My Dad was a big believer in saving seeds. Our basement furniture, such that it was,  was covered with newspapers and assorted seeds, supposedly drying out. I don’t know if Daddy thought that his seeds were better somehow than new Burpee’s or if he was too cheap to buy new ones, but he saved all sorts of seeds, and for the most part, his garden flourished each summer. We have also saved a few … [Read more...]

We have a number of azalea bushes in our yard, but two of them have outdone themselves this fall. Blooming white in the spring, the leaves on these two plants have turned golden yellow, and not a dull shade, but a radiant glow. Gold nuggets glistening in the sun. They are spectacular. Walter Reeves, a noted Georgian gardener, says this about yellow azalea leaves: “Keep in mind that although … [Read more...]

I harvested a few spring onions from my garden this week. What a treat. Spring onions, or green onions, are an accommodating vegetable. If you don’t pick them in spring, they sort of wither up in the heat of the summer and disappear.  But then, when the cool evenings and gentle rains of September arrive, the onions are back up and at ‘em - as were my leftover onions from my spring garden. Green … [Read more...]

    I had neglected my garden, having gone to Urbanna for an extended weekend. Last Saturday, Nancy was off and saw some pole beans on my vines. It turns out there were lots of pole beans and she picked two pecks – at least I think they were pecks. They were large baskets, and the two combined equaled maybe a half bushel in all. It was a bunch of beans, I know that. We sat down and proceeded … [Read more...]

  The first year I planted Abraham Lincoln tomatoes was a fluke. I had tried to grow some tomato plants from seed and they didn’t do well, too spindly, so I headed for Snow’s Nursery. I saw two tomato plants that looked healthier than the rest and bought them. I noticed that they were Abraham Lincoln tomatoes and I picked literally bushels from those two plants that summer. Not … [Read more...]

    My pole beans have been reaching for the stars for two months, vines on top of vines, but no pole beans. Blooms, yes, beans, no. Fellow gardener Sherman Shifflett said he was having the same problem and an agriculture agent said others were wondering where the beans were. I read recently that if the ground temperature reaches 90 degrees, the beans say, “Forget it. We’re not … [Read more...]

    I planted four short rows of Blue Wonder Pole  beans back in May, and after keeping the rabbits away, the vines took off, reaching for the heavens. They bloomed about a month later, but no beans, then they bloomed again, but no beans. What gives? Sherman Shifflett in Louisa has the same problem and an agricultural agent said others are experiencing the same results. Perhaps … [Read more...]

  We wondered just how high our giant sunflower would grow. We think it came from a packet of assorted flowers that Nancy scattered along the garden, but unlike other sunflowers that top out at two or three feet, this one went for the stars and reached 11 feet. The reason I know this is because we secured it to a ten foot pole and it grew another foot. The head of the sunflower spread … [Read more...]

  Plucking that first red-ripe tomato from your garden is more than simply harvesting – it’s a special event – almost the equivalent of Thanksgiving. That’s because after months and months of eating plastic tomatoes grown in hot houses, you can finally slice into a real tomato and enjoy a BLT – bacon, lettuce and a real tomato sandwich. For that first BLT of the season, I insist on … [Read more...]

I suppose they call them sunflowers because  some of them think they should grow as high as the sun. At least that’s what the sunflower that sprouted and grew next to my garden must think. I thought it was an accidental squirrel planting, but Nancy thinks it may have been included in an assorted packet of wildflower seeds that she sewed along the edge if our garden. They say if you have bright … [Read more...]