I opened a can of aphids (gardeners like worms, so we wouldn’t be scared of a can of worms!) when I asked on Facebook what challenges and questions fellow gardeners have. There are so many I’ll do a few Garden Q&A posts. Feel free to add your questions and answers in the comments! What...
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Some say the soil is the key to a successful garden while others say the sun. I believe that quality seedlings make a huge difference between gardens that produce strong crops and those that falter. The healthiest seedlings are raised locally by savvy growers. Seedlings at ‘big box’ stores are often stressed from lack...
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Mint is a weed by any definition. Many gardeners even consider it invasive – the stuff will fill a space and beyond. Our patch resides in a bed alongside the house bordered by the sidewalk. For the most part, this contains the spread and last year oregano actually overtook some of the mint zone....
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I love dogs. I love Capital Area Humane Society (CAHS), the shelter that housed our hounds before we adopted them. And I REALLY love guerrilla marketing. Naturally, I’m delighted to introduce you to the newest adoption and awareness campaign at CAHS: Collar Quest. Volunteers and staff at CAHS are dropping 50 special signs with...
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1. concord grapes 2. red currants 3. peach 4. montmorency cherries 5. strawberries 6. raspberries 7. blueberries I took pictures of fruit babies last year. The comparison is interesting both because the fruits are three weeks ahead of where they were in 2011 and my photography skills have improved dramatically. Watching my fruit babies...
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At last week’s backyard chicken basics class, I admitted that our coop is a jumble of reclaimed parts and pieces, including two wooden boxes ‘saved’ from alley trash. Lil contributed a little whimsy with some Angry Birds pig faces painted on old rubber stepping stones. Our coop will not win any design awards but...
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They say moving is one of the most stressful life events along with death, divorce, and illness. Most of the family is holding up well but the old hound dog Devie is a mess. Alex insists that I tell you I am the second in line for ‘most stressed’. First we took away her...
Read more →I often forget about Inniswood Metro Gardens in Westerville, Ohio. The park is a little out of the way and the highly stylized gardens are more formal than I prefer. So when a friend and I took seven kids to Innis last week, I was pleasantly surprised to explore the relatively new – and...
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I am the first to admit that I love free food. It’s one of the chief reasons that I garden – I can make a salad with no exchange of money. What’s even better than paying for garden seeds is getting these for free too. Most of us toss viable plant starts into the...
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Images from an afternoon at Stratford Ecological Center March 26, 2012. 1) baby lamb 2) chicken coop 3) hens protecting eggs 4) u-pick greenhouse 5) giving garden sign 6) goats and cows 7) Rachel and sheep pen 8 ) Lil petting cat 9) cernal pool 10) mayapple 11) spring beauty