I PLAN TO GROW Crucifers and Cucurbits under cover this year, and the rampaging local woodchuck is the least of the reason why. But I wanted to get the details right from the sometimes-overwhelming catalog choices—the appropriate weight of fabric, and the gear to support the row cover and hold it in place, among other tips—so I called Paul Gallione of Johnny’s Selected Seeds in Maine for some advice. [read more…]
from seed
How to grow things from seed, and things that are commonly grown from seed, including vegetables and herbs and annual flowers, are covered here. Browse the archive below for tips for topics like growing the perfect tomato, what lights and other seed-starting gear to use, when to sow peas or spinach or a second crop of beans, and even if you can grow Clematis from those fluffy seedheads it produces.
growing under cover: tips from paul gallione
April 4, 2012 at 1:05 pm
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giveaway: ‘making more plants’ with ken druse (and how to avoid damping off)
March 31, 2012 at 7:52 am
I AM SOWING MY FIRST SEEDS other than onions about now—Brussels sprouts and broccoli today, with tomato-sowing time just ahead here at mid-month—with a comforting, luscious copy of Ken Druse’s just-released paperback edition of “Making More Plants” by my side. Maybe you’d like a copy, too, so I bought two to give away, and meantime, I’m sharing some of Ken’s advice on preventing that most dreaded of seed-starting mishaps: the fungal killer called damping off. [read more…]
how to grow carrots, with dr. john navazio
March 15, 2012 at 8:10 am
WHEN THE MOST COMMON CHALLENGE readers confessed in a recent story on vegetable gardening was “I can’t grow carrots,” I knew whom to call: John Navazio, Ph.D. to the rescue. John, who these days serves in a joint role as Senior Scientist for the Organic Seed Alliance and the Washington State University Extension specialist for organic seed for his home state, has grown—and bred—more than a few carrots in his time. John, whose dramatic and delicious purple ‘Dragon’ carrot is bright orange inside, was reassuring as ever. First, don’t feel bad, he said. “Carrots are one of the harder vegetables to grow,” confirms John (with flowering carrots in an OSA photo, above), and for a few reasons: [read more…]
finally! my 2012 seed order (+ an afterthought)
March 13, 2012 at 11:56 am
I’M LATE ON THE ANNUAL TRADITION of posting my seed orders, but finally, here they are. Looking the list over now, weeks after the actual purchases and with a little distance, my reaction: That’s a lot of winter squash vines for your not-very-big vegetable garden, Margaret (five kinds in all). Why? [read more…]
refresher course: thinking about starting seeds
March 4, 2012 at 10:02 am
IT’S TOO EARLY HERE to start anything for the vegetable garden but leeks and onions, as I mentioned in the March chores, but it’s never too soon to brush up on seed-starting timing and tactics. To that end, a little refresher course: [read more…]
giveaway: growing wholeness at turtle tree seed
February 19, 2012 at 11:19 am
ONE SQUASH SLEPT ON THE WINDOWSILL, another in the cabinet beneath the sink. Both stayed firm (and presumably delicious) all winter long, and then some—far into the next year. Lia Babitch and Ian Robb, co-managers of Turtle Tree Seed in Copake, New York, may store their ‘Butternut’ differently, but the greater mission they’re part of is the same: to offer biodynamic, open-pollinated seed to gardeners and farmers that’s been selected to be the very best it can…which if you’re a winter squash means sticking around a good long while. Meet these gifted gardeners and more of their very special seed varieties, and maybe win one of two $20 Turtle Tree gift certificates I’ve bought to share with you. [read more…]
growing (or just eating!) heirloom dry beans
February 15, 2012 at 10:09 am
SOME YEARS MY ‘SCARLET RUNNER’ BEANS—a pole variety and hummingbird favorite I’d never be without—finally peter out and then dry right on their bamboo teepees, when the fall is neither too wet nor complicated with an early frost. I always grab some of the big, flat purple-and-black-mottled seeds for next season’s planting, leaving the rest for whatever furry creature comes along to cache them for their own winter use, but lately I’ve been thinking: Why not grow beans for drying (a.k.a. shelling beans)—or at least start experimenting with dry beans for cooking, and see if we can get you hooked? [read more…]
giveaway: vegetable-garden tips from c.r. lawn
February 1, 2012 at 8:31 am
CRAZY, BUT TRUE: I ALWAYS THOUGHT the quirky “voice” of the Fedco Seeds catalog, named C.R. Lawn—get it? Lawn?—was a fictitious character, the made-up but pervasive green spirit of the longtime seed cooperative’s brand. But he’s not make-believe. He’s the Maine-based Fedco’s founder, and an organic gardener, market grower and seedsman with more than 30 years’ experience, and he took the time to answer some of my questions on what to grow and how to grow it better. The result is a vegetable-gardening Q&A (from peas to potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, mineral dusts and more), with the very real C.R. Lawn—and the chance to win three $20 Fedco gift certificates I bought to share with you, and say thanks to him. Let’s jump right in: [read more…]
facing monsanto: q&a with fedco’s c.r. lawn
January 30, 2012 at 11:48 am
ON THE EVE OF OPENING ARGUMENTS in Organic Seed Growers & Trade Association, et al. v. Monsanto, which will be heard tomorrow in Federal court in Manhattan and challenges the chemical giant’s patents on genetically modified seed, I asked C.R. Lawn, founder of Fedco Seeds (one of 83 co-plaintiffs in the case) and an organic farmer, market gardener and seedsman for more than 30 years, to help me grasp what’s at stake, and tell me what I—what we—can do as gardeners and consumers to help. This is not an easy subject to explain simply, so besides his answers, I’ve gathered some video clips and links that may help you get better informed. At the very least: Skip to the bulleted “to-do” list near the end and DO THEM! [read more…]
