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Category Archives: creating & caring for a garden
Winter slumber
The kitchen gardens sleep through the winter under a thick coat of leaf mulch. Leaf mulch is comprised simply of ground autumn leaves. Leaf mulch makes a wonderful protection from temperature extremes during the winter and decomposes into lovely soil … Continue reading
Posted in mulching
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Talking peas
The New York Times ran a blog commentary Saturday If Peas Can Talk, Should We Eat Them? about new research showing that, when suffering drought conditions, peas send out a biochemical message through their roots to other plants about adverse growing … Continue reading
Posted in backyard microclimate, ecosystem, snap & snow peas
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Spring sorrel
Sorrel is nearly the first thing up in the a spring garden, and it’s lime green leaves make it a bright welcome. It’s sharp, citrus flavor lends real zest to spring salads or pesto. Although we tend to think of … Continue reading
Posted in seeds and plants, sorrel
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Pre-sprouted peas
Pre-sprouting peas has proved profitable. Last weekend I planted the little sprouted peas and less than one week later I have surprisingly large plants. I’ve discovered some tricks to pre-sprouting peas which I’ll share here and I definitely recommend it … Continue reading
Posted in planting, snap & snow peas
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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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What to grow to fill your plate
I spoke on What to Grow to Fill Your Plate at the Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice program this past January at KAM Isaiah Israel Congregation’s Soil to Plate weekend of speakers and symposia. There were many impressive speakers and … Continue reading
Posted in backyard microclimate, creating & caring for a garden, design & layout, ecosystem, fertilizing, harvesting, healthy soil, location, seeds and plants, sunlight, superfoods, watering
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Self-restraint and something better
My yearning to be outside and get dirty makes me impulsive: I can’t possibly plant peas this weekend as I’d hoped. It’s just too muddy, and the poor seeds would rot in the ground before they had a chance to … Continue reading
Posted in planting, seed starting, snap & snow peas
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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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Drying herbs
Frankly, I always pick my herbs and hang and dry them in bunches. Research indicates that this is not the best way to dry some herbs to preserve the most flavor. I wrote earlier about drying small-leaved herbs in bunches; … Continue reading
Posted in basil, cilantro, harvesting, herbs, mint, parsley, preserving, sage
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