I am just about the laziest gardener you’d ever want to meet. Around my field plots at the school things tend to look good –but that’s part of my job. Around my home, well, I probably water my plants once or twice a year, I fertilize every few years. I almost never use herbicides or any other weed control methods besides pulling – again, that happens once or twice a year. And I only mulch about once every two years or so (sorry Linda!). … Continue reading this article “Being Lazy Has Its Advantages”
Tag: edible
Exploding watermelons and exploding hysteria
One of our loyal blog readers passed on this interesting article about exploding watermelons in China. Seems that Chinese farmers have been overapplying a synthetic growth regulator which has led to the of proliferation of plump pepos (gotta love alliteration!). Of course the media has “blown” this out of proportion with action verbs like “explode” and “erupt”, when what’s actually happening is that the melons are merely splitting. (It’s a pretty boring video if you take time to watch it.)… Continue reading this article “Exploding watermelons and exploding hysteria”
A rant about urban farming
(I know this one will get me into trouble…but hey, if I don’t tick someone off I’m not doing my job.)
I have mixed feelings about the increased popularity of urban farming. On one hand, I love the idea that people are becoming more involved in producing their own food. But on the other hand, the naivety of many urban farmers is scary – because they assume that home-grown food is safer and/or healthier than what they can buy at the market.… Continue reading this article “A rant about urban farming”
This ‘n That
Grading finals, looking at roots, and planting seeds is consuming my time this spring, but I have just a few things to share today which might be interesting.
So, as those of you who follow this blog know, I love peanuts. This year we’re planting out a bunch of new varieties, a few of which are extremely interesting. Believe it or not there are not only red and pink peanuts but also black, white, and mottled peanuts. … Continue reading this article “This ‘n That”
A word about GMOs from our visiting GP
I gave a talk to a group of gardeners last year about vegetable and community gardening. There was a wide variety of gardening experience represented, but one statement from a seasoned gardener bothered me a bit. And I think my response bothered him a bit too. I haven’t thought much about it until recently, when a high school English teacher I know told me a student expressed similar ideas in her class. The erroneous idea from my audience member was this: our tomatoes are being poisoned with ‘germetically modinified’…something something. … Continue reading this article “A word about GMOs from our visiting GP”
The Hottest Thing in…Veg!
Vegetable transplants and herbs were a bright spot last year (and the one previous) for most retail growers and independent garden centers. Seed and transplant companies have taken note – saw lots of veg and herbs at the normally-ornamental trade shows. As always, some good ideas, some a bit far-fetched…
Pelleted lettuce seed (much easier to handle) mixes for the grower to create patio-size planters. Not bad! Snipping a few leaves will be fine, but if you eat salad more than once a month, you’re gonna need a bigger pot.… Continue reading this article “The Hottest Thing in…Veg!”
Organic Honey?
As there seems to be a good deal of interest in the topic of honeybees, and I’m a beekeeper, albeit relatively novice, I thought I might continue a bit of discussion.
I’ve been beekeeping for three years, and I sold my first honey harvest this fall. Six gallons, divided into pint and half pint-sized jars. As a newbie, extracting the honey from the frames and getting it into the jars was, by far, the messiest thing I’ve ever done. … Continue reading this article “Organic Honey?”
Happy Days
Today is such a good day. Really good. Almost as good as my wedding day and the birth of my kids good. Better than the Eagles won the Superbowl good (I’m a big Philadelphia Eagles football fan — Mike Vick and his transgressions aside of course).
Just for today I don’t care much about the arguments for or against organics, natives or even my favorite topic, pesticides.
What’s the news you ask?
Peanuts. Hot Boiled Peanut.… Continue reading this article “Happy Days”
Animal, Vegetable, Irritable
I’m a big Barbara Kingsolver fan. Just finished “Prodigal Summer” – her tall, lanky, introverted, 40-something forest ranger-heroine encounters handsome, mysterious, much younger guy in the woods; sparks fly, etc. Rowr! Ahem.
I really enjoyed “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle” when it came out a couple of years ago. It was the perfect dead-of-winter read as she captured flawlessly the itch to grow things, the scent of thawing soil, the joys of mud, the overwhelming greenness of spring, the mess of canning tomatoes.… Continue reading this article “Animal, Vegetable, Irritable”
The Importance of Not Leaving Your Veg Garden Unattended for a Week in July
Small dog snout + normal-sized cucumber provided for scale.
This problem is self-explanatory and probably not at all atypical for our readers. Pattypans became UFOs; grey zucchini, footballs. Note that it’s been very dry here in the Blue Ridge. I shudder to think what would have happened with normal rainfall.
Beans amuck! Scared the hell out of Joel when he opened the fridge. But they wouldn’t fit in the bucket!
If you haven’t tried yard-long beans, give them a shot sometime.… Continue reading this article “The Importance of Not Leaving Your Veg Garden Unattended for a Week in July”