Have you ever wondered which vegetables and herbs to plant seasonably to make the most of your garden? Naturally, certain plants thrive in the summer, while other cooler-weather plants wilt. Don’t waste your time tending to the wrong plants this summer. Instead, focus on these ten veggies and herbs for a garden that’s full to bursting with flavor!

Corn: A quintessential summer staple, corn on the cob is great to grill with burgers and other veggies. Corn requires proper hydration, so make sure you water it regularly, especially during dry patches.

Cucumbers: These thrive on sun, soil, and insects to thrive, making them a perfect fit for a summer garden. You can plant cucumber bushes in containers or plant cucumber vines directly in the ground—as long as you include a trellis for support.

Peppers: Like corn, grilled peppers are a great addition to any grill. They can also be planted early in the year. Make sure they stay consistently watered, and give them full access to the sun for optimal growth.

Okra: Another sun-loving plant, okra flourishes in hot weather—perfect for such a staple of southern cuisine. You can plant okra early in the year, but keep it inside until the end of June when the weather is warm enough to support its growth.

Tomatoes: Like okra, tomatoes can be planted inside and moved outside in consistently warm weather. These babies need hours of sun each day.

Basil:  It’s an annual herb that should be harvested regularly, so if you’re going to be out in the garden anyway thanks to the hot, sticky (I mean, delightfully warm) weather, why not pop some basil seeds in the ground? It’ll grow abundantly, and fresh basil is excellent on summer pasta dishes, cool salads, and classic Italian fares.

Dill: Did you know it’s actually a flower? Though it resembles Queen Anne's Lace, this flowering herb lends an excellent flavor to classic summer dishes like potato salad and fresh fish. Toss some into a bowl with some of your garden-grown cucumbers, a drizzle of olive oil, and some feta cheese for a refreshing side dish.

Cilantro: While cilantro requires some careful monitoring and clipping to keep hungry birds at bay, it’s a great summer herb with a distinct flavor for Mexican-inspired dishes and salsas.

Oregano: Like basil and cilantro, oregano thrives in hot weather and sunshine, making it an excellent choice for your summer herb garden. It’s also a versatile herb that can be used in everything from omelets to lasagna.

Rosemary: This classic herb also flourishes in heat and can be easily transplanted to larger pots, if needed. As an added bonus, it smells wonderful!

With a few complementary plants growing in your garden, you can put together full dishes without ever leaving your home. For instance, tomatoes, basil, and cucumbers chopped and mixed in a bowl make a bright, healthy salad. Add some fresh mozzarella and you’ve got a unique spin on the classic caprese salad.

Happy planting!

If you've ever wondered how an animal as strange as an alpaca could possibly be a good investment, consider this.

The Alpaca industry is new to the U.S.," says alpaca farmer Barbie Tilton. "The growing industry is good news for people looking for American-grown and American-made products from their local farms."

It's certainly true that more and more consumers are looking to localize their buying to support small businesses and Mom'n'Pop ventures in exchange for many of the mass-produced goods brought from overseas. Aside from embracing a heart of loyalty for local producers and businesses, most home-grown items have a rustic, original appeal -- and lots of folks prefer that.

In addition to satisfying consumers with a deepening loyalty to local businesses, alpacas provide an excellent return on investment because their fiber is more versatile than sheep wool or cotton. It comes in over 20 colors naturally, which reduces dye costs and, again, provides a smidgen of rustic charm. 

“There are a lot of old mills, family-owned, multi-generational mills, that are small, that are willing to work in the specialty environment," says Chris Riley, president of the New England Alpaca Fiber Pool. As a result, a lot of those old mills are being revitalized. 


As a small alpaca farm with fiber-producing capabilities, Bright Star Farm is on the leading edge of the textile trend. In fact, shearing is coming up in April, and soon we'll have plenty of fiber for crafting handmade goods that will soon be available for sale.

Whether you’re in Carolina or Colorado, temperatures are dipping down below the norm. Here in Eastern NC we’ve had a few ups and downs — 70-degree days, below-freezing nights, and plenty of opportunities to bundle up.

Luckily some of our animals have built-in winter coats. The alpacas, who thrive in colder temps anyway, have nothing to worry about. That’s precisely what their wool is for. The cats are good at cuddling in corners and finding warm crevices to sleep in. The horses have blankets and the birds have down, but sometimes it gets cold enough that we start to worry. If you’re anything like us, you tend to worry a bit, too. Here are a few tips for keeping your critters warm this winter.

Shelter
Okay, so this one is easy. If you want to keep your animals warm, you put them inside, right? Shelter helps, especially when the skies open up and snow or ice begin to fall, but you don’t necessarily have to keep your animals cooped up all the time. Let them get some fresh (okay, frigid) air during the day when the sun is at its peak. As long as they’re equipped with some natural or man-made winter gear (think down for chickens and blankets for horses), they’ll be okay to roam for a little while.

Bedding
Supplement whatever shelter your animals have with some extra bedding materials to keep them warm. This doesn’t mean you’re bundling up your finest Egyptian cotton just to keep your rabbits warm (unless you want to, of course…). It simply means buying some extra straw or litter to help them nestle in and retain more heat.

Food
Keeping your animals well-fed is a great way to boost their energy and warm their bodies. In fact, bumping up their daily feed may even benefit your animals during winter months. Don’t worry too much about the extra weight gain; you can always cut back again in the spring. Just don’t skimp on their feed simply because it’s too cold to bundle up and go outside.

Company
What better way to stay warm (besides a vacation in Puerto Rico) than to huddle close to someone you love? Animals benefit from this too. In fact, it’s the feline way of life around here. When sheltering your animals at night, group them as efficiently as possible to allow for shared body heat. This is a great way to keep hens warm, for instance. And while rabbits could also benefit from this, be careful to group them by gender (unless you want to add a lot of extra little bodies…).

It may be cold outside, but that doesn’t mean your critters have to suffer. For starters, keeping them sheltered, well-fed, and grouped together will help to keep the frostbite at bay.