In late May of last year, the heirloom tomato variety Rose de Berne was recommended to me by one of the market gardeners at the local farmer’s market. He considers it a good choice for our short and often cool … Continue reading
Also known as plant lice, aphids seek out the new leaves and tender stems of garden plants, piercing epidermal tissues and sucking the nitrogen-rich sap. A few aphids rapidly become a herd, standing room only on your favorite herbaceous perennial … Continue reading
My computer’s dictionary defines “insectary” as “a place where insects are kept, exhibited, and studied.” This definition conjures up images of a dusty museum room filled with glass-topped cases of brittle specimens, each with a pin inserted through its thorax. … Continue reading
I often think of the garden as a classroom that every year offers at least one new course. For the coming season, one of the subjects will be shallots. The seed for this idea was planted last summer on a … Continue reading
Deciding which lettuce varieties to grow each year is a daunting task. The list is long and a small garden allows room to grow only two or three lettuces at once. I imagine that a person new to gardening could … Continue reading
For most gardeners in northern New England, pea seeds are the first to be sown in a new gardening year. On a sunny day between mid-April and late May, the date to be determined by rates of snowmelt and inches … Continue reading
Along with cucumbers, summer squash are always a part our summer vegetable garden. I enjoy their reliability, their prolific nature, and the immense selection of varieties from which to choose each year. And I love to eat them, slicing a … Continue reading
Cucumbers are among my favorite vegetables. I like their robust growth habits and enjoy the wide variety of fruit shapes, colors, and sizes. Most importantly, I love to eat them! While I will always grow traditional green-skinned cucumbers, I am … Continue reading
Seed catalogs began arriving earlier than ever this year. The pile on the living room floor of my Eastport rental began in late November with the arrival of Johnny’s Selected Seeds’ impressive 200-plus-page publication for commercial growers and home gardeners. … Continue reading
Author’s Note: This week’s column focuses on vegetable variety selection. Marjorie and I offer the following thoughts from our new book, The New England Gardener’s Year (Cadent Publishing, Thomaston, Maine), available as e-book in December 2012 and in print version … Continue reading
