The Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the NYBG

  • Post published:04/14/2011
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The March-April issue of The American Gardener published by the American Horticultural Society includes a wonderful article about the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden and its curator, Peter Kukielski, by Patricia Taylor. The article explains how this famous rose garden at the New York Botanical Garden became sustainable. I interviewed Peter Kukielski in the fall of 2009 and wrote about him here. The article gives the names of rose breeders who have developed disease resistant roses, roses that need…

Ford is Growing Car Parts

  • Post published:02/07/2011
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Could we be making our cars out of mushroom roots, mycellium, instead of petroleum based plastic? Maybe soon. One of my most popular posts is about Mycotecture, making strong, rigid insulation out of mycellium from Ecovative, and now David Pogue, host of the PBS Nova series Making Stuff, learns that the Ford Motor Company is making plastic parts for their cars out of wheat grass, and mycellium. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tqTBFd-qRJU I wonder whether mushroom/mycellium farmers will be able to get…

Baer’s Agricultural Almanac

  • Post published:11/16/2010
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Some say that almanacs have been around for thousands of years, but perhaps the oldest American almanac most people are familiar with is Poor Richard's Almanac published by Benjamin Franklin long before he fiddled with kites and string or became our Ambassador to France. Baer's Almanac is new to me, but the editor's give a bow to Franklin with a few of the aphorisms that helped to make him popular.  How about "A slip of the foot, you…

Life Redux – With Dog

  • Post published:09/06/2010
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Life will not be denied! is a cry often heard here at the End of the Road. Often as I am pulling out persistent weeds, but sometimes when an unexpected life is discovered, like this petunia coming up through the paving. In spite of all the heat and drought, the petunia has thrived all summer. No help from us. This Labor Day weekend our son Chris and his partner Michelle visited. Their French bulldog, Bibi admired the brave…

Buzzin’ of the Bees

  • Post published:05/25/2010
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The bumbleebees are buzzin' in the wisteria blossoms, and all kinds of bugs are biting me around my eyes, behind my ears and in the middle of my back where I can swat or scratch. It got so bad that in the heat of the day yesterday, I retired to the house for iced tea and a dip into Insectopedia by Hugh Raffles (Knopf $29.95). I was entranced the first time I picked up this book and began…

Foliage Follow-Up April 2010

  • Post published:04/16/2010
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This ornamental plum, planted around 25 years ago, struggled for many years, but it is finally a real tree. Today in stands in for all the trees that are leafing out at a gratifying rate. I love weeping birch and planting a tiny seedling a number of years ago. It was hardly more than 6 inches tall and was already trying to weep. I kept trying to  get it to grow up a bit first but the result…

Our Sustainable Home & Landscape

  • Post published:04/12/2010
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Jan over at Thanks for 2day is asking us to write about our current and or planned efforts to garden and live sustainably by April 15. There are prizes!  And a chance to learn more about each other, and more ways to live a greener life. Check out Jan's blog for all information and don't forget -  Earth Day is coming up - for the 40th year! I have been documenting, to some degree, our attempts to live…

Real Pickles

  • Post published:03/07/2010
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When I met Dan Rosenberg, founder and owner of Real Pickles at the newly renovated building on Wells Street I got a shock. Looking into the bright new kitchen I understood the reality of what raw, fermented food means. There is no stove. I have made pickles, which require no cooking, just brine, vinegar and seasoning. Then I’ve spent hours with the canning kettle to finish the preservation process. Rosenberg has built a substantial pickle business in less…

Monday on Tuesday

  • Post published:06/09/2009
  • Post comments:7 Comments

It has been a busy busy week - and not only in my garden.  Let me begin with last Tuesday. Pastor Cara Hochhalter of the Charlemont Federated Church with several helpers, husband Jeff, and Deacon Erwin Reynolds behind her, turned a piece of church lawn into a winter squash patch. You'll notice that we are using the lasagna garden method.  The squash will be harvested in the fall for the church's food distribution program.  The Federated Church is…

Harvesting the Savor

  • Post published:04/29/2009
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              If any edible garden is going to be a cost saving endeavor, thought has to be given to preserving the harvest. The labor in harvesting and preserving herbs is not onerous, but it must be done in a timely fashion.             Timeliness is essential. Harvest your herbs before they bloom, while they are at their most flavorful.  Cut them in the morning, after the dew has dried, but before the heat of the day.             For  hundreds…