At last count there were 250 vineyards in Virginia. Make that 251. Add Prince Jim’s Vineyard to the list. I’ll explain. Daddy George loved grapes. He would eat his way through the grape section of Kroger’s, maybe buying a bunch, maybe not, but he ate the grapes. He said that’s what they were there for. If people sampled and liked them, they would buy them. My Daddy also loved to … [Read more...]

Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter - the four little bunnies from the tales of Peter Rabbit, one of my favorite childhood books. Rabbits are wonderful – in books, but not so much in gardens.  For the past two seasons, rabbits have had their way with much of my garden.  They are death on peas, beans and they even mowed down most of my cucumbers vines last summer. We were able to stop the deer … [Read more...]

  The upper part of my small vegetable garden only gets partial sun; therefore I am limited in what I can plant. I always want a few spring onions, they do well most anywhere and can go in the ground in March or even before. Black Simpson leaf lettuce is another one of my early spring favorites. Is there anything better than freshly picked lettuce along with a glop of Duke’s … [Read more...]

  The last week of March had been so lovely that I decided to ignore the Farmer’s Almanac and get a head start on spring. I planted tomatoes and put a few squash plants in the ground. Since then, I have had to put bowls over my tomato plants on most nights to protect them from frost and my unprotected squash plants went belly up. It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature. Some say April 15 … [Read more...]

  When my oldest daughter, Angelin, was a tiny little thing, she was fascinated with seeds and small objects she found in the grass. As soon as she was outside, she would start gathering things, gripping them tightly in her small hands. We asked what she had and she said, “Seeds-zez” She held them throughout the day and we had to pry them away at bedtime. She loved to collect … [Read more...]

  Do I need lime in my little garden? Nitrogen? Phosphorous? Formaldehyde? Viagra? How would I know? I am a writer not a chemist. But… Now I will know. My sweet wife gave me a HoldAll Soil Test Kit for Christmas. It’s so simple “Even Brewer Can Use It”, they advertise. I am the HoldAll Soil Test Kit poster child. First of all, no experience is needed to use this handy kit. … [Read more...]

On Feb. 1 our Lenten Rose was in full bloom. What a beautiful, wonderful plant. Several years ago, Nancy was trying to figure out what to do with the root-studded and mostly-shady space beneath our old maple tree in the back yard. She planted a few hostas and they did well, but she wanted some color and could find few colorful plants that could bloom without a lot of sun. My son, Jimmie, who … [Read more...]

  My little backyard garden called my name the other day as I walked to the rear to feed the birds. “Plant me,” it said. Not yet, little garden, not yet. One of the most enjoyable things I do – next to playing golf and penciling in a 3 on a par 4 hole, which seldom happens – is planting and tending to my garden. My garden is just the right size – any larger and it would be work, … [Read more...]

  Buying an edible cantaloupe is like playing the lottery, only with worse odds. I had just about given up any hope in purchasing a tasty cantaloupe this year, no matter the store. I think they all buy them from the same farm in Mexico where they toss out any ripe, juicy cantaloupes and put only the half green, hard-as-bricks and totally tasteless ‘lopes on the trucks. But lo’ and … [Read more...]

  They’re out there and they are falling. Leaves. What do we do with them? When I was a boy, Daddy would rake them to the edge of the curb and burn them. So did everybody else. October in Lewisburg carried the enchanting smell of burning leaves for much of the month. The question today is what to do with leaves. Namely, do you put them in a backyard garden – assuming you have a … [Read more...]