I'm pulling cantaloupe off the vine right now, and every year I forget how different a truly ripe one tastes compared to what shows up in a grocery store bin. Here's what actually goes into getting one from seed to slice. Getting it in the ground I plant seeds directly once nights stay above 55 degrees. Go earlier than that and the seeds just sit there instead of growing. The vines take up more room than people expect, so I give each plant at least three feet of space in soil that drains...

If your cucumber plants are suddenly producing more cucumbers than you know what to do with, refrigerator pickles are an easy way to use them up. You get that crisp, tangy pickle flavor without going through the full canning process. For this recipe, we're starting with a convenient Mrs. Wages pickle mix and adding a few simple ingredients to each jar for extra flavor and crunch.

My daughter and son-in-law are moving off their farm and into a house in town. With that move comes a hard reality of small-scale farming, not everything can come with you. Their animals need a place to go, so I'm adopting some of their ducks and geese here at my farm. That means a lot more duck eggs coming through my kitchen. I've noticed that when people try duck eggs for the first time, especially scrambled or fried for breakfast, the initial reaction is usually "these are weird" or just...