I have always been a bit of a lazy gardener. I love to plant things, and I love to take care of them and watch them grow. But sometimes by the time fall swings around, I decide to let everything else go to the chipmunks and the birds. This year, I’ve decided that I’m going to […]
Ducks in the garden? That’s not a common problem, I’d think. But then again, if you have a pond or lake near your garden, why wouldn’t it be? Ducks like fresh food too! And while you shouldn’t feed ducks human food like bread, they’ll stay perfectly healthy foraging for cherry and grape tomatoes in your […]
Fresh apples are divine but what if you can’t eat them fast enough? At room temperature, fresh apples will last about a week. Then they start to get bruised and mealy. Stored in the fridge, apples will keep for about a month or two depending on the variety.
Pollinators twinkled around the white star flowers of wild onion and the pinking sedum fronting the withering coneflowers in my roadside garden. A new mail lady appeared— Bees! she exclaimed, afraid they’ll attack her in her truck while she’s sorting bundles. I couldn’t convince her they’re harmless. Cut the flowers—or she’ll hold my mail at the […]
As someone who has suffered from back issues since I was a teen, and vertigo as an adult, the idea of bending over for a long time, and the standing up and sitting down over and over again routine is something I dread. So while I’m not a senior, I empathize with and actively seek […]
What attracted me to this story initially isn’t the funny title, it was actually the hosta-hater in me. I’ve always wanted to know how to kill hostas. Let me explain. When we moved into our home several years ago, it was clear to me that the former owner loved hostas. She had done the most […]
I’m sure some people believe it’s ridiculous to think about ways to preserve jalapeños and other hot peppers. Why wouldn’t you just eat them fresh? Add jalapeños to your pizza. Use habaneros in your fresh salsa. Get that awesome curry heated up with some Thai hot peppers.
I remember the first time someone ever asked me for gardening help. “Who, me?” I thought. I still considered myself a black thumb at that point, so I was excited when this neighbor thought my garden was so pretty that they wanted me to help them set up their vegetable garden, and I wanted to […]
Do you ever feel like where you start on a garden project, and where you end, are never in the same place? And probably not even the same project? And maybe it’s by design because you’ve been putting off that first thing for too long? It’s an art I choose to call productive procrastination. And […]
Hooray! You Pumpkin-Spice-latte’d your way through your own apple trees and/or every apple orchard in town and found yourself barricaded in your kitchen with no less than 20 pounds of apples. You already baked everything in your recipe book and your family can’t eat another apple pie, crumble, sauce, or turnover.
