denafoltzrissman
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Willy-nilly
Willy-nilliness will absolutely not be tolerated in the Eden of Garden. And this is a source of many a tense moment between the Boss and me. He is a carpenter and a builder with the mind of an engineer and… Continue reading
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Returning
Nothing says welcome home like the crunch of thousands of dead fly carcasses. Continue reading
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Gardening by the Moon
“Something stupendous takes place on the earth as a result of the full moon’s forces.” Rudolph Steiner One trick we use to make gardening more complicated is to plant by the moon. Specifically, we use the planetary positions to decide… Continue reading
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Bucking Fugs!
I know I gave the Boss a ton of shit for bringing in more dirt. But it turns out he is really smart because bugs are kicking our veggie garden’s ass. Yes, I realize sharing with bugs is part of… Continue reading
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Help! I am married to an addict and it is affecting our relationship
He warned me when we met, about his addiction. And I noticed the signs. Dozens of house plants that look to have been around for years, a stack of seed catalogs by the bedside, jars of home canned goods in… Continue reading
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A Eulogy for the Butterboy
The garden is officially winding down. The boss man harvested all the green tomatoes off our wilting plants and pulled the last of the corn — oh Butter Boy you served us well, time to put you away until next… Continue reading
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The Tomato Parade
The tomato parade has begun and soon tomatoes in various stages of red will be covering every surface of our kitchen.Tomatoes are the heart of summer, the fruit of hot and humid days that get even hotter when you spend… Continue reading
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Garlic Scapes and Walleye Cheeks
The Upper Peninsula is always a bit behind the times compared to the rest of the country. Just turn on the radio or walk into one of the restaurants along Highway 2 and you’ll think you stepped back into the… Continue reading
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Varmints
“I’m going to have to go Mr McGregor on the rabbits that took out my beets,” a gardener friend recently told me. (In the UP, it is probably more like Elmer Fudd, but I digress.) When I asked him if… Continue reading
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The “F” Word
The possibility of frost strikes fear in gardeners all the way to the tips of their green thumbs. Frost warnings are serious shit. Like tornado warnings for your plants. Batten down the the hatches or risk death. Our head… Continue reading
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Garlic and Dilligence
If you grow garlic, it should be kicking ass about now. And you are probably thinking, When is this stuff going to be ready? (I am not a mind reader, I get this question regularly from our friends/family who’ve started… Continue reading
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Austere Times in the Eden of Garden
Six months ago we packed up the truck with loads of home-grown veggies and canned goods and headed West. A week ago we traveled back across the highline loaded with cases of empty mason jars and crates filled with goodies… Continue reading
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Our Cash Crop
Garlic is our cash crop (not the typical cash crop the Garden Peninsula is known for). It didn’t start out that way. But when the public started getting a hold of our garlic and then coming back for more and… Continue reading
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String Bean Theory
I was going to write about our incredible garlic harvest, but the beans are stressing me out. They tend to overwhelm. Just when I had things under control — peas, broccoli and lettuce — the beans start to appear. If… Continue reading













