-Kristin Weeks- This is one of our Top 10 most popular articles based on customer feedback and engagement. Originally published in July 2019, it has been updated with new information and product links. As always, please leave us your comments below! Summer is the busiest season nationwide for beer sales, and in recent years, the adult beverage industry has witnessed a major rise in popularity of a different kind of boozy beverage: hard seltzer. This light, low-cal, low-carb alternative … [Read more...] about DIY Hard Seltzer: A Trend Worth Trying 2022
Urban D.I.Y.
Sharing Your Garden with Your Dogs
-Pam Scott- I once had a garden full of beautifully flowering perennial beds, annuals, roses and bulbs. This garden overflowed with year-round seasonal beauty. It was immaculately trimmed, trellised and tidy, not a branch out of place, not a weed to be found. That all came to an abrupt end when I fell in love with and adopted two, young 80 lb rescue Boxers. These rough and tumble boys laid waste to my entire garden in a matter of days. Nothing seemed to delight them more than the sound … [Read more...] about Sharing Your Garden with Your Dogs
More Adventures in Kratky Hydroponics
-Pam Scott- I have been growing lettuces indoors, in a south facing window or in the green house, for years. These lettuces are grown in window boxes to be harvested when they are bigger than microgreens but smaller than full-size lettuce heads. We use cut and come again varieties such as Cos, Sierra and Red Sails, which provide us with a ton of leafy salad greens throughout the winter months. Having recently become obsessed with eating a variety of Thai dishes where the food is … [Read more...] about More Adventures in Kratky Hydroponics
Cooking with Koji
-Pam Scott- The last 2 years have been a bit of a challenge for most of us to navigate. In our household, we spent the first year of our semi-social seclusion mitigating our world ache by consuming a steady diet of creamy pasta sauces, fabulous breads and lots of white wine. It felt comforting at the time. Needless to say, that lifestyle was not sustainable. We began to feel lousy and…we couldn't fit into our pants. The second year of our social isolation we decided to begin a healthier … [Read more...] about Cooking with Koji
The Art of Making Tequila
-Ryan Blankenship- Tequila was first distilled back in the early 16th century near the city of Tequila, which is located in the state of Jalisco about 35 miles from the city Guadalajara in Mexico. Tequila is a distilled beverage from a mash made out of Blue Agave. The Spanish conquistadors actually were the first to produce this spirit when they had run out of all of the brandy that they brought with them. They were the first to understand how to extract the sweet nectar from the core … [Read more...] about The Art of Making Tequila
DIY CBD-Infused Honey
-Kristin Weeks- One of my favorite aspects of growing food and herbs is the culinary magic that happens after the harvest. From steeping a blend of freshly-picked herbs in the summertime for “sun tea”, to pickling beets and fermenting cabbage for delicious homemade kraut, to making elderberry syrup in the early fall for winter wellness, there’s just something so special about taking what you’ve grown with love and intention and making something amazing with it. Naturally, DIY gifts are my … [Read more...] about DIY CBD-Infused Honey
Growing Poinsettias Year Round
-Pam Scott- This time of year, many of us are decking our halls with boughs of holly, evergreens, and the perennial favorite… poinsettias. I have to admit that in the past I have had a rather “whatever” attitude when it came to treating poinsettias as an indoor tropical houseplant. I love to use them to fill in spots that need seriously fabulous seasonal color in my home or as the perfect holiday gift to give to a friend or relative when I have no clue what to give them. I considered them as … [Read more...] about Growing Poinsettias Year Round
DIY Pizza Dough with Brewers Yeast
-Kristin Weeks- Not everyone shopping our homebrew department for yeast is actually brewing beer. We often get folks looking for fresh yeast for baking. This summer, a friend turned me on to what she described as “hands down, the best pizza dough in town” from White Labs Kitchen & Tap here in Asheville, NC. White Labs is a San Diego-based yeast production company and a popular yeast brand among homebrewers. In 2017, they opened a second location in Asheville that aside from the lab has a … [Read more...] about DIY Pizza Dough with Brewers Yeast
The Magical World of Fairy Gardens
-Pam Scott- Here at Fifth Season Gardening we sell beer, wine and cheese-making supplies, hydroponic equipment, organic soils, amendments, seedlings, tropical plants and… fairies. We sell fairy figures, fairy friends, fairy decor and all the elements you will need to build a fairy garden. “Why fairies?”, you may ask. Well, building fairy gardens is certainly a delightful way to introduce children to the world of gardening and landscaping. Building a tiny garden is also a whimsical way to … [Read more...] about The Magical World of Fairy Gardens
The Art of Making a Whisky Mash
-Ryan Blankenship- Whisky has been around for many centuries. In fact the “Guild of Barber Surgeons” were some of the first monks to make whisky in Scotland back in the early 1400s. It was originally made for medicinal purposes and to help cure smallpox and colic. James IV of Scotland enjoyed whisky so much that he purchased over 500 bottles from the Barber Surgeons. Now at this time whisky was still so new that they didn’t even age it in barrels, so the spirit was extremely harsh to … [Read more...] about The Art of Making a Whisky Mash
