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November 2009
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Vegetable gardening: 101

I walked in the season’s first snowflakes today. Their visit was fleeting, just a hint of what’s to come by week’s end. I wish they’d stayed, the day was otherwise quite gloomy. That aside, it was a chance for one last visit to the garden for kale and the rest of the parsley. The blonde [...]

Weekend Update

Another busy weekend in the indoor garden. A Saturday check of the plants revealed herb roots peeking out of the sage and basil pots, lavender sprouting (The envelope said 21 days for germination, it’s been one week.), and FRAGRANCE! The scent of Thai basil was lingering in the air as I entered and, for a [...]

Firsts

‘How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.”

Annie Dillard

Happy day-after-Thanksgiving!  Black Friday shopping lust is in full swing for many…all the more reason to stay home, sip tea and spend time in the indoor garden. It was a day of “firsts” for the garden today. I [...]

What's Growing On?

"Silver Fir Tree" tomatoes re-potted up to their bottom leaves.

The new pots are three times larger.

Healthy okra roots have outgrown their pots,too.

Dark green Tatsoi and Kailaan.

Unfurling radicchio leaves.

Stevia seedlings and heirloom Italian red onions.

The first true leaf of heirloom White Egg Eggplant.

Wong Bok repotted from [...]

Seeds for Thought

“Before the seed there comes the thought of bloom.”

E.B. White

With 2010 seed selections becoming available it’s not too soon to begin planning the summer garden. If you’re considering planting a garden for the first time (or know someone who is and need gift ideas), this list of  easy-to grow vegetables will [...]

Thankful

“Train up a child the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 22:6

I had the pleasure of potting up pepper plants on Saturday with our 12 yr. old son. I have to confess it was great fun just observing him as [...]

Get Your Fill(ing)

This year was difficult for growing in New England. Late tomato blight appeared very early in the season and wiped out tomato crops along the Eastern United States. Daily, heavy rains followed in August that left many fields underwater and crops succumbing to various viruses and fungi. Pumpkins were among the late crops affected. Less [...]

How's It Growin'?

A lot has changed in the indoor garden this past week. I see something new everyday.

The stevia cuttings have small roots now.

The radicchio has red-tinged leaves.

The onion seedlings are ready to transplant.

The okra is developing a second set of leaves, the peppers their first.

Sage seedlings show their characteristic [...]

My Garden favorites: Perennials and Bulbs

I perhaps owe having become a painter to flowers.

~Claude Monet

Choosing “favorites” is next to impossible when it comes to a cottage garden. Each plant, leaf, bloom plays a pivotal role in the gardener’s expression.  Independently each is lovely, but united in profusion they are breathtaking! That being noted, my “favorites” are [...]

My Garden Favorites: Heirloom Vegetables

How timely that the first of the 2010 garden catalogs appeared in the mailbox today. I’ve been busy choosing my favorite heirloom vegetable performers of the year and making final selections of varieties to grow next season. I hope to include a few heirloom flowers and ornamentals as well.

With July’s non-stop rain and August’s cooler [...]