Luffas can be found in showers across the world, but do you know where they come from? Hint: it’s not the ocean. A natural substance often used for scrubbing, luffas grow on sprawling vines that produce pretty yellow flowers and a fruit that, when picked young, tastes like a cross between a cucumber and zucchini.

In 2009, Christine McCabe and Cathy Bernell founded Lone Star Olive Ranch after trying their hand at raising cattle. When they started naming each cow, they realized they had chosen the wrong profession. So, after a lot of research, they switched to olives, excited to be apart of a fairly new industry in Texas.

Just two short years ago, the south Dallas lot where Bonton Farms sits today was abandoned – overflowing with trash and overgrown trees. On a recent visit to the farm, it was bursting with life – farmers harvesting heirloom tomatoes, neighborhood kids helping out and baby goats bleating for their momma.

Two Dallas veterans have taken up organic farming as a way to earn a living as well as heal from war trauma. Now they want to share the bounty of benefits they’ve found with other veterans. In 2000, Steve Smith and James Jeffers met for the first time at Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas, each preparing for deployment as a part of the U.S Army Infantry.

Just a few months ago, 15-year-old Conner Hammond of Frisco was looking for a way to earn a little extra spending money. Little did he know that what started out as Mother’s Day present – a homemade raised bed to house his mom’s garden - would sprout into a booming business. “My mom came up with the four-by-eight-foot model.

The garden’s intriguing name belies its dual purpose as both an outdoor learning center and musical classroom. Skyview Harmony Garden has not yet installed its musical instruments but the garden is taking shape in the Lake Highlands neighborhood in Dallas, thanks to a parent’s initiative. Three years ago, Sarah Greenman, a new parent to Skyview Elementary School, attended her first PTA meeting.

The city of Dallas wants to give wildflowers more real estate. Texas wildflowers, such as bluebonnets, primrose and Indian blanket, are more than just pretty scenery. They are vital sources of food and shelter to pollinators such as butterflies, bees, moths, birds and bats. Humans rely on pollinators because most of the plants we use for food and many of those we need for oxygen require pollination.

In 2011, Jack Waite realized his dream of producing and sharing high-quality food when he founded Agua Dulce Farm—a different breed of farm in southeast Austin. Waite admits he never planned on becoming a farmer, even though his childhood was rooted in homegrown food. “Growing up, we always had a huge garden,” he says.

Over the centuries, they’ve been used for food, folk remedies, dyes and psychedelics. They come in all shapes and a variety of colors, still most people are only familiar with the mushrooms they see in the grocery store produce aisle. On Saturday, May 7, North Texans will have the opportunity to learn all about mushrooms, including those that grow in our region, by attending, “The Underground World of Mushrooms,” a workshop hosted by the Botanical Research Institute of Texas in Fort Worth.

Whether you’re hosting your own holiday gathering or attending one this year, there’s always a need for holiday party food! From bite-sized appetizers to crowd-pleasing desserts, these holiday party food ideas will make any celebration a smashing success. Think your only option is a crudités platter?

With a popular reality show and a ravenous Chinese market, ginseng advocates are finding it harder than ever to keep these plants in the ground. It’s early Saturday as I set out to meet Madison Woods, ginseng expert. She has agreed to meet with me, but has one request: I must keep mum about the exact location of her home in the Ozarks, where wild American ginseng thrives.

In the United States, insects are typically viewed as pests that gross us out, but 80 percent of the world consumes them on a regular basis—they’re even considered a delicacy in some cultures. And as our worldwide population continues to expand, making sure that everyone has access to nutritious food is a growing challenge.

It’s surprisingly quiet at Pure Land Organic farm, just minutes away from the suburban bustle of McKinney and the traffic of US75. At the entrance to the farm’s 28 rolling acres sit an old barn, a couple of storage tanks and a trailer used for an office. Garlic and onions are growing in two nearby plots.

Outspoken and charismatic, Virginia farmer Joel Salatin became a leading voice for sustainable agriculture after being featured in Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, and later in the documentary Food, Inc. His family’s multi-generational Polyface Farms, located in the Shenandoah Valley, specializes in pasture-raised livestock and poultry.

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Grass-fed is the latest buzzword that is being used to deceive consumers. In this video, Jessica Cadman of Shady Grove Ranch, shares what typically happens to cows, even what is ultimately labeled, “grass-fed,” and compares it to their operation in East Texas, a true grass-fed cattle ranch. “There’s a lot of deception in the grass-fed concept, because it is actually true that 100% of cows, pretty much, they eat grass the first year or two of their lives.