I was in Menards the other day buying some gear to start seeds indoors when the helpful guy in the light department told me they were out of the kind of light I was looking for and it would not be in stock for another week. It seems more folks are starting vegetables from seed, he noted. Now we have…
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Like many northern gardeners, I’ve battled critters pretty much as long as I’ve gardened. At my old house, the issue was raccoons, who had a cozy home in the storm sewer under our street. At my current house, we’ve dealt with mice, pocket gophers, and most recently moles and beavers. Unlike many northern gardeners, deer are not a problem where…
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I’m traveling home today from southwest Florida, where it is — as my father is fond of saying — another lousy day in paradise. I am leaving Naples to head back to Minnesota where the weather has been rainy, windy, and really lousy during the few days I’ve been visiting my folks. The weather here has been fabulous, with temps…
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Something both surprising and a little worrisome has happened to one of my favorite trees. A crack about 6 feet long and as wide as my pinky finger in some spots has opened up along the trunk of the oak that sits on the north side of our house. As far as I can tell, the crack opened up over…
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As vegetable gardeners salivate over catalogs during the long winter nights, the perennial question emerges: Should I plant bush or pole beans? During the Vegetable Gardening 101 class I attended at Just Food Co-op, Laura Frerichs of Loon Organics offered a good summary of the pros and cons of each. Bush Beans: Generally, they are earlier to harvest, with beans…
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