Posted on February 16th, 2011 by Joel Russ
Now is about the time when Kootenay food gardeners start thinking seriously about seeds – about acquiring them, and maybe getting ready to plant seedling “starts” indoors. When planning a garden for annual food crops, you need to decide what veggies you want to grow – cabbage, radishes, lettuce, peas, carrots, kale? Particularly for newer [...]
Filed under: General Practices, Organic Gardening, Tips & Tricks, Vegetable Gardening | 3 Comments »
Posted on October 19th, 2010 by Joel Russ
Well, we’ve had two real frosts, the second one (two nights ago) definitely qualifying as a “killing frost.” Back about three weeks ago, I worked up a swath of ground for planting garlic. It goes in as cloves the the fall, overwinters, then in the spring the cloves send up green shoots and begin to [...]
Filed under: General Practices, Organic Gardening, Soil Management, Tips & Tricks | No Comments »
Posted on October 12th, 2010 by Joel Russ
The tasks that surround gardening are many. That’s as true in the autumn – even more so, in some ways – as in the other seasons. One symbol of the fall season is the seed. Consider: Seeds are a connective link between one year and the next. The potential. The vehicle of the gardener’s intent. [...]
Filed under: Harvest Lessons, Tips & Tricks | 2 Comments »
Posted on September 26th, 2010 by Joel Russ
Today [I actually wrote this yesterday, Saturday, evening] was a day of mixed tasks. We’ve got about an acre of quack grass, quite besides what creeps into our veggie gardens. It’s been here since before we moved onto the property. And we generally keep it trimmed, so to the casual observer it seems like extensive [...]
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Posted on September 9th, 2010 by Joel Russ
Some years ago, when there were not too many grape varieties being sold at the local nurseries, I bought a Steuben grape plant. The nursery considered it suitable for our Slocan Valley situation – cool-to-cold winter with snow covered ground, a growing season that often could not be counted on for more than 150-165 frost-free [...]
Filed under: Food, Garden's Givens, Soil Management, Tips & Tricks | 4 Comments »
Posted on September 6th, 2010 by Joel Russ
“Perennials” are plants that, once properly set-in and adjusted to their location, can continue to live, produce or maintain foliage, and in some cases produce flowers year after year. Often (but not always) the term perennial is applied to plants that produce weather-resistant woody stems. We’re not talking about trees, here. And usually the term [...]
Filed under: Decorative Gardening, Soil Management, Tips & Tricks | 5 Comments »