A head of Iceberg lettuce in most grocery stores continues to be over $2 a head. Usually less than a dollar, lettuce is now higher than the cost of a dozen eggs. Why? First, the weather. California and Arizona – two key lettuce producers – have endured extreme weather this year.  Heavy rains, flooding and unseasonally high early temperatures have weakened harvests and there is not as … [Read more...]

Last fall, Nancy found a small volunteer tomato vine that had sprouted in the same pot as a mature vine she was about to pull up. Rather than pulling up the young plant, she repotted it and brought it inside. Throughout the winter, she trimmed it back so it wouldn’t get so spindly and she watered and nourished it. I thought she was crazy. You can’t carry over a tomato vine from one year to the … [Read more...]

We take rain for granted and often we are disappointed when it comes and rains out our golf match or family picnic. But when we don’t get rain for a while, that’s when we know how much we need it. Last year it rained a bunch and our yards and gardens prospered. This year, however, we had like one inch of rain during the entire month of April. Gardens and lawns suffered. Last year I was mowing … [Read more...]

I am now reaping the first fruits of my small vegetable garden. The early stuff is coming in while I bide my time to plant the summer crops. Afterall, it was in the low 30’s overnight two times this week. But my lettuce and spring onions are bursting forth and saving me money!We love spring onions, or scallions as some call them. I enjoy just plucking them from the soil, then take the outer skin … [Read more...]

Every year it happens. After snow, sleet and frigid weather, March delivers beautiful, warm sunny days, which get even nicer in April. Time to get stuff in the ground, right? Then, every year – just when you think winter has moved along – it happens again. A cold snap. Like this week when the evening temps plunged to the low 30s. But this year, I am showing a rare trait for me – patience. … [Read more...]

I first heard about candy onions last spring when loyal Cville Buzz reader, Cheryll Seiber, mentioned them in an email. As a fellow onion lover, she said they were so sweet you could eat them like an apple. Then, that weekend at a Farmer’s Market, I saw a bunch for sale, bought them and loved them. I immediately made plans for a few rows in my small vegetable garden. I even bought some seeds but … [Read more...]

I am getting excited about getting my little vegetable garden underway - first, because it’s fun to see stuff grow, and second, the recent prices of some vegetables. Two things I regularly enjoy from the produce department are spring onions and fresh lettuce. Little clusters of onions have been selling s for 69-cents or so. They were $1.69 recently. We enjoy plucking young onion plants for the … [Read more...]

Just before the recent cinder-block ice storm set in, I spread a bag of Bio-Tone Starter Plus on my little vegetable garden and now it sits under a blanket of snow, gradually leaking its blend of natural and organic ingredients into the ground. I had one of the best gardens of my career in agriculture last year, primarily because of a favorable amount of rainfall, but also due to the Bio-Tone … [Read more...]

Most anything organic can be added to a garden plot to increase productivity, but I read recently that banana peels might be the best of all. According to those who know, banana peels are super rich in potassium, calcium and other nutrients which promote strong roots, bigger blooms, and healthier growth. They're especially beneficial for potassium-loving plants like tomatoes, peppers, and roses, … [Read more...]

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. We had a couple of decent snowfalls back in December, and I hope for a few more. When the snow melts, our garden … [Read more...]