I grow several allium species and cultivars in my garden and I find that many of them serve as a hub for a surprising range of pollinators. This is nodding onion (Allium cernuum), an easy to grow, multi-use plant that is native to Carolinian habitats (parts of Canada and the US, including right here in …
It’s been hot here and difficult to get into the garden during the daytime, so in the interim, I’ve been repotting, refreshing, and propagating houseplants. I’m determined to give every single one their time this month, but they are legion. The process is laborious, but necessary as ill health over the last 4 years has …
You’d be surprised by what can qualify as a decent, if not great, seed starting pot and perhaps surprised even more to discover that many can be found in the recycling bin. Toilet rolls are free and accessible, but have their downside. I can get a second use from the paper cups and cartons that …
This is a problem that occurs with a few seedlings every year even when the soil or the air inside the humidity dome is moist. It seems to occur most frequently with hot peppers and occasionally with older tomato seed, which leads me to believe that it is related to a loss of vigor. [See …
How and when to get seeds started differs with each crop. Some plants do best when sown outdoors directly into the ground or container where they will live out their lives. This is called direct sowing. Crops like basil, tomatoes, and peppers have a very long growing season that can’t be met in colder climates …
Spring is technically on the books, but here in the northeast there is a difference between what’s marked on the calendar and the state of things outside. These very early days of spring remind me of a spiral effect in that once the first signs of growth appear, the weather will keep circling back to …
My garden here in Toronto is currently chilling on ice and will be for some time yet; however, in other parts of the world a brand new growing season has already begun. Questions about how to start a garden from scratch have already been pouring in and I’ve realized it is high time that I …
As mentioned in my last post, we’ve hit that time of the spring when the garden is coming alive faster than I can keep up with. There’s lots to do, and my enthusiasm after a long winter matches my to-do list. I’ve already suffered from a bad case of “can’t stop gardening even though I …
My experience as a gardener is rooted in the city, and that is what you will find in the 16 years of archives on this site: articles and stories on growing in raised beds, community garden plots, containers, high up on a rooftop, as well as directly in the ground. On this page I’ve compiled …
I love to buy, collect, save, and trade seed, but I have to admit that I do not go about it in a particularly organized fashion. While I am careful about where and how I store my seeds and I do have my own “it’s all in my head” system, it doesn’t exactly compare to …
The back wall on my roof garden, June 2010. I cut my teeth as a young gardener growing edibles in containers on a very hot roof in urban Toronto. For 15 years I grew everything and anything you can think of there (all without an outdoor water source), and while some crops produced much better …
The little patch of stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) that I’ve got at the back of my garden is starting to emerge from its winter dormancy. Years ago, when I was first “bit” by this plant, I never could have imagined that one day I would grow it in my garden, or that I would be …
