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De Fence
The Boss finally took time to read this blog in which he figures so prominently (finally, after like 12 years) and he had some feedback. One of his first comments was, “I can’t believe you haven’t written about the fence.”… Continue reading
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The War on Bugs
When you are a gardener, something is always trying to destroy all your hard work. It’s frustrating. Seems like most of my conversations with other growers involve commiserating about the shit that’s eating our garden and brain storming about how… Continue reading
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The Robin Whisperer
It started a few years ago when the robins built a nest in our pear tree. Dum dums. It’s not that we don’t like robins, it’s just that the birds built their nest too low. Too low for what? Snakes.… Continue reading
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Orach is the New Black
When I look into my purple gazing ball, what does the future of vegetables look like? Orach. Move over kale, there is a new veggie trend and its purple. These ancient little leaves are packed with nutrients and are much… Continue reading
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Emotional Support Garden
I don’t know many people who think things in the World are great right now. In an ugly case of deja vu, we’ve got an election coming up between (the same) two really old men and everyone is all worked… Continue reading
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Growing Really Slow Food
Asparagus is a practice in delayed gratification. Unlike lettuce — 25 days, wham! You’ve got a salad — growing asparagus takes YEARS. Years?!? I was hoping I hadn’t heard that right. Did the Boss really say we have to wait… Continue reading
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Garden Forensics
Even the best laid plans are no match for mother nature. (As it is in life, so it goes in the garden.) Each spring, as we get ready to migrate back to the UP, I get excited about returning to… Continue reading
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Panic Gardening
Apparently I’m not alone in feeling a special urgency about gardening this year. Toilet paper isn’t the only thing people are hoarding; seeds are also flying off the shelves. All of a sudden, everyone is a gardener. Fortunately, like the… Continue reading
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The 300-Ear Year
Every goal starts with a dream. The Boss’s dream is to grow 300 ears of corn in one season. To date, he has not reached this goal. Over several decades, he has come as close as 280. He has tried… Continue reading
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Put your butt in the seat and eat
“This food is the gift of the whole universe – the earth, the sky, and much hard work. May we live in a way that makes us worthy to receive it.” – Thich Nhat Hanh We have a big problem around here:… 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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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
Eden of Garden 