Spring
The Annual, All That Money I Spent at the Parkdale Horticultural Society Plant Sale, 2009 Edition
The title says it all. Although, taking the Street Garden out of the picture this year significantly reduced the opportunity to spend more. I could completely disregard most flowers, bushes, or bedding plants, focusing instead of edibles and a few hardy, drought tolerant plants for the fire escape. Bringing a set number of dollars and …
Experiments in Garlic Growing
Before I begin, a confession: I did not plant garlic last fall. You are horrified. You are storming away from this website in horror. Allow me to explain / make excuses. I managed to harvest my garlic early last fall and it was fantastic. The biggest and best garlic harvest we’ve ever had. I grew …
More Reasons Why I Don’t Grow Edibles in My Street Garden
The snow has melted and it is time to take stock of what has accumulated in the street garden since the fall. In my neighborhood, gentrification is running rampant like a pack of drunken college kids and has brought with it bigger troubles than my little garden has seen in its decade-long existence. I’ve decided …
Let’s Start a Community Garden
I’ve been getting a lot of questions recently from people looking to start a community garden in their neighborhood. What I’ve included below is by no means a definitive guide, since there are lots of publications on community gardening out there now. However, these are the publications I have read and can wholeheartedly recommend. Feel …
How to Grow Microgreens on a Windowsill
Winter is slowly coming to an end around here and it is nearly time to start lettuce outdoors. Until then I’ve been growing and harvesting small batches of micro-sized greens on my windowsill as a way to keep some salad fixings coming through the darkest and longest days of winter. Microgreens are tender and tangy …
There WILL Be Onions
I am still working on getting warm season transplants into the community garden plot. I’m still working on same on the roof for that matter. I was a little gun shy this spring, following on the heels of last year’s June 5 Curcubit killing cold snap. While that didn’t happen this year, I was relieved …
An Edible Bouquet: Chive Blossoms
I came up with this idea while on assignment for Budget Living magazine. The idea was approved but sadly the magazine folded shortly thereafter and I was never able to see this concept to fruition. The editor had asked me to come up with something for wedding season, a request that kind of made me …
Rhubarb/Apple/Strawberry/Ginger Crisp
Rhubarb has come into season here in the cold north, and while I can’t say I’m much of a fan, my spouse is — I suppose its only fair that he gets to have something he likes every once and a while. I’ve never grown rhubarb so I can’t tell you much about how to …