May I interrupt this newsletter with a message from our sponsor – well, not actually a sponsor but a company you should be aware of in your gardening and birding adventures. It’s Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm. Over the past 10 or 15 years, I have dealt with numerous pet stores and worm companies as I always supplement my bluebirds’ diets with meal worms, especially at nesting time. My … [Read more...]
My Amazing Worms
I had waited patiently until mid-March to begin my early garden – lettuce, onions and peas - and I decided to till it myself, by hand. After downing the required 3 Ibuprofen, I set out to the task. With my first plunge of the shovel, I was surprised at how easy it was. Each shovel full returned the same experience. It was almost as if the garden had already been plowed, and it had. By the worms I … [Read more...]
Jonquils: Ready or Not. Here They Come
Jonquils don’t seem to care whether it’s cold or warm, dry or wet, snow or sleet. Come February, they’re coming out of the ground. The hearty little flowers are now blooming across the state. There is often some confusion over the exact name. Jonquils, Daffodils, Narcissus? Technically speaking, several flowers fall under the scientific name, Narcissus. Jonquils and daffodils are … [Read more...]
Patience, Fellow Gardeners, Patience
In years past, I would have already had pots in my windowsill with tomato or squash seeds. Trouble is, when the little fellows have sprouted, grown a bit and would be ready to transplant, the ground is too cold. If the frost doesn’t get them, they simply languish in the cold soil. This year, I’ll be patient. Though I recently saw some tempting seeds on display, I am resisting the urge to … [Read more...]
Time to Consider DeerBusters
Fellow gardeners, in a month and a half we’ll be planting mustard greens, lettuce and spring onions. The garden season is fast approaching. However - will this be the year you keep deer and varmints at bay, or will they once again come and mow your garden down? May I recommend a company called DeerBusters, a manufacturer of easy-to-assemble components to keep the deer out of your … [Read more...]
Snow is Good
Snow is a good thing – not only for all the school children who relish a few extra days off to break out their sleds and toboggans, but it is an essential element in growing flowers and vegetables. We “backyard farmers” need snow to turn out a successful harvest come summer and fall. The recent snow will blanket our gardens and when it melts – we assume it will melt eventually – our small plots … [Read more...]
Saving the Best for Last
Frost is coming. It always does and puts a dagger into most of the vegetables in a backyard garden. But early this week, before the frost, I picked 4 of the prettiest tomatoes of the season. I suppose my little garden had saved the best for last. They were near perfect in size, shape and color, except for the one Heirloom tomato. Heirlooms are almost always a little gnarly, but this one … [Read more...]
More Anaheim Peppers for the Future
I bought a single Anaheim pepper plant from the Corner Store Nursery this spring. One of my other transplanted pepper plants died and I needed something to replace it. I had never heard of an Anaheim pepper, but the tag said it was a “hot” pepper and several in my family enjoy hot peppers. So, I decided to give it a try. It turns out that the pepper was not hot at all, at least when … [Read more...]
Dwarf Okra?
I bought dwarf okra seeds last spring because I was tired of trying to fetch ripe okra pods that had grown to Jack and the Beanstalk heights. It would be nice, I thought, to actually bend down and pick the delicious okra pods. Bend down my rear end. All seven of Snow White’s Dwarfs could stand on each other’s shoulders and still not be able to reach the top blooms. My dwarf okra … [Read more...]
Year-round Tomatoes? I Wish
I had a decent garden this year, though the mid-summer drought played hell with several of my plantings, like squash. But production was decent – especially with my completely enclosed cage which kept squirrels and rabbits at bay. Overall, we had a good year for tomatoes. Nancy has a small, above-ground enclosed cage for her garden and she always gets a head start since the ground … [Read more...]
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