The common names of things bedevil us all. How about the New York egg cream, a refreshing mix of milk, fizzy water and chocolate or vanilla syrup? With no egg and no cream, the only truth to its name is the New York part. Mustard spinach, a tasty Asian green, is neither a mustard nor …
Is every common vegetable going purple? Purple broccoli, purple cauliflower, purple carrots and purple bok choi now have pride of place in the catalog kaleidoscope, along with the more customary purple cabbage, lettuce and beans. I say the more colorful antioxidants the better, so let’s give a hearty welcome to a new, gorgeous purple globe …
We have a saying at our house: “The compost pile is just another mouth to feed.” After all, our garden thrives on compost, and thus we thrive on it too. That pile is an energy center, like a furnace, and the closer it is to the house, the more easily we can stoke it. If …
One of the best musical commentaries about gardening came from the perpetually off-Broadway 1960 musical “The Fantasticks.” Two gardening neighbors sing a duet about the reliability of vegetable growing as opposed to fatherhood. “Plant a radish, get a radish, never any doubt,” they carol. “Plant a turnip, get a turnip; maybe you’ll get two.” Now …
Clearly, eating a few bites of something sweet is the way to end a meal. It clears the head, aids digestion and leaves you in a good mood for whatever you do next. The trick is to keep it light on the tummy and made with real, unrefined ingredients. When thinking about dessert I start …
It’s not often that a simple garden tool becomes a cult, but such is the case for the wheel hoe. It’s easily the most time-saving, back-sparing tool in my shed, as it deals with the most taxing job: removing weeds, especially ones in compacted soil. Picture a stirrup hoe, which is shaped like a horseman’s …
In the garden we’re always trying to make the most of the space we’ve got, especially if we live in a city, a town or just a small lot in the countryside. “Leafy suburb” is a positive phrase, evoking beautiful old trees and welcome summer shade. “Yard with a dinky patch of sun for vegetables” …
One evening I was sitting on the bench beside our pond, watching spring arrive. The ice had nearly melted on the pond and the buds on the swamp maples were showing red. Nesting birds were twittering, and airplanes were drawing silvery lines across the sky. Even though the jets were too high to be heard, …
Tomatoes are the divas of the vegetable patch — luscious, celebrated and notoriously hard to please. If it’s too chilly they’ll sulk. If it’s too hot, they’ll throw a tantrum, scattering their blossoms and refusing to perform. Gardeners everywhere know that planting tomatoes prematurely in spring is a mistake. They will just sit there until …
It’s April, and, weather-wise, anything can happen. Mainers know better than to put away our snow shovels, and not even the most optimistic gardener will be fooled by springlike days. Remember one April with three major snowstorms. Tomato-planting time is still far away. Gardeners tend to be philosophical about weather events, partly because they’re beyond …
There are many ways to make a garden bed, but one thing is constant: The soil within it should have the lightness of a fluffed-up pillow and the loft of a down-filled duvet. Adding plenty of organic matter to the soil is the key to building a plant-friendly soil like that. But the bed’s design …
To the little people it never felt right. The readers of the old Organic Gardening and Farming magazine saw no logic in spraying poisons on their vegetables. The magazine was founded 75 years ago, with no glamour or gloss, and its circulation reached more a million at its height. It featured tales and photos from …
