I don’t talk a lot about varieties, I grab seeds from the Farm Supply store, read about them seed catalogs, and various websites, and work very often with trial and error. That is the sum total of how I write,…
Category: Growing Food
Blossoms falling off bean plants
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Bean blossom drop can occur when temperatures stay consistently over 90 degrees and/or if the plants are stressed. There’s not much you can do about the heat except wait it out. It may help to put a breezy row cover…
The Difference Between Gardening and Farming
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My father once said… I am a gardener, NOT a farmer. There is a difference. As if to provoke the obvious question, “What is the difference?” I never asked. But had anyone asked if my father was a farmer, I…
Squash and Cross Pollination
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Summer squash, winter squash, pumpkins and gourds belong to the Cucurbita family. Members of this family may cross-pollinate with each other. (Insects can bring pollen from other plants to female flowers.) However, the first year of a cross, the resulting…
Watermelons and Cross Pollination
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Do you have to separate watermelons (Citrullus lanatus) from other types of melons to keep them from cross-pollinating? No, other types of melons like cantaloupes or honeydew (Cucumis melo), and cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) can all be grown close together without…
How are beans pollinated?
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Do you want to save your own bean seeds for growing next year? Do you want to re-grow the same fabulous beans next year that you grew this year? It may not be as easy to do with any other…
May Garden Calendar
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seed packet
Wow… May already. Where did the time go? The gardening calendar for May provides a list of recommended food growing tips and
As I mentioned in the last calendar update, April and May, about growing organic food, more people garden in April and May than any other time of the year.
How To Improve the Soil in Your Garden With Sheet Mulching
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Is your garden typically riddled with weeds by mid-summer? Are you looking for an organic method for improving the fertility of your soil? Interested in learning inexpensive techniques for maximizing your garden’s water retaining properties? Master organic gardener Eric Toensmeier,…
Monoecious Cucumbers
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Cucumbers and other vine crops are monoecious. Monoecious plants have separate male and female flowers on the same plant. Male and female flowers are similar in appearance. However, the female flowers have small, immature fruits at their base. Pollen is…
April Gardening Calendar
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The gardening calendar for April provides a list of recommended food growing tips and <sigh>gardening chores. If you haven’t started your organic gardening adventure yet, it is HIGH time! April is a wonderful time for growing organic food. More people…
March Gardening Calendar
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The gardening calendar for March provides a list of recommended food growing and gardening chores and tips. It is time to venture outdoors for some serious organic gardening! The biggest focus this month is, “When can I DO something?” If…
The Herb Cottage
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Okay, I haven’t been there, but I was born in Texas, does that count? 😉 I was delighted that she offered us the opportunity to publish her article, Horseradish, Herb of the Year 2011 a well written and informative article…