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Category Archives: Fruits and Vegetables
Taking the Straw Bales’ Temperatures
I have been checking the internal temperature of my straw bales to see if they are starting to decompose inside. According to the information from Joel Karsten at strawbalegardens.com, the bales should start to heat up about now. I checked … Continue reading
New Straw Bale Garden
Last week, I attended a presentation on straw bale gardening with my friend, Penny. We both left Joel Karsten’s talk very excited to try this new type of container gardening. So over the weekend, I located a farmer near New … Continue reading
Posted in Container Gardening, Fruits and Vegetables
Tagged Joel Karsten, Straw bale gardening
7 Comments
Covering Up
My very unofficial thermometer read about 24 degrees F at 7 a.m. today, and there were definite signs of a freeze around the neighborhood. Last night, I covered up my little cherry tree out front in hopes of keeping it … Continue reading
Posted in Climate, Fruits and Vegetables, Northfield, Weather
Tagged bali cherry, freeze warning
2 Comments
Fruit Crops on the Line
With a freeze forecast for much of southern Minnesota tonight and tomorrow night, tree fruit crops all over the state are in danger. Many plum, apple and cherry trees are blossoming now–including the little ‘Bali’ cherry in my front yard, … Continue reading
What’s Growing On? More March Madness in the Garden
Last week, encouraged by comments from a friend, I planted a short row of spinach, a short row of mustard greens and a slightly longer row of peas in my vegetable garden. Today, two of the three of them have … Continue reading
Lights, Camera…Garden?
Yesterday I attended the latest Minneapolis Home & Garden spring show at the Minneapolis Convention Center. While you can see lots of spas, windows, dip mixes and closet organizers, the show also includes plenty of ideas and inspiration for gardeners. … Continue reading
Posted in Events, Fruits and Vegetables, Small-space Gardening
2 Comments
Seed Ordering Season
Last year I discovered some inner truths about growing vegetables. My tomatoes grow better in the sites of former compost piles than they do in containers, and that has everything to do with my watering habits rather than soil. I … Continue reading
Kale: A Controversial Vegetable
What is it about kale that sparks controversy? I returned home last night from spending a week with my folks in Florida. On my desk this morning were four neatly cut out editions of the comic strip Stone Soup, a … Continue reading
The Fruit Gardener’s Bible
A Gardener’s Reading, 27 of 30 By Lewis Hill and Leonard Perry (Storey Publishing, 2011) I just received this book, so this is really more of a first impression than a full-fledged review, but I am eager to get into … Continue reading
The Northern Heartland Kitchen
A Gardener’s Reading, 22 of 30 By Beth Dooley (University of Minnesota Press, 2011) I mentioned in an earlier review that I was hoping to get a copy of The Northern Heartland Kitchen, a new seasonal, local cookbook from the … Continue reading