Cellars and Cave Tour with the Heath Agricultural Society

  • Post published:03/11/2014
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The Heath Agricultural Society gave us all a chance to  go exploring the cellars and caves of our neighbors  this past Saturday. Root cellars, cider cellars and a cheese cave. Who could resist this opportunity? Over 50 people signed up for this tour, many of them from towns beyond Heath. Even Springfield! I took one group around beginning with Sheila Litchfield who first explained the basics of cheesemaking. Chemistry. Bacteria. Sheila is a nurse so she knows all…

In the Pink at the Lyman Plant House, Smith College

  • Post published:03/09/2014
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Banish the winter blues and get In the Pink at the Annual Bulb show at the Smith College Lyman Plant House. This annual show, always fabulous, is running from now until Sunday, March 16. It is no surprise to me that the powers that be would choose In the Pink as the theme for this year’s show. I love pink, as anyone who strolls down the Rose Walk can attest.  But there is something spring-like about all shades of…

Five Plant Gardens by Nancy J. Ondra

  • Post published:03/07/2014
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I'm just starting to read Five Plant Gardens by Nancy J. Ondra and I find it such an encouraging book.  The book is divided into two sections, one section for sunny gardens and one section for shady gardens. She begins with one color gardens like the Bright White Garden for a sunny location. She suggests 'David' phlox, 'White Swan' coneflower, 'Snow Fairy' caryopteris, lambs ears, and candytuft, but gives alternatives and a planting plan.  It is her planting…

View from My Bedroom Window – February 2014

  • Post published:03/05/2014
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With this view from the bedroom window on February 2, I continue my more or less regular record of the weather and climate in this year of our Lord 2014. The dawn temperature was 34 degrees. Snow is melting. Thirteen inches of snow fell yesterday, and so did temperatures today - 9 degrees.  But it is sunny. More snow on February 8, about 3 inches. Temperature still cold, 10 degrees at 7 am. Still more snow! A total…

Indoor Seed Planting Preparation for Microgreens

  • Post published:03/04/2014
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Indoor seed planting preparaation for microgreens - or for any seeds - begins with seeds. Botanical Interests Seeds  are sold at the Greenfield Farmers Coop - as  well as many other brands of veggies and flower seeds. The Farmers Coop also sells all the supplies you will need to start your seeds, planting trays, watering trays and seed starting mix which makes it easy for those seeds to get a good start. I put some of the soilless…

Microgreens for Nutrition and Fun

  • Post published:03/03/2014
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What are microgreens?  You can find microgreen seed mixes in the seed racks. You can find ‘baby’ greens mixed in with salad mixes at the supermarket. Why are these tiny greens becoming more and more popular? The term microgreen is fairly self-explanatory. Microgreens are lettuces, spinach and other green vegetables that are harvested when they are about two weeks old, and hardly more than an inch or two tall. This makes them ideal for winter growing in the…

In the Pink at Smith College Lyman Plant House

  • Post published:02/28/2014
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In the Pink is the theme of the annual Smith College Bulb Show. Every day from March 1 - 16 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. visitors can bask in the fragrance of pink hyacinths and spring  as they wander through the greenhouse stuffed with thousands of bulbs: daffodils, tulips, scillas, and hyacinths as well as blushing azaleas, cyclamen and camellias.  For me pink is the color of spring. Pink is also an important fashion color. Currently the…

Birds That Sing in the Spring Tra La

  • Post published:02/26/2014
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Here are the birds that sing in the spring. Robins are joining the blue jays - and other birds that I can only identify as Big Birds and Little Birds. Sunday the temperature reached a high of 46 degrees, and gentle breezes are wafting across the hill. Birds have been flying in and out  of  the staghorn sumac grove across the lawn. The snow is still deep in  spite of warmer temperatures these last few days. Birds are…

Magnificent Elm Trees in Central Park

  • Post published:02/24/2014
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The Elm Trees in Central Park were featured prominently in the NYTimes Sunday Review (2-23-14) in a wonderful article by Guy Trebay. I have not walked in Central Park for many years, but even as a New Yorker in the 1980s I would not have paid much attention to the magnificent allee of elms that runs for about 2.5 miles along Fifth Avenue, "a continuous stand that, as it happens, may be the longest in the world." In…

New Vegetables for 2014

  • Post published:02/21/2014
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What’s new in vegetables? What a question. While I am not aware of any completely new species of vegetables, there are always new varieties which at least purport to be better, have shorter or longer growing season, more disease resistance, be smaller for container growing, larger for those who enjoy the thrill of giant vegetable growing, more flavorful for demanding cooks or more nutritious for the ever more health conscious. Every seed catalog begins with a page or…