Gardening
Below are links to articles posted in Gardening.
How to Store Butternut and other Winter Squash
I recently reorganized my pantry to make more room for canned goods. This left me with an issue in regards to my winter squash. I can put up, maybe 30 a year in the fall with my current small city lot. I was putty them on shelves but they take up a lot of shelf […]
Orlando wants to fine homeowners for gardening
More true tales of government run amok. As a proponent of gardening, gardening in your yard, and yes, even in your front yard I’ve mentioned numerous times on this blog how I think front yard farming is the thing to do. I won’t write long on the topic yet again, but rather merely summarize. Lawns […]
Hardy Kiwi “Michigan State”
I love my hardy kiwi vine. Well, no, I take that back. I have a love/hate relationship with my hardy kiwi vine. I love the fruit it produces. Hardy kiwis produce little smooth-skin grape sized fruit you eat skin and all, they’re more nutritious than the fuzzy-skinned kiwis you find most often in grocery stores […]
Why you prune shade trees in winter
The best time to prune most deciduous trees is in winter, this is true for a variety of reasons, it is easier to see the branches when the leaves are gone, the cuts can heal better, there is lower insect and disease levels so there is a lower risk of infection. However the biggest reason […]
Butternut Squash and Powdery Mildew
Butternut squash is absolutely my favorite crop to grow. I use it to make risotto, which is awesome, and spaetzle, which is awesome, and butternut squash soup, which is pretty good too. It is a superfood, very healthy for you, full of antioxidants and fiber… and best of all for a gardener it has a […]
How to keep mosquitoes out of your yard and garden
With West Nile virus in the news I’m sure I’m not the only one thinking about mosquito control. Even though where I personally live we’ve had a significant drought and the lowest bug summer I can remember, there has still be one West Nile case in my county and with little kids I do worry, […]
How to Hand Pollinate Squash, Zucchini, Pumpkins, Cucumbers, and Watermelons
First time growers of the cucurbit family, which includes all those plants mentioned in the title, as well as other melons and gourds, often run into problems when the plant does not set fruit, one solution to this is through hand pollination. Flowers on these plants are either male or female. The plants almost always […]
Fertilizer from the Ocean
Your body has cravings, doesn’t it? Sometimes you crave this, or sometimes that. Those cravings can be telling you something, some studies have shown that when we crave certain foods it can be because we have need for a mineral in that food, that our body may be short on something. Not always, of course, […]
Why I hate rodents
I think all gardeners must grow to hate rodents. In general I hold no ill will towards animals, but just don’t be a nuisance to my garden. I’ve even, in the past, naively, encouraged their habitation in my yard. My how I’ve changed. In the picture you see my 3 year old, Finn, and what […]
Growing Mullein in the Garden
I had a volunteer mullein sprout in a crack in my stone walkway (at the end by some rocks) last year, and despite it being considered a weed by most, I left it, and this year I am rewarded with a great show. Why not grow this plant on purpose? Many actually do, it has […]