A plain-spoken look at the InnoGear diffuser I've run nearly every evening since September.
Marlene Hutchins put the InnoGear ultrasonic diffuser on her farmhouse kitchen counter and ran it most nights for six months. Here is what that is actually like.
Six months with both a plug-in ultrasonic and a candle-warmed ceramic dish, and what I learned about heat, safety, and the scent of my own herbs.
Plain talk about why a small diffuser earns its place in a farmhouse kitchen, from someone who grows her own herbs.
A plain-spoken look at the InnoGear diffuser I've run nearly every evening since September.
Marlene Hutchins shares the five steps she uses every day to fill her Shenandoah Valley farmhouse with the scent of herbs and oils, with plain talk and no inflated claims.
A plain-spoken look at the InnoGear ultrasonic diffuser after months of nightly use in a farmhouse bedroom, including the parts I would change and who should skip it.
A full season of drying peppermint, chamomile, and calendula on four mesh tiers. What worked, what did not, and who should buy it.
I dried the same harvest two ways for a whole season: loose in a mesh rack versus bundles tied on a string. Here is what actually happened, and what I reach for now.
Marlene shares what she actually does at home, with plain talk and no miracle claims.
How a simple mesh rack changed the way I dry peppermint, chamomile and calendula in my Shenandoah Valley kitchen.
Marlene Hutchins, a home herbalist in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, walks through the five steps she uses to dry herbs on a hanging mesh rack, from harvest to storage.
What nobody tells you about drying herbs in a hanging mesh rack, from a home herbalist who has used one for two full seasons.
I worked through all 18 bags of the Celestial Seasonings Herbal Tea Sampler over three weeks. Here is what I would actually brew again, what I would skip, and what surprised me.
I grow seven tea herbs in four raised beds, and I still keep a box of Celestial Seasonings in the pantry. Here is why, and when the garden wins.
A plain-spoken list of why a caffeine-free herbal tea sampler earns a permanent spot in Marlene's cupboard.
Marlene shares what she actually does at home, with plain talk and no cure-all claims.
Marlene's five-step method for a cup that tastes like the garden, not like hot water.
Marlene worked through all 18 bags over a month of evenings on the porch. Here is what she actually noticed, with plain talk and no inflated promises.
Marlene Hutchins used Nate's 100% Pure Raw & Unfiltered Honey every day for a year. Here is what she learned about the taste, the squeeze bottle, and the kitchen remedies she actually makes.
A retired bookkeeper's plain-language comparison of raw honey and regular honey, based on twenty years of home kitchens and a pantry shelf she checks every day.
Marlene Hutchins, a home herbalist in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, shares the ten reasons she keeps a bottle of raw, unfiltered honey in her pantry, and how she actually uses it.
How one jar of raw honey earned a permanent spot on my kitchen table, and the three ways I actually use it.
Marlene's plain-spoken method for honey and herb tea, from her garden herbs to the honey on her counter.
What nobody tells you about a 32-ounce squeeze bottle of raw honey, from a home herbalist who has used it every day for two years.
A full winter of growing nine herbs on a Virginia windowsill, what sprouted, what didn't, and what I'd do differently next year.
Marlene ran the Planters' Choice 9 Herb Indoor Window Garden Kit against her own seed-starting setup for six weeks. Here is what she learned, and which one you should pick.
Ten plain reasons Marlene grows herbs on her kitchen windowsill every winter, what she actually does with them, and the one thing she'd skip.
Marlene Hutchins talks about the indoor herb kit she nearly passed on, what she grows in it, and what she tells friends who want to try one themselves.
A step-by-step guide from a Shenandoah Valley home herbalist who has grown kitchen herbs for 20 years.
Marlene planted all nine herbs on her kitchen windowsill in February and kept notes all winter. Here is what the Planters' Choice listing photos don't tell you.
Marlene Hutchins put the InnoGear ultrasonic diffuser on her farmhouse kitchen counter and ran it most nights for six months. Here is what that is actually like.
A plain-spoken look at the InnoGear ultrasonic diffuser after months of nightly use in a farmhouse bedroom, including the parts I would change and who should skip it.
A full season of drying peppermint, chamomile, and calendula on four mesh tiers. What worked, what did not, and who should buy it.
What nobody tells you about drying herbs in a hanging mesh rack, from a home herbalist who has used one for two full seasons.
I worked through all 18 bags of the Celestial Seasonings Herbal Tea Sampler over three weeks. Here is what I would actually brew again, what I would skip, and what surprised me.
Marlene worked through all 18 bags over a month of evenings on the porch. Here is what she actually noticed, with plain talk and no inflated promises.
Marlene Hutchins used Nate's 100% Pure Raw & Unfiltered Honey every day for a year. Here is what she learned about the taste, the squeeze bottle, and the kitchen remedies she actually makes.
What nobody tells you about a 32-ounce squeeze bottle of raw honey, from a home herbalist who has used it every day for two years.
A full winter of growing nine herbs on a Virginia windowsill, what sprouted, what didn't, and what I'd do differently next year.
Marlene planted all nine herbs on her kitchen windowsill in February and kept notes all winter. Here is what the Planters' Choice listing photos don't tell you.
