. These days I have a greenhouse to grow seedlings, and I use cold frames mainly as season extenders. Here’s a link to a post on how I make my cold frames. I urge anyone who is looking to get more out of their garden to build or buy at least one cold frame. And, Purdue University has a bulletin about cold frame and hotbed construction and use. The University of Missouri has a nice one too.

row of cold frames along side of greenhouse

8. Starting wave petunias seed/wave petunia seedlings/purple waves how long from seed to bloom

Wave petunias are popular, and can be expensive to buy if you want to grow lots of them. So why not Do The Wave and grow them from seed like I do? A packet of 10 seeds generally costs from two to four dollars. If you wind up with 8 plants for $4, that’s a pretty good deal! Petunia seeds are tiny and usually sold in pelleted form. You have to start early though, about 8-10 weeks before your last frost date. When they start blooming depends on growing conditions as well as the variety you plant, but my Waves generally start blooming before I set them out, so let’s call it 7-8 weeks from sowing. Once they start blooming, they’ll bloom all summer long with a minimum of care.

2011 Wave petunias at 5 weeks from sowing

9. all about arugula/are arugula flowers edible/arugula in containers

I’m a fairly recent member of the I Love Arugula fan club. Now that I know how tasty and easy to grow it is, I guess you could say I’m Wild About Arugula! It’s a hardy plant, surviving the winter here in zone 6 in our cold frames. And it can easily be grown in containers. It great in pesto, on pizza, in salads, and added to pasta dishes. And it’s good for you too, coming in at #10 on the ANDI list (Aggregate Nutrient Density List) for green vegetables along with other more famous superstar greens like spinach, kale and chard.

Seeds can be sown in place or started indoors. I jam the plants fairly close together in containers and when planting in cold frames, maybe 3-4 inches apart. It doesn’t like hot weather, and will start flowering with the onset of long hot days. Not to worry, the flowers are edible, and though the foliage gets stronger tasting when it flowers, it is still edible. Start seed in spring, summer and fall for a continuous supply.

arugula growing in container

10. chive blossom vinegar/chive blossom flavor/chive vinegar

And last but not least, I guess chives must be starting to bloom, because people are trying to figure out what to do with them. Some of mine are just now showing flower buds, so it won’t be long now. The blossoms are edible, with a mild “oniony” taste. I like to make Chive Blossom Vinegar when I have a lot of them.

Chive plants are an easy to grow relative of onions, hardy to zone 3, and can be grown in containers and brought indoors in winter for winter harvest. The Grolau variety is especially suited for container growing.

chive blossom vinegar

I hope you have enjoyed a look at the Top 10 searches I’ve been seeing lately. And hopefully I’ve answered some questions for future searches. The internet is a great source of information, some good and some of dubious value. I’m trying my best to add to the good kind of info. Here’s to happy and productive searching for all of us!