Good news, you do not have to rake leaves! Leave the leaves. It’s better for your garden soil, plants, shrubs, lawns, and trees if you do not remove the leaves. Leaves are filled with nutrients and beneficial microbes to replenish and fertilize the soil. Why would anybody want to get rid of something so beneficial? My recommendation is simple… shred them in place with your mower or just leave the leaves. It might take a couple extra passes to chop…
Gardens are now heading into the season finale with harvests of almost everything. Dry weather has been hard on many veggies and flowers but extra mulching and watering can keep plants healthy. This is a good time of year to apply foliar compost tea and your own homemade biofertilizers (see July article). It’s also a good time to get a soil test so you know what is needed for next year. Tomatoes, peppers, broccoli, and cabbage will do well if…
This is the time of peak flowers and rapidly growing fresh veggies, weeds and pesty bugs. It’s the best of gardening and time to enjoy all your work coming into fruition. There is also work to do. Mulching and fertilizing, regular weeding, watching for pests (bugs & critters) but also early harvests have begun, and succession plantings can start. In this article I’ll cover some ideas about converting weeds to fertilizer, mulching, planting, and hilling potatoes. Weeds are simply taking…
Garlic is an easy crop in New England and it’s great to have something to look forward to for next year before winter arrives. You will never accept store bought garlic after you’ve had fresh garlic from your own garden. Mild temperatures have caused me to delay planting this year but now through mid-November is the time to sow your garlic, along with other bulbs for next spring. Let’s look at a few tricks to have a successful garlic crop…
After the welcome rains of July, gardens are in full maturity and producing an abundance of veggies, herbs, flowers, and weeds. Soon we’ll harvest potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, and more. It’s the reward that a hard-working gardener deserves and should enjoy this time of year. Proper harvesting is key to successful production, and the more you pick the more you get! Leaving blossoms or fruits on plants to get over-ripe or go to seed tells the plant its job is…
This is the time of peak flowers and rapidly growing veggies along with weeds and bugs. It’s the best of gardening and time to enjoy all our work coming into fruition. We also have work to do. Regular weeding, watching for inevitable pests (bugs & critters) but also early harvests have begun, and succession plantings can start. Weeds are simply taking advantage of our good preparations and space. They are not really “bad” plants but are just unwanted volunteers in…
Autumn has begun and frost isn’t far away. Gardens are showing leaf loss on squash, cukes, peppers, tomatoes, and basil. These are among the cold susceptible plants. Cold tolerant plants like broccoli, cabbage, kale, and arugula will keep growing. In ground carrots, potatoes, onions, & turnips are fine and can be harvested when you have time. Good News, there are a few easy precautions we can take to protect our favorite plants and extend the harvest season to get a…
After the excessive rains of July, gardens are in full maturity and producing an abundance of veggies, herbs, flowers, (and weeds) and soon to be harvested potatoes, onions, carrots, beets, and more. It’s the reward that a hard-working gardener deserves and should enjoy this time of year. Proper harvesting is key to successful production, and the more you pick the more you get! Leaving blossoms or fruits on plants to get over-ripe or go to seed tells the plant its…
We are in peak garden season and there’s a lot happening out there. The rainy start of July made two practices essential: weeding and disease control. While you enjoy some satisfying harvests and flowers, stay alert to slugs and new pests to prevent damage and plant disease introduction. There are some more things that can be planted now too. Garlic harvest is almost here so let’s look at the best way to harvest, cure, and select your crop. Weeds are…
Autumn has officially begun and frost isn’t far away. Gardens are already showing signs of leaf loss on squash, cukes, peppers, tomatoes, and basil. These are among the most susceptible plants. Good News, there are a few easy precautions we can take to protect our favorite plants and extend the gardening season to get a little more out of our summer efforts. It’s also the best time to begin improving the soil for next year’s garden so let’s look at…