“Plant your potatoes on Good Friday, ” the old farmers used to say. That usually was good advice even though the date of Good Friday changes from one year to the next. It arrives as early as March 20 and as late as April 23. Potatoes can sprout and grow under relatively cool conditions, which is why … Continue Reading →
Many of us are anxiously waiting to get out into our gardens… longing to plant that first seed or plant, while others are anticipating a first-time garden. If you want to experiment with something new this year, try growing in raised beds. They’re an easy alternative to tilling up a section of your yard, especially … Continue Reading →
I anxiously trudged out to the mailbox dreaming of beautiful, glossy seed catalogs pouring out into my hands… I long to be tempted by the latest Heirloom tomatoes and lettuces… to plant those tiny seeds and then wait for them to sprout, reaching up out of the warm soil to the bright sunshine. Although I … Continue Reading →
Mid-March is the time when gardeners begin to sow seeds indoors. A friend mentioned to me that she knew someone who started cantaloupe seeds already. It’s about a month too early for cantaloupes. Those seedlings will end up leggy and weak. It’s likely that they will not fully recover from transplanting out into the garden. I know it’s hard … Continue Reading →
Earlier this week, my friend Phyllis asked me what she should do with her amaryllis now that it has stopped blooming. By following a few steps, it’s fairly easy to encourage an amaryllis to re-blossom. First, if you haven’t already done so, cut off the old flower stalk. Then just treat the plant as if it were a … Continue Reading →
Spring arrived early this year, at least that’s what some grasshoppers at our house thought. Last fall we planted some small glass terrariums using plants growing in pots outdoors. We used a variety of tender succulent plants, which meant we had to bring them inside so they wouldn’t die from the freezing temperatures. We discovered recently … Continue Reading →
The book I’m currently working on is “The Education of a Gardener” by Russel Page, first published in England in 1962. And when I say “working on,” that’s exactly what I mean.
The warm weather we had earlier this week was a welcome break from the winter temperatures, but it may have caused problems for some plants. During the winter, a couple of days in a row with abnormally warm temperatures, will cause dormant plants to lose their tolerance to cold. If a warm spell is followed … Continue Reading →
I finally decided to tackle a job that I’ve been putting off for quite a while — sorting my old seeds. This is a good time of the year to do it since things are on-hold out in the garden. There’s a large storage tub full of seed packs that I’ve been accumulating for years. At … Continue Reading →
I’ve been harvesting kale from the garden since fall and there is still plenty left to pick. Even after the those cold nights in December, when the temperature dipped down to the single digits, my kale still is green and fresh with no signs of freeze damage. I knew they were very cold tolerant, but … Continue Reading →