A Way To Garden

A Way To Garden

'horticultural how-to and woo-woo'
the source of organic gardening inspiration
margaret roach, head gardener

Menu
  • podcast
  • Plants
    • annuals & perennials »
      • groundcovers
    • bulbs
    • trees & shrubs »
      • conifers
      • deciduous
    • vines
    • vegetables
    • tomatoes
    • herbs
    • fruit
    • houseplants
    • taxonomy 101
    • decoding botanical latin
  • recipes
    • soups
    • entrees
    • side dishes
    • salads
    • desserts
    • pickles & condiments
    • freezing & canning
    • baking
    • guest chefs
  • how-to
    • weeds
    • pests & diseases
    • garden prep
    • composting
    • organics
    • pruning
    • garden design
    • from seed »
      • seed starting
    • water gardening
    • shade gardening
    • container gardening
    • lawn care (organic)
    • garden faq’s
    • for beginners
  • nature
    • bird sh-t
    • frogboys
    • insects & worms
    • jack the demon cat
    • mushrooms & other fungi
  • about
    • margaret and her website
    • my public-radio podcast
    • my 2018 garden events
    • my books
    • my email newsletter
    • my garden
    • horticultural ‘woo-woo’
    • sponsorship
    • resource links
  • Home
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • Pintrest
    • Feed
    • Podcast
  • my books
  • 2019 garden events
  • when to start seed
  • webinars
  • monthly chores
  • garden faq’s
  • top-50
  • andre jordan doodles
  • slideshows
  • Garden Tools Co

link bounty: migration madness, vole traps, more

Share
Tweet
Pin
0 Shares

ASEASON WITHOUT RAIN MEANS NO GOOD TIME for dividing and transplanting in the garden, so while I wait and hope, I click, and click some more. From dramatic bird-migration news and a trap that outsmarts voles, to the latest findings about Roundup and its harmful effects, here are some internet links I’ve dug up lately indoors that you might enjoy.

I MET JACK THE DEMON CAT on September 11, 2001; he was here in the driveway, a stray who’d apparently chosen me, when I arrived from Manhattan late that morning. This year, September 11 was marked by flocks and flocks and flocks of raucous birds flying overhead, a winged migration of dramatic proportion that had me sitting outside listening, and watching (and Jack going mad inside, where he belongs, watching me watch).

Imagine how frustrated Jack was when the black-throated blue warbler (below) stunned himself on the glint of the glass porch door. I gently righted him, and then we sat awhile together, talking softly, until he was ready to continue on, Jack staring in disbelief from indoors, where I hold him hostage to protect my avian friends.

But our show here was nothing compared to the one that night at the site of the World Trade Center, where the memorial beams of light proved confusing to migrants trying to navigate their way to wintering grounds. The NPR piece on it, with an expert guest from New York City Audubon—was chilling, and beautiful. A must-listen.

WOW, BIG SURPRISE. A new study in Argentina confirms that Roundup is linked to human birth defects. Enough said; you know what will happen if I get going. Have a read for yourself, thanks to GM Watch dot org.

I HAVE THE NICEST READERS (that would be you). Almost 14,000 comments into our two-and-a-half-year relationship, I never cease to be wowed (especially when I click on links you leave me to visit your worlds) by the talent and knowledge you possess. Today, all the way from Kuwait, an intimate look at making dal–the Indian lentil “soup”–came in a comment from Kulsum at Journey Kitchen. Who knew the subtleties of so many grades of tiny lentils? Not me.

Last week, I “met” the Mistress Longears (got to love all your great screen names), whose Flickr photo stream is full of handcrafted botanical expressions: quilts that define botanical terms, for instance, or her garden journal, or this story about a dog and an osage orange. She says she’s been “raising rabbits against [her] will since 1987,” so she must be a gardener. Thank you all for what you share with me.

THE TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT DEP’T: “My kid won’t eat vegetables.” You hear people say it all the time. But what if there were no other choice offered at snack time, no packaged junk or sugary temptations? This experiment with carrots-only vending machines says they’ll start loving carrots pretty fast.

BUILD A BETTER MOUSE, ER, VOLE TRAP: Leave it to Eliot Coleman to create a simple design for a garden vole trap, sparing me (once I make some) the trouble of jury-rigging any more haphazard enclosures for the snap-traps I set out all year round as well. His vole-stopping stroke of genius.

Share
Tweet
Pin
0 Shares

Related

Frog with headphones
Don’t Miss Out!

Get my award-winning podcast...

Listen on Apple Podcasts

...and my ribbiting free newsletter.

  • Select Seeds 500 flowers
no comments
September 24, 2010

comments

  1. Tyler Davis says

    September 24, 2010 at 11:21 am

    Margaret, I know your blog is a gardening one, and I absolutely love your garden photos, but after seeing this entry, let’s see more shots of the interior of your home – it’s gorgeous!

    Reply
  2. Tor says

    September 24, 2010 at 11:41 am

    I can’t agree more with Tyler! The photo of the interior of your house is gorgeous. I just want to be sitting on that chair looking out at your garden. Beautiful. And I had to look twice to spot Jack on the wooden chair by the window!

    Reply
  3. Estyn says

    September 24, 2010 at 3:16 pm

    I do love me a desk whose essential equipment includes binoculars.

    Reply
  4. TomW says

    September 24, 2010 at 3:34 pm

    So here I was reading about Eliot’s cold frame site the other day and also noticed that bit about the vole trap. Great tip since voles have been getting worse and worse where I garden. I used to work at a company that had bought similar trap boxes but they were black plastic. Something like this: http://www.pestproducts.com/rodent_baiters.htm

    Hmm, never heard the term bait station before. Sounds more like a fishing expedition term. Anyhow, they put them around the edges of their walls near the shrubbery. Think I will build some like Eliot’s.

    Love the link and art at Mistress Longears.

    Maybe there is a solution there for rabbits involving carrot vending (bait station) machines. Throw in some greyhound tickets for the rabbits and voles and we can all call it a day. ;-)

    Reply
  5. jeanette sclar, mistress of longears says

    September 24, 2010 at 9:30 pm

    Many thanks for the plug! If you would like to know more about my longstanding battle with the rabbits, please see this set:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/longears/sets/72157600184059837/
    And to learn about the now very cold case of the Missing Birdfeeder:
    http://www.flickr.com/photos/longears/sets/72157604954130270/
    I have an insider tip: there will soon be new developments.

    Reply
    • Margaret says

      September 25, 2010 at 12:14 pm

      Welcome, Tor. Yes, Jack is a stealth cat, being black like the cushion on “his” chair, and all. :)

      Welcome, TerryG. You found me! Same old Margaret, still growing things. Glad we have reconnected, and thanks for spreading the word.

      Welcome, Jeanette. You have my thanks — and lots of rabbits. Do NOT send any here. I am up to my neck in every manner of beast at the moment!

      Reply
  6. Terryg says

    September 24, 2010 at 11:42 pm

    I love your site…I was immediately taken with the information and your writing style. I then had to figure out who this Margaret was and I scrolled up and saw your picture – I knew you – yes, I’m a Martha fan and enjoyed your work over the years. I’m excited to read your information here – I like the mix of gardening and cooking. I’ll be passing on your site to my sisters and friends. Thank you.

    Reply
  7. andre says

    September 26, 2010 at 8:42 am

    You do have a lovely way with words Margaret

    A kitten (who we have decided to call Nine) just found us in this september.

    Reply
  8. NancyH says

    September 26, 2010 at 9:33 am

    I’ll be printing the Eliot Coleman piece and sending it to my father, who was planning to attend the Common Ground Fair this past Friday but was turned away by rain. He’s nearly 100 and can’t be as flexible about things like that as he once was. Thanks for the connection, as well as all the rest!

    Reply
  9. nora says

    September 26, 2010 at 9:04 pm

    Get well wishes to Jack the Demon Cat. Sebastian the Cat (who commented on the Boston Botanical prints) ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament and had to endure six weeks of “cage rest ” last winter, feels his pain. Sebastian enjoys catching voles much more tha resting inside but finds they are hard to catch in the winter with snowcover, so Eliot Coleman’s idea might come in handy.

    Reply
  10. Diane Williams says

    September 27, 2010 at 12:04 pm

    Margaret may be too modest to mention this, but her wonderful home was featured on Apartment Therapy a few months ago. You could probably find it by searching AT’s site for “A Visit To Margaret Roach’s House”.

    Reply
    • Margaret says

      September 27, 2010 at 8:40 pm

      Hi, Diane — and you are right, Apartment Therapy has shown some pix that they took here. I think the links to both a few house pix and also the story on my very unglamorous kitchen are here.

      Reply
  11. Jackie says

    September 27, 2010 at 7:43 pm

    Wow! That Roundup piece is scary! Do you think it’s oK to use it for cracks in sidewalks and patio stone?

    Reply
  12. TomW says

    September 27, 2010 at 8:23 pm

    Here is an interesting weather radar piece about bird migration:

    http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2010/09/birds-are-back.html

    Reply
  13. Zendoc says

    March 2, 2011 at 9:41 am

    Margaret, reading your recent book and thoroughly enjoying it. After spending my days knee deep in the corporate muck of my day job I retreat to your world in the evenings and get knee deep in your words. They refresh me, energize me and allow me to face the next day with renewed vigor. Thanks for that!

    Reply
    • Margaret says

      March 2, 2011 at 9:54 am

      Welcome, Zendoc. What a sweet comment! I hope that you will enjoy the rest of it, and the book blog and the garden one, too. I am here! And grateful for such kind responses, I must say.

      Reply

leave a reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

JOIN US ON FACEBOOK

facebook-1

Podcast: Soups, Soups & More Soups

I’VE FOLLOWED a vegetarian diet for decades, but it wasn’t until just a few years ago that I mastered a really good vegetable soup. Now I’m learning variations on vegetable-based soups, plus ones with beans and even ideas for mushroom soups, too–all thanks to Alexandra Stafford and these recipes. (Stream it below, read the transcript or subscribe free.)

https://robinhoodradioondemand.com/podcast-player/6211/vegetable-soup-ideas-with-ali-stafford-november-5-a-way-to-garden-with-margaret-roach.mp3

Margaret Recommends

My picks of garden gear, books, and mulch, mulch more, all things I use myself. (Disclosure: includes affiliate links.)

FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS

  • Brushwood Clematis
  • Avant Gardens rare plants

READ MY BOOKS?

  • margaret's latest book
  • Margaret's dropout memoir

RECENT FAVORITES

  • 10 top tips for growing root vegetables
  • direct sow or not, perennials from seed & more: q&a with ken druse
  • pollinator plants to make room for, with uprising seeds’ brian campbell
  • the february garden chores
  • when to start seed
  • how to grow root crops, with daniel yoder of johnny’s seeds
  • it’s edemental! gorgeous, delicious grains for the garden, with sarah kleeger
  • spring will come (and so will my new old book, ‘a way to garden’)
  • a diversity of marigolds and zinnias old and new, with marilyn barlow
  • best garden design advice of 2018: signature style, making tapestries and more
Load More...Follow on Instagram

SEARCH ANY TOPIC

Welcome! I’m Margaret Roach, a leading garden writer for 25 years—at ‘Martha Stewart Living,’ ‘Newsday,’ and in three books. I host a public-radio podcast; I also lecture, plus hold tours at my 2.3-acre Hudson Valley (NY) Zone 5B garden, and always say no to chemicals and yes to great plants.

  • © 2008-2019, Margaret Roach Inc.

  • contact
  • sponsorship
  • privacy policy
  • terms of use
built by WebDevStudios; design by Kenneth B Smith