May 112018
 

If you love creating content and thoroughly enjoy cooking, you might want to consider starting a food blog. If you don’t know where to start, check out these four steps to start a successful food blog.

1. Get a website.
Come up with a great name and purchase the domain name. It’s also wise to purchase web hosting. Get a web designer and web developer to help you create an ideal website. If you already know how to do those tasks, implement them and have fun.

2. Develop content.
Figure out the angle you’d like to take. It’s a really good idea to take classic meals and put your own spin on them. When you do this, you’ll develop your own flair and it’ll give people a reason to specifically follow you. You can also consider trying other recipes by other chefs and bloggers. However, if you’re developing a blog that you’re going to be the authority, it’s best to predominately share your own original content. It’s also wise to take a look at what other food bloggers are doing so that you can get a better idea of how to brand yourself. If you’d like to focus on a specific type of cuisine, get clear and write down a bunch of recipes. As you develop content, you’ll be able to plan ahead and have a good editorial calendar.

3. Take pictures.
Read lots of food styling books and watch tutorials online. Learn how to perfectly style your food so that when a food photographer New York comes to take pictures of the food, everything looks really appealing and delicious. Don’t be afraid to experiment with color and texture. When you have fun with the process, it’ll shine through in the pictures.

4. Share content consistently.
If people don’t know that your blog exists, they can’t read it or support it. Don’t be afraid to share the hard work you’ve put into your blog. Start by sharing it on all of your social media channels. Then, submit it to blog directories. Comment on similar blogs and develop a camaraderie with other food bloggers. As long as you follow this formula in an authentic way, you’ll build a following over time.

May 032018
 

The 5 best vegetables to grow at home

Fruit and veg is expensive to buy from the shops these days, not to mention that some produce will have been covered with pesticides, chemicals and goodness knows what else.

Thankfully, there is a relatively cheap way to ensure that you and your family are getting good, organic, fresh fruit and veg in their diet – growing your own.

A small vegetable patch can fit in the corner of the smallest backyard and there is no better feeling than knowing the meal you are about to eat has been crafted with your own sweat. It will taste all the better simply from the fact that you know you’ve put your life and soul into it.

Not sure where to start? Here are five of the best vegetables to grow at home.

Tomatoes

Fresh, home grown tomatoes are the reason that many vegetable gardeners got into gardening in the first place. Very little in the vegetable world compares to picking a ripe tomato off the plant and biting into it on a warm, summers day. They grow in pots with one plant per pot and depending on what type you are growing will determine how deep the pot needs to be.

Peas

The tender sweetness of a snap pea plucked straight from the vine is unlike anything else you can buy in a store. They are relatively easy to grow, requiring only a pot that is at least 10 inches deep and some support to climb up. You’ll want to sow the peas about two inches apart with early spring and summer being the best times to grow them – they don’t deal well with heat.

Potatoes

Civilizations have risen and fallen because of the humble potato. There is so much you can do with them as well –roast them, boil them, turn them into jackets, mash them. They keep as well – you probably never knew the answer to Can You Freeze Mashed Potatoes is yes, did you? It’s best to start planting them at the start of Spring and you can grow several batches over the course of the spring and summer, harvesting them anywhere between 10-20 weeks after planting.

Beets

Beets are great for growing because they effectively give you two different produces to harvest at the end – the roots of course give us beetroot, but you can also harvest and eat the greens as well. What can you do with beet greens? Loads of stuff, although they are best served in a salad. Just remember that beets are at their best when harvested small, between one and two inches across. At that size, they are both sweet and tender.

Carrots

Carrots are at their best when they are harvested straight from the garden, so they are a must-have for any backyard vegetable patch. Just like beets, you’ll want to harvest them small while leaving them in the ground for too long can lead to hard, woody carrots. Once they are ready, just pick them out the ground, wash them off and eat away.

 

 

 

May 022018
 

Gardening is great hobby to pick to keep yourself occupied during your leisure time. You get to learn and develop new skills, spend some time outdoors and gardening is an activity everyone can take part in and therefore a great way to spend some quality family time together. Picking up gardening as a hobby can be as confusing as it is exciting, what with the many gardening books and websites filled with technical jargons that require some level of expertise to understand. Gardening doesn’t have to be that complex. Here are the Gardening Tips to get started and have an enjoyable experience in your new hobby.

Get started

Don’t spend a lot time fretting over a suitable location for your garden. If there is insufficient space in your backyard, you can still start a container garden which can be set up in any available space including the balcony. Each set up has its own pros and cons. For instance, a container garden is easy to manage since you control the soil type and fertility and they are not as vulnerable to weeds and pests like an outdoor garden but it’s time-consuming since you have to water the plants and put them in the direction of the sun. An outdoor garden, on the other hand, benefits from the direct sunlight which many plants need in order to grow and stay healthy. Plus it gives you the liberty to plant a variety of flowers and vegetables which may not be possible in a container.

Small beginnings

Too much enthusiasm may lead you to start a big garden which may overwhelm you in maintaining. In gardening tips for beginners, you are advised to start small and gradually grow your garden as yolu get the hang of it. Plant one or two species as you start out. You can increase the number of species and the size of your garden as you learn more about gardening and the requirements of each individual plant species. More importantly, know the right timings to do your planting. Different plants thrive under different conditions and it is important get the timing right if you don’t want your plants to wilt and die.

Soil treatment

Plants need suitable soil conditions to grow. The type of soil in your area determines the kind of plants you can have in your garden although you can always import the suitable type of soil for your container gardens. Generally, most plants need good drainage and this is why you will seldom find plants growing in sandy or clay soil because they leak too much water and are waterlogged respectively. Improve the fertility of your garden soil by adding compost and organic fertilizer, and mulching to regulate soil temperatures.

Water your plants right

A common mistake among gardening newbies is wetting the plants’ leaves while watering them. This is wrong and usually leads to rotting of the leaves and spread of diseases. The proper way to water plants is direct the nozzle at the roots which makes it easier for the plants to absorb the water.