Fall – Time to Get a Soil Test
“This is the best time to test your soil,” Tracy Allen, supervisor of the University of Massachusetts Soil Test Laboratory, told me
Flowers That Bloom in the Fall – Hooray!
If I asked a gardener to give me a list of flowers that bloom in the fall, she might sigh and run out of names after chrysanthemums and asters. But there are many plants that will bloom well into October. Not only perennials bloom in the fall, but even a few annuals like my nasturtiums and marigolds. We are all familiar with the potted chrysanthemums that are available in September and October at garden centers and supermarkets. These…
Fall Clean Up and Cold Compost
Leaves are falling, some flower stalks have turned brown and brittle; it’s time for the fall clean up. I have been cutting back iris and daylily foliage which was looking less and less attractive every day. Cutting back is one way to make the garden look neater and a bit more serene. It is also a way to see clearly which clumps will be ready for dividing in the spring. Where can these divisions make the most impact?…
Ben Grosscup and Soil Restoration
Soil Restoration is important. I don't always understand the science behind good garden practices, but an afternoon with Ben Grosscup helped me think about my soil in new ways. Grosscup began working with the Northeastern Organic Farming Association NOFA) right out of college. He was part of the efforts to organize putting bans on Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) and efforts to label foods if they did include GMO’s. He organized educational events and seminars for farmers and others…
Dreaming of trees
Since moving to Greenfield we seem unable to get through a day, or night, without thinking and dreaming about trees. When we bought our house, which was surrounded by nothing more than lawn, our attention was taken by the giant American sycamore on the tree belt in front of our house. I called an acquaintance, Dennis Ryan, who is a retired arborist and professor at the University of Massachusetts. I described our tree which we believed was a…
The Art of Farming – A fundamental human endeavor
Where do people learn the art of farming? Farmers used to raise farmers as well as crops of hay, wheat, potatoes or other vegetables. Children learned the art of farming at their father’s – or mother’s knee. Then came a time when the farms got bigger and bigger, and more expensive, as did farming equipment, but the farmers became fewer and fewer. And yet we all need to eat. Where do our farmers come from now? Recently I…
Plant Now for Spring Bloom
If you want to have spring bloom in your garden you have to get to work right now. Crocus, scillas and snowdrops are three of the earliest spring bloomers in the garden – or lawn. You have to start thinking about planting them in the fall if you want them spring bloom. I planted very few crocus while living in Heath, but now that I am living in town with a sidewalk next to the front lawn and…
Visiting Neighborhood Edible Gardens
The edible garden tour arranged by Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener of TempleIsrael took us to several gardens within walking distance of my house. The first garden we visited is a very pretty small garden created by Lisa Ranghelli and Bram Moreinis. This was their first garden and they showed their wisdom by saying they thought it best to start small. We admired the design, the assortment of vegetables and the exclamation points of marigolds. But we also noticed a…
Weeds in My Garden
What is a weed? How do I get rid of weeds? These are two of the questions gardeners agonize over. I own a wonderful book, Weeds of the Northeast by Uva, Neal and DiTomasso, that offers a page of extensive information of about 160 weeds, and a facing page of photographs showing those weeds in their various stages of development and flower form from baby seedling to seed at the end of the season. I use this book…
Onions and Garlic for Savor
Cooks can hardly start a dinner without peeling with an onion, or some garlic, or maybe a shallot. For all the common necessity of onions in the kitchen, or even the gourmet at the table, alliums are not difficult to grow.I have grown regular onions and garlic. Onions can be grown from seed. The onions I usually grow begin as a handful of sets, immature plants that you can buy at local garden stores in the spring,…
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