Is Tree Wrapping Necessary? »
The winter climate is very unpredictable in northern states. Winters can be tough on landscape plants. The winter sun, very cold temperatures, and wind will bleach out your evergreens, injure branches and damage bark. When there is a heavy ice or snow storm the branches can break and in severe storms trees will just fall [Read More...]
Protect your strawberries now! »
Here in zone 5, it’s time to mulch the strawberry bed. There are differing theories as to why we even call them “Strawberries.” I prefer to think it’s because they need to be mulched with straw in the wintertime to help protect them from extremely cold temperatures, as well as wild swings in temperature. So… [Read More...]
How to Make Leaf Mold and Compost »
In Britain, leaf mold is considered the premier choice for mulching perennial gardens. There are very few gardeners in the United States that really use it. You can easily make it yourself. Leaf mold is simply leaves that are partially decomposed and looks like shredded leaves with moisture in them. To see what it really [Read More...]
Plan for Winter Landscaping »
Winter gardens are something one has to plan for. If you want your garden to look good in the winter as well as during the season you have to incorporate structure. Structure is very important to the winter garden. Since the flowers are several inches under snow, the structures of gardens and larger plants will [Read More...]
Can I Use Just Any Pumpkin for Baking? »
We sell all sizes of pumpkins at our roadside farm market. We are often asked which pumpkin is the best for making pies – will any do? The answer is a bit complicated as most pumpkins are edible and can be made into pumpkin puree for pies and other goodies, but there are some preferred [Read More...]
Why Leaves Changing Color is Amazing »
Why do leaves change color? is one of those annoying questions like Why is the sky/ocean/jazz/Smurfs blue? You know, one of those Why does stuff do things? questions that everyone has a muddled answer for and that answer is subsequently confusing and/or underwhelming. I can’t guarantee this will be any different, but there is an [Read More...]
Dehydrating Tomatoes »
When you have a lot of tomatoes and not much space in your freezer or just don’t want to can anymore try dehydrating them. Dehydrating tomatoes is easy, plus it doesn’t take as much space. Another good point is that there is much less nutrient loss with dehydrating compared to canning. You can store the [Read More...]
Cool Season Vegetable Good for Summer Harvest »
Radishes are excellent cool season vegetables, great for spring and fall harvest. Makes you wonder about summer doesn’t it? I have found that radishes tend to bolt (or go to seed) quickly during hot weather, so during the past my family and I would forgo growing radishes during this period. This year it’s a different [Read More...]
Hydroponic Float System for Lettuce Production »
Hydroponics is a commonly used method of greenhouse crop production where plants are grown in a liquid fertilizer based substrate. The benefits to this method and to using hydroponic systems include: 1. High crop yields (due to optimum nutrient availability) 2. Easy harvest (especially for root crops) 3. Little or no soil borne disease problems (no [Read More...]
Inadequate Seeds for Early Indoor Starting »
Q. Are there any vegetables that are not ideal for starting indoors? A. Yes. Many root crops, including beets, carrots, parsnips, and turnips, either don’t start well indoors or don’t transplant well; the same is true for some non-root crops, like beans, corn, and peas. Your best bet is to directly seed them into pots, [Read More...]