Share my passion for all things gardening!
For today’s garden column, I’ve focused on something that we probably all know, but tend to forget about. That is observing good cultural practices in the garden so our plants thrive. Here’s a link to it in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Follow best practices to keep plants thriving. Or you can read it below (don’t miss this week’s video […]
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Oh, how I love blueberries! They are so simple to grow. They also provide us with plenty of berries for eating fresh, supplementing our morning yogurt or oatmeal, and for adding to baked goodies. So it makes sense that this week’s column is all about how to grow blueberries. Here’s a link to it in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: […]
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While I fully intend to do a season-end review of the different vegetables I’ve grown, I just can’t wait that long to tell you about the most amazing honeydew melon! The cultivar name is ‘Ha Ogen’ and I purchased the seeds from Botanical Interests. In the past, I’ve grown a lovely honeydew melon that’s called ‘Arava’, and it came from […]
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Ugh. I could’ve sworn I pruned our raspberry canes last fall. As you can see from the photo to the left, I most definitely didn’t! Fortunately, it can be done in late winter/early spring, so no harm done. Pruning raspberries can seem puzzling to some folks. Fortunately, I explain how to in this post. When to prune raspberry canes For […]
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Growing apples is a bit problematic because they are susceptible to some nasty insect and disease problems. Growing apples organically is even more challenging for the exact same reason. And yet, my husband Bill and I have taken on that very challenge in our home orchard. Why? We love the idea of eating apples that were grown without chemicals. To grow […]
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‘Tis the season for picking Italian plums, isn’t it? In addition to drying them, making jam or tarts, they are awesome in spiced plum butter. We made it for the first time last year and discovered a fabulous, can’t-eat-just-one appetizer to make with it. Take a pita cracker, top with some Cambozola or other creamy cheese with a bit of […]
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My husband, Bill, and I grow three kinds of grapes: ‘Canadice’, ‘Glenora’ and ‘Vanessa’. The first to ripen is ‘Glenora’. Sometimes we use the grapes for jelly and oftentimes we make grape juice. Doing the latter is very simple, especially if you have a steamer/juicer. Step by step: 1. Pick the grape clusters, leaving them on the stems. 2. Wash […]
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I recently wrote a post on Growing apples organically, but wanted to do a follow-up today. I get a lot of questions from readers about how to do this, so this post should help. Last week, we decided it was high time we thinned and covered our young apples. The covers help protect them from the apple codling moth, which […]
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This apple tree probably looks like it has a horrible case of powdery mildew. I’m happy to report it doesn’t! What you’re seeing are leaves that have been sprayed with kaolin clay. My husband, Bill, and I have been growing apples organically for several years now. This is one of the tools in our arsenal. Our goal is to keep the […]
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Happy Spring, everyone! Are you familiar with anthocyanins or am I making you scratch your head? They are pigments that give purple, red and blue hues to different species or varieties of plants — whether it’s in their leaves or flowers. And they’re very healthful, although scientists haven’t completely figured that part out just yet! It just so happens that […]
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