Preparing edible perennials & fall plantings for winter
If you’ve decided to save money and time with perennial choices, start thinking about how you’ll help your plants through the colder months. Some need no attention. Most will benefit from some. Others may parish if you don’t take some easy steps to protect them. Herbs Herbs are easy. The…
7 ways to stop vegetable garden loss organically
This year marks my first growing season the Roanoke area (BIG difference from Upstate New York), so it’s required some experimentation as things went wrong. One issue I’ve never dealt with is suburban deer (country deer are a lot easier to discourage or redirect). Another is prolonged heat. This makes…
5 easy steps for keeping fresh cut herbs tasty for months
Lately, I’ve received a lot of questions about preserving herbs. It’s that time of year. Drying is the first method that comes to mind for most. Few realize that many herbs are easy to freeze – and tastier when preserved with this method. Parsley needs no attention. Simply wash it,…
Kale & Turnips both taste better with this quick, fun recipe
Kale, turnips and raw garlic are in season now (if you’re further north than Virginia, you might need to wait a week or two but it’ll be soon – so save this one for later). Honestly, I’m not a big fan of kale, but it’s loaded with nutrients and produce…
5 tips for easy edible container gardens
For 20 years, I had the luxury of garden sprawl. I was in Upstate New York, so the downside was a short growing season. The upside was 117 acres of fertile soil that allowed me to play with planting without worrying about how much space vegetable & herb crops occupied….
5 easy tips for better harvests in small outdoor spaces
Now that you’ve planned your space, become creative about putting friends close by and enemies apart and have enjoyed time spent nurturing your babies along, it’s time to enjoy the harvest. That is, of course, assuming you’ve taken some steps to ensure your seed starts make it to culinary creations….
5 easy tips for better yields from edible gardens in small outdoor spaces
If you missed last week, check out 5 easy tips for preparing your edible garden. This week delves into setting things up with space saving & companion planting ideas, ensuring your plantings get along and dealing with climbers in small spaces. Map out your space with companion and aversion planting…
5 easy tips for planning edible gardens in small outdoor spaces
This is the first of a three-part series. Tips here assume you’re planting directly into the ground. We’ll explore container gardening, raised beds, straw and hay bale planting and other unusual options in later posts. Prepare your beds. The more time you spend before you plant, the more time you’ll…
What local to Roanoke vegetables & herbs are now in season?
It’s not hard to figure out if farmer’s markets claiming to be only local hold true to their word. If you’re seeing bananas, pineapples and coconuts for sale any time of year, that’s a big red flag. These items don’t grow in Roanoke or within any radius (even if you…
Favorite gardening tools – Part One
Borne from trial and error over more than a decade experimenting, I’ve found some unusual tools that work best for me – often with a purpose different than designed. It will take two posts to explain how I use them. Tune in to tomorrow’s “What is it Wednesday” for more…
