If you've ever read our About page, you know we say The Kitchn is a site for people who like to get their hands dirty while they cook. One way to interpret that is quite literally — as in, "dirty" from digging in the dirt! As home cooks, we know that growing herbs, fruits, and vegetables is a natural extension for many of you. So we want to know: if you live and cook in a small space but still manage to grow things in pots or containers, what advice would you give to a fellow home cook and newbie gardener who wants to try his or her hand at it?

I found myself working in the yard today, dedicating a few hours to digging up dandelions by the root. It's the best way for us to get rid of them without chemical sprays. Plus, it turns out that the oft-damned "weed" is useful:

There are no secrets about food in our home. Our children, if they're paying attention, know where it comes from and what it was doing before it ended up on the plate. Though we don't forbid anything, we aren't shy about letting them know the difference between that fast food chicken sandwich and the chicken we got from Mr. Eubanks at the farmers' market. Much like adults, kids will eat what they want, in spite of what they know. But we like them to know what they're getting into. Take soft shell crabs, for instance. 

If someone were to take the doors off all your kitchen cabinets and snap a photo, what would that image say about you? That's what Dutch photographer Erik Klein Wolterink explores in Kitchen Portraits, a photography project and the subject of his new book by the same name. 

If you need extra storage in your kitchen, it doesn't get much simpler than a basic wire shelving unit. You can find tall units for around $60 at Home Depot, and with five or more shelves per unit, that's plenty of space to work with. But if you've always thought they were better suited for storing, say, golf bags out in the garage, then these photos may surprise you. Wire shelves in the kitchen can be both practical and stylish! See a few more examples below:

Dirt free and portable. That's how Modern Sprout describes their new hydroponic windowsill planter box. While most hydroponic setups are an unattractive display of plastic bottles, buckets, and tubes, Modern Sprout's version is pretty stylish. And because it automatically waters and feeds your plants for you, it's also perfect for black thumbs. (Not that I have that problem, of course. Ahem.)

If you followed along with Faith's kitchen renovation, you already know about Semihandmade, the LA-based company that makes custom fronts to fit IKEA kitchens. She said ordering from them was "the single best decision" she made through her entire kitchen renovation process. High praise indeed! If you're new to this company, here's what you need to know:

I was out of town for five days. I left food, real food, like vegetables and fruit, all easily indentifiable. I left enough vegetables for a large stir-fry, which I made as an afternoon snack the day after my return, so the aging produce wouldn't go to waste. I married a man who knows how to cook, a man who shuns junk food, who once shamed me for my fast food drive-through habit. I had three wonderful sons with that man. Somewhere along the way, he chose pizza as a food group.

My husband and I always know if the other hasn't eaten in awhile, and not because we go on about how hungry we are. No — we know because we both suddenly and somewhat inexplicably get grumpy and a little too snippy. What two minutes before was just a mole hill is now a mountain of a mess — clearly! — and you are in my way and this all just sucks. Yes, I should stock up on a few of these cards right now.

A favorite way for me to be in the kitchen is also the simplest way: no recipes, no special ingredients, no plan. It starts with hunger, a tugging in my belly that eventually takes over all my thinking so that I have to stop what I'm doing and wander around to see what's on hand.

This morning I found a ripe avocado, a lemon, and a single piece of stale flatbread on the counter. In the garden, some mint and parsley, and a handful of wee lettuces just poking up. In the fridge a half of a cucumber, a few scallions, some peas, and a few radishes that were just barely on this side of fresh. It's clear that a springtime salad, something close to but not quite a fattoush, is what's for lunch today.