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…
September means gardens are now heading into the season finale with harvests of tomatoes, beans, squash, cukes, onions, potatoes, and peppers leading the way! Wet weather has been hard on some veggies and flowers this summer but there are some special techniques to keep plants healthy despite the saturated soils. This is a good time of year to apply foliar compost tea and your own homemade biofertilizers. It’s also a good time to get a soil test so you know…
Leaves made the Green Mountains green all summer and now provide the great beauty of autumn across the Vermont landscape. Nature is now releasing leaves from the trees to add fertility and build soil. The key is to convert those rich leaves into compost, not remove them as is often the misguided custom. The second message this week is about the great importance of water to plants heading into winter. This article is all about not raking leaves and how…
Rain or shine, our gardens are now heading into the home stretch with tomatoes, beans, squash, and peppers leading the way! Dry weather has been tough on some veggies and flowers this summer, so mulch and extra watering is required. Good news is that weeds grow slower and the lawn needs less mowing! Tomatoes and peppers are really sub-tropical plants and don’t know that winter is coming so they are still trying to grow. We know better and there are…
On this 50th edition of Vermont Home Gardener I would like to announce No Mow May and promote raised bed gardening. There are so many advantages to growing in raised beds that we really should consider them for any garden. Whether you are beginning a new garden or wish to improve an established garden, raised beds will make your garden more productive, more convenient, and are less work in the long run (no tilling, ever!). Raised beds do very well…
Leaves made the great Green Mountains green all summer and now provide the beauty of autumn across the Vermont landscape. Next they are dropped from their trees to add fertility and build soil. The key message here is to use those rich leaves. Do not remove or discard them as is so often the misguided custom. The second message this week is about the great importance of water to plants heading into winter. Let’s look at why we should not…
Jack Frost visited this week and the first damaging frosts of the season are upon us. Many gardens are already showing signs of leaf injury on squash, cukes, peppers, tomatoes, and basil. These are among the most susceptible plants. Even if you escaped the first frost there is a second round in the forecast and it will be more serious with 3 cold nights near 30 F Friday, Saturday, & Sunday. Good News, there are a few easy precautions we…
As plants enter their peak vegetative growth phase in June their nutrient requirements increase so they can get bigger and prepare for fruiting (tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash, etc.) or storage (carrots, beets, onions, etc.). We’ve had some badly needed rains and things should start to look good out there. Also, this can be when plants in deficient soils run short of essential nutrients and show signs of poor health. In order to promote strong growth and avoid nutrient shortages now…