The garden blogosphere is aflame with arguments about this post on ugly gardens from Robin on Garden Rant. Her argument basically is that ugly vegetable gardens give gardening a bad name, and gardeners should clean up their act — or at least their vegetable patch. I’m not sure how to respond to this. I love a good-looking ornamental garden. Northern…
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The wonderful sunshine we’ve been having the past few days and exciting natural phenomenon like Sun-Still-Up-at-5:30 p.m, have got me itching to grow things. It’s still a little early to plant seeds here (though I’m sorely tempted), so I’ve been goofing around with my kitchen window plants. Somehow, despite meager light, I’ve managed to overwinter basil — two plants! —…
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After listening to Sara Morrison of the Backyard Grocery give her presentation on seed starting Saturday, I had a chance to ask her about her business. She is one of a growing number of “garden coaches,” people who help others start or maintain their gardens. Garden coaching is a new field, and it’s not the same as either landscape design,…
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Over the years, I’ve tried a number of techniques for seed starting, with mostly good results. My experiences with winter sowing have been mixed, so mostly I focus on starting seeds indoors in March and April for a cold-climate garden. (Mine is in USDA Zone 4.) Here are my seed starting basics. First, if you are only growing a few…
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Jenna Woginrich’s Made from Scratch: Discovering the Pleasures of a Hand-Made Life is the most enjoyable and accessible of the living-off-the-land books I’ve read. Admittedly, I have not made a thorough study of the genre, but I’ve read several (This Organic Life, Animal Vegetable Miracle, The Omnivore’s Dilemma and a few others) and Woginrich manages to convey both the joy…
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