Happy Dancing Blog

Purple Reigns in New Varieties Grown in HDT Gardens

HDT Team

Aug 93 min

Purple Reigns in New Varieties Grown in HDT Gardens

The Happy Dancing Turtle garden team planted several different purple vegetables in the garden this season. You may be accustomed to...

Jenny Hill

Jul 114 min

You Are What You Eat (and How You Eat)

Book review: How to Be a Conscious Eater: Making Food Choices That Are Good for You, Others, and the Planet by Sophie Egan, 2020, Workman...

Jenny Hill

Feb 23 min

Nature, Conservancy, & Miscellaneous

More than 45 workshops make up the 18th Annual Back to Basics. From Zero Waste to Gardening to Clean Energy, you can get your...

Adventures in Sustainability: Food Waste and Some Great Alternatives

Jenny Hill

Jul 3, 20233 min

Adventures in Sustainability: Food Waste and Some Great Alternatives

The numbers are sobering: According to the Environmental Defense Fund, 160 billion pounds of food goes uneaten every year in the United...

Garden Tips: Recipes with Nettles and Chive Blossoms

HDT Team

Jun 15, 20233 min

Garden Tips: Recipes with Nettles and Chive Blossoms

“Use what you've got" is a phrase that is a building block for sustainable living. In this post we share two recent examples of seasonal...

Jenny Hill

Apr 21, 20233 min

Garden Tips: Seeding, Thinning, Tamping

While hardy (and understandably grumpy) Minnesotans weather yet another rain/snow “event,” steadfast gardeners like Dave and Anna at...

Jenny Hill

Feb 17, 20235 min

Garden Tips

As we watch the snow melt, then rain come and go, and then the snow start all over again, many of us have fallen for the siren call of...

Jenny Hill

Sep 2, 20224 min

Intro to Seed Saving

If you’re a beginning gardener, like me, the amount to learn may seem overwhelming. I had to figure out when to plant, where to plant,...

The Garden Files: Recipes for the Abundance of the Season

Jenny Hill

Aug 19, 20223 min

The Garden Files: Recipes for the Abundance of the Season

To me, this is the time of year Minnesota really shines–I call it High Produce Season. Whether you are in our Northern Lakes region (Pine...

The Garden Files: Cover Crops, Who’s Bugging the Potatoes, Garlic Success, Berries, and Herbs

Jenny Hill

Aug 5, 20223 min

The Garden Files: Cover Crops, Who’s Bugging the Potatoes, Garlic Success, Berries, and Herbs

It’s August! This time of year, many gardens are a feast for the eyes with the many, many shades of green and colored pops of fruit and...

How to Handle an Abundance of Late Spring Produce

Jenny Hill

Jun 24, 20222 min

How to Handle an Abundance of Late Spring Produce

When you are awash in asparagus or face a wide span of spinach, you may wonder: are there creative ways to preserve them for later use?...

The Garden Files: Nettle Tea, Skinks, Strawberries and Asparagus Harvest

Jenny Hill

Jun 17, 20222 min

The Garden Files: Nettle Tea, Skinks, Strawberries and Asparagus Harvest

Gardening is a complex process. So many variables–plant type, soil health, timing, spacing, companion planting–can contribute to...

Controlling Cutworms, Cool Season Crops and Planting Lore

Jenny Hill

May 27, 20222 min

Controlling Cutworms, Cool Season Crops and Planting Lore

The Happy Dancing Turtle atrium/gardens/hoop houses are in full swing now and Gardener Dave has some tips to share about controlling...

Veggie Pizza Even for People Who Don’t Think They Like Veggie Pizza

Jenny Hill

Mar 11, 20222 min

Veggie Pizza Even for People Who Don’t Think They Like Veggie Pizza

When is pizza more than just pizza? When it is jam-packed with vegetables! In my family, mushroom and spinach is a popular combination...

Jenny Hill

Nov 12, 20213 min

The Joy of Squash

You know you are around a crowd of true vegetable lovers when you can create a stir just by asking about squash. That’s what happened on...

HDT Team

Jun 25, 20214 min

Picking the Right Onion

You can do so much with an onion. Purée it, sauté it, or chop it raw. It just doesn't matter what you do to it. It's gonna taste great,...

Christopher Glassman

Oct 29, 20203 min

Stump the Chef - Canned Dinner?!

Dinner from canned ingredients only? Too easy. You can go to your grocery store and have that for $5. Instead, let's make it interesting.

Producer Spotlight - Rachel Cobb at Brambling Rows Farm

Colin Mclain

Oct 15, 20204 min

Producer Spotlight - Rachel Cobb at Brambling Rows Farm

Farmers are ubiquitous to the Brainerd Lakes area and are doing great work that deserves to be recognized. It's simple, really. If we...