Founding Foodies

  • Post published:05/20/2011
  • Post comments:4 Comments

Because I wrote about the Founding Gardeners by Andrea Wulf here, a friend just sent me The Founding Foodies: How Washington, Jefferson and Franklin Revolutionized American Cuisine. I was fascinated at the way that Wulf described how the agricultural techniques of the Founding Fathers reflected their politcal and philosophical views. I should not have been surprised that men who spent so much time in their gardens and thinking about their garden and their land would also have thought…

Local Farm-Hers

  • Post published:05/07/2011
  • Post comments:1 Comment

We live in a fortunate part of the world. Recently my husband and I were counting our local blessings: good neighbors, relatively benign bureaucracies, easy traffic, and beautiful landscapes with hills and streams, woodlands and meadows. Those landscapes have changed in a major but subtle way over the 30 years since we moved to Heath. The dairy farms that were here in Heath have all disappeared as have many dairy operations in other towns. A few farm stands…

Spring at Last?

  • Post published:04/25/2011
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In spite of Saturday's snow and sleet which continued most of the day, after a warm night with temperatures constantly increasing, Easter Sunday dawned warm and sunny and blissful. This is all that was left of the snow. The breeze was gentle and it was a perfect Easter Sunday. One of the first fences we removed over the past months was the wire fence that formed the 'fourth wall' of the Sunken Garden. These dayliles grew along the…

Slowly, Slowly

  • Post published:04/18/2011
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The weekend was chilly and windy; the snow is nearly gone. There was work to do. Four potted rosebushes arrived from High Country Roses: Cardinal Richelieu, Agnes, Madame Hardy and Goldbusch. Their arrival inspired me to go out and clean out the Shed Bed which is right next to the hen house.  I could not resist planting Cardinal Richelieu which will add its rosy purple hues to this assortment of pink roses.  You will notice the arrangement of…

Starter Vegetable Garden Giveaway

Tis the season to start gardens. If you have been tentative about starting your first garden this year here is an opportunity to win a book that will be an immense help. Storey Publishing generously sent me a copy of Starter Vegetable Gardens: 24 No-Fail Plans for Small Organic Gardens by Barbara Pleasant to giveaway to my readers. If you would like to win a copy  leave a comment at the the end of this post.  I would…

A First Garden

  • Post published:04/16/2011
  • Post comments:2 Comments

Our part of the world had an early start on the Local Food movement, to such a degree that we now have many more small farms in our area, operated by energetic and skilled farmers, and several farmer’s markets as well as farm stands. There is more interest in community gardens. Of course the very most local food comes from our own backyards. Right now because April is National Garden Month.the national media is full of information about…

First Monday Report for Spring 2011

  • Post published:04/11/2011
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Temperatures soared above 60 degrees and this was the first weekend we could actually work outside, so let me give you a brief tour to set the scene. The snow is still melting and revealing that the winter has been kind to the rhodies. No breakage. Lots of buds. The "Limelight" hydrangea was not so lucky.  The snow plow dumped a lot of our enormous snowfall at the edge of the lawn and broke more than half this…

Growing a Garden City

  • Post published:03/22/2011
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Sometimes a garden is more than a garden. Sometimes a garden is comfort, safety, job training, real good food for  the hungry and a supportive community. Growing a Garden City by Jeremy Smith (Skyhorse Publishing $24.95) has an all inclusive subtitle - How Farmers,  First Graders, Counselors, Troubled Teens, Foodies, A Homeless Shelter Chef, Single Mothers and More are Transforming Themselves and their Neighborhoods Through the Intersection of Local Agriculture and Community and How You Can, Too. Whew!…

Grow the Good Life

  • Post published:03/13/2011
  • Post comments:4 Comments

Why do we garden?  Each gardener will have her own list that might include loving flowers, wanting a beautiful yard, loving to eat sun warmed tomatoes, wanting to save money, liking the exercise, wanting to care for the environment, wanting specialty vegetables for gourmet cooking, wanting to save money on the food bill or just plain liking to play in the dirt. Michele Owens lays out her reasons in the title of her new book, Grow the Good…

Win a Garden Starter Kit from Timber Press

  • Post published:02/17/2011
  • Post comments:1 Comment

Having told you all what an informative and inspiring book Andrea Bellamy has written, Sugar Snaps and Strawberries, I want you to know that Timber Press is now holding a contest that will have three lucky winners. First Prize winner will receive - A garden starter kit with all you need to start your own vegetable garden wherever you live, including: A copy of Sugar Snaps and Strawberries A gardening container, watering can, gloves, and a garden journal from…