I am delighted to have the first seed catalogs of the year! It’s never too early to start dreaming about the next vegetable garden. However, I am making some changes to my seed acquisition process. In addition to my standbys, I tend to buy whatever looks interesting, such as new varieties of pac choi, red, white and…
One of my experiments this year was to grow some protein. I decided on soybeans, called edamame when eaten green. Frozen edmame is available in most grocery stores, and I love it. While only about a dozen plants made it through our tough season, I had excellent results. The bush-type plant is small, and it produces large quantities…
I had an outbreak of flea beetles. I didn’t know what they were at first. I wasn’t too concerned because they didn’t devastate anything earlier in the season. The primary damage was lots of tiny holes in leaves of mostly cabbage family stuff (kale, pac choi , etc) and radishes. But then, some plants wilted…
Everything has changed since I started this blog. Our lovely mild winter has turned into severe drought conditions. Many ranchers are selling off cattle because there is no summer pasture. Our town is officially on water restriction (for lawns). Today was nearly 90 degrees and bone dry. This is August weather, not May. I am…
Recently I was asked if Red Wigglers (Eisenia fetida) are invasive and therefore unsafe to place in the compost pile. I did some initial research and learned that wigglers are not invasive or dangerous if released outside. For one thing, they have a very limited temperature range. Red wigglers cannot survive below 40 degrees and above…
by: Networx.com Home composting isn’t just for farmers anymore! The practice is becoming increasingly popular among urban environmentalists who are eager to cut their landfill contributions: from apartment dwellers growing gardens on top of NYC roofing, to folks who participate in their local municipal compost program, to homeowners looking to turn their backyards into a teeny tiny…