A Taste of the Franklin County Fair

  • Post published:09/12/2012
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It was raining when I arrived at the Franklin County Fair this past Saturday, but to some Fair goers it was just another attraction. The Roundhouse is full of flower, fruit and vegetable exhibits, as well as handcrafts: quilts, knitting, canning etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. Handwork is not dead in our part of the world. There are prizes for specimen flowers, arrangements and houseplants. There were fruit specimens and fruit arrangments. Fruits and vegetables preserved for the long New…

Tillage Radish – Another Cover Crop

  • Post published:09/10/2012
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Tillage radish is a  cover crop I had never heard of until this summer. One of the amazing things about the tillage radish is its rapid growth. After my neighbor Rol harvested his garlic he planted this bed to tillage radishes in mid-July. Already the wide row is completely covered with lush foliage that will die down once we have a killing frost.  The long daikon radish roots that have developed will also rot over the course of…

Green Manure, Winter Wheat and Turnips

  • Post published:09/08/2012
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Green manure is a crop that is planted in the fall; its purpose is to improve soil fertility and tilth in the spring. I have just seeded a fall green manure mix from Johnny’s Selected Seeds in three of my newly weeded and watered (thanks to the rain) garden beds. This mix contains annual seeds like crimson clover, annual rye grass and yellow peas, as well as winter rye and hairy vetch that will go dormant but begin…

September Gold

  • Post published:09/07/2012
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September gold fills my garden at this time of the year. I have whole fields of goldenrod. It's a good thing that goldenrod is not responsible for allergies. "One of the most colorful plants we see blooming in roadside ditches and gardens in late summer is goldenrod (Solidago sp.). Hay fever symptoms seem to be worse when it is in bloom so it often accused of causing hay fever. One look at goldenrod and a little logical thinking…

Planting the Wild Garden by Kathryn Galbraith

  • Post published:09/05/2012
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My friend Kathryn O. Galbraith was recently presented with a Growing Good Kids 2012 award from the American Horticultural Society for Excellence in Children's Literature. This book, beautifully illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin depicts the myriad of ways that we all, people, birds, and animals as well as the wind and the rain plant the beautiful and fruitful gardens that grow along the roadsides, riversides and meadows. I wrote about Kathryn and her book when it first came…

Morning Glories in the Rain

  • Post published:09/04/2012
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There is no sun this morning, but the morning glories in the mist and rain are very happy. They have been told it will rain for three days. They hope this doesn't mean three days of deluge.

Heath Fair 2012

  • Post published:09/01/2012
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For the first time in seven years weather at the Heath Fair was just right. Not too hot. Not too cool. Not too breezy. Just right. It seems all the world thought the day was just right, too. I don’t know how many records were broken for number of attendees or business for the various vendors, but I can tell you that when I arrived Sunday afternoon to take my turn at the new Authors Tent, set up…

Winter Sunset – a Griffith Buck Rose

  • Post published:08/29/2012
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This blooming Griffith Buck rose named Winter Sunset might be warning me that winter is not that far off. 50 degrees this morning when I woke up, and tonight is promised to be even cooler. For more (almost) Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.

Nature Red in Tooth and Claw – and Stinger

  • Post published:08/28/2012
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Frank, a natural creature,  is red in tooth and claw. He has caught a few of the many rabbits that have been marauding my garden, and gardens all over Heath this year, but he doesn't usually bring them in doors. This rabbit was mortally wounded. It was amazing that it had so much energy to run around the kitchen.   I  went out to cut flowers for an arrangement for church and I became the prey.  I got…

Berries are the Best

  • Post published:08/26/2012
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Berries are the best. They are delicious summer fruits, especially when they are picked right off the bush and brought in for a morning bowl of cereal, a beautiful fruit tart, or a pot of jam. They are easy for the gardener because they are perennial plants and require little fussing over the years of their life. In Heath we pay a lot of attention to blueberries. One section of town is called Burnt Hill because the hillside…