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Category Archives: seasonality
Lettuce trays
I just couldn’t wait for spring. So I started spring lettuces and microgreens under grow-lights just for the fun of it. The results are surprisingly cute and colorful, especially on this arctic cold day. The lettuce trays are for cutting … Continue reading
Posted in planting, seasonality
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Judging when to plant
Spring planting is always a gamble. Of course, we want to plant as early as possible so as to enjoy young lettuces, cabbage, spinach and peas as soon as possible. But the risk involves planting too early so that frost … Continue reading
Posted in backyard microclimate, cabbage, lettuce, planting, radish, seasonality, snap & snow peas, spinach
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Fall mulching
With the recent frosty nights, gardens are coming down for the season. And it’s time to mulch the beds for winter. Mulching offers multiple benefits to a garden over the course of winter. First, it helps regulate temperature extremes that … Continue reading
Posted in mulching, seasonality
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Early fall?
The weather has changed. Labor Day weekend was the coldest in Chicago history. So I’m pruning tomatoes to encourage the plants to put energy into ripening the many green tomatoes rather than putting out new growth. I also planted fall … Continue reading
Posted in seasonality, sunlight
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Eat and eat early
Vegetable wizard Stephen Allen points out how important it is to harvest at the right moment. Allen points out that most kitchen gardeners wait too long to harvest and eat their vegetables. He offers a useful list of early harvests. We … Continue reading
Posted in harvesting, seasonality
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Baby beet greens and romaine
Although the spinach and cutting lettuce turned bitter tasting in the heat early this week, you can still enjoy a great salad from your garden. The romaine head lettuce still tastes sweet so combine it with young chard greens. While … Continue reading
Posted in beet, cilantro, lettuce, romaine, seasonality
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