Let me just preface by saying… Eww… eeeewwwww… and EEEEWWWWWWWWW! I now have a new pest in the garden – the Colorado potato beetle, a notoriously hard insect to control. Anytime I encounter a new bug, my first reaction is to destroy them in the most violent way possible. Because my flamethrower was out for…
Shallots can be planted in the spring or fall. They require a dormant period of about 4 weeks right after planting with temperatures between 32 – 50 degrees. The the cool ground helps the formation of good bulbs. Fall planting should be done 4-6 weeks before the first freeze of the season. Fall planting yields…
Garlic is one of those “plant it and forget about it” crops. Although garlic can be planted in the spring, fall is the best time for planting. It gives the cloves a chance to establish a good root system which helps produce bigger bulbs. In my area, I plant my garlic after the first hard…
One of my earliest childhood memories is the kitchen of my paternal grandmother. It was a tiny room with baby blue walls and a hulking white enamel, coal fired stove. A harvest gold refrigerator sat catty-corner across from the stove and was always filled with Hershey’s fudge pops. And next to the fridge, were two…
I love to grow cherry tomatoes. But they would perplex me every year. Within minutes of picking them, I would have half a basket of split tomatoes. So when the old timer up the road ordered me to get up to his house to test his homemade wine, I made a mental note to pick…
The Farmers in the Dell 