what 1 million unique visitors liked best in 2013
IN 2013, A MILLION DIFFERENT PEOPLE visited me and Jack and the frogboys here at A Way to Garden, and from the looks of things, statistics-wise, a lot of you treasure your homegrown garlic as much as I do. Yes, garlic was the top topic of the year, in which edible plants in general–from growing them from seed right through to tricks for putting up the harvest–dominated your top-50 favorite stories. See if you agree with what made the 2013 list:
the 2013 top-50
- the tricky matter of when to harvest garlic
- what to plant now for a fall vegetable garden
- how to freeze parsley, chives and other herbs
- farm-fresh peaches, frozen to perfection
- growing and storing a year of parsley
- growing potatoes organically: when and how to plant, hill and harvest
- what’s in pickling spice? some recipes
- when to start seed
- 10 thoughts on successful underplanting
- grow healthy tomatoes: staking and pruning
- garden prep: how to make a bed, with cardboard
- how to grow carrots, with dr. john navazio
- estimating viability: how long do seeds last?
- hot plant: stewartia, an ideal small tree
- there’s more than one way to ripen a tomato
- when to start what: vegetable-seed calculators
- why vegetable seedlings stretch and get spindly
- just saying no to deer, with fencing
- from the forums: pruning viburnums
- growing and storing a year of garlic
- fear not! how to prune clematis, with dan long
- dan koshansky’s refrigerator dill pickles
- the toughest groundcovers i rely on
- 7 fall-cleanup tasks you shouldn’t skip, with ken druse
- hugelkultur, nature’s raised garden beds
- cucumber-growing q&a, and the best pickles ever
- soil-saving tricks for planting big pots
- new! slideshow of my 54 top shade plants
- giveaway: andrew weil’s cookbook ‘true food,’ and his tuscan kale salad
- skins-on easy tomato sauce to freeze
- 6 lessons about hosta, with tony avent
- what weed is it? putting names to pesky plants
- 10 tips for growing blueberries in the backyard, with lee reich
- when to start seeds? some tools that can help
- impatiens downy mildew forecast: too soon to tell
- birdnote q&a: hummingbird migration, and flying in formation
- baked pears for breakfast, or maybe dessert
- garden faq’s
- tomato-growing faq’s
- radio podcasts: itunes, stream, or live
- roasted vegetables, a sunday tradition
- feed the soil: my experiment with mycorrhizae
- beloved conifers: weeping alaska cedar
- how to make compost, and use it, with lee reich
- caterpillar alert: who’s eating my cabbage and broccoli?
- say hello to my newborn book!
- giveaway: fighting weeds, with teri chace
- overwintering rosemary, indoors and out
- my top conifers for year-round garden beauty
- garlic harvest and curing: i did something right
Teri Chace says
It doesn’t matter how busy I am–outdoors in gardening weather (define that, Teri, ha!) or indoors baking Christmas cookies and wrapping packages–I always stop to read your blog posts. You are the best–the top of my list!
Linda says
will Jack be blogging about ,his holidays and adventures? The frogboys must have some stories to tell also
margaret says
Jack has big plans for 2014, Linda. Last year he only wrote ONE story, the lazy bum. It was this one.
Blake says
Congratulations on a million! Here’s to your continued success in 2014.
margaret says
Thank you, Blake. And same to you.
Ann L says
I LOVE your website , photos, and advice. I also love the fact that you don’t had “sponsors” and ads on your site. Thanks!
Dahlink says
My Max (on my lap) sends his best to you and Jack. Our frogboys and girls would send greetings if they weren’t settling down for winter. Happy holidays, one and all, and thanks for all you do all year long!
The Other Tom says
Here’s a million thanks for your garden wit and wisdom! You have planted many a seed of joy in my garden. ;-)
margaret says
Dear The Other Tom: Happy to be sowing joy. Things could be worse than that, for certain!
emily says
I, too, love your blog. And because of you, I planted garlic for the first time this fall.
Barbara says
Thank you for all the timely information . Congratulations on reaching 1 million ! I so look forward to your blog each month happy holidays
Debra Slagle says
I have learned a lot from your site and always look forward to reading it and learning more. I really did enjoy the garlic post and how to freeze herbs post. Congrats on one million. To think, I am one tiny part of that. lol. Happy Holidays to you and yours. A fan from Ohio.
Julie Kinnear says
I just discovered your site and this list is a fresh start, now I have a lot to read throughout the holidays!
Bette says
Kudos Margaret for your sense of humor, insights, straight forward info & observations. I missed your blog posts these last several weeks. Glad that you have reappeared on my machine. Looking forward to gardening 2014 with you as inspiration.
Linda Douville says
Here I am in the Florida Keys – a dry zone 10- on a rocky island where what dirt we have disappears (or is it that we grow rocks?)Thank you for your podcast and site. i learn lots from it even tho our growing season etc is so very different from yours. I planted my tomatoes and vegies a month ago and am hoping we have enough cool weather to set. I really enjoy your books especially ..”peace”..Have you any plans to make it an audible? Have a great New Year. LSD
PS I forgot to mention that another reason I love your show is it serves as a reminder of why I left Minnesota and the frozen north 25 years ago :)
margaret says
Thanks, Linda, for the very sweet message! Minnesota to Florida is QUITE the shift of season/weather/etc. Wow. Brave you!
There is an audiobook of “The Backyard Parables,” the recent book, but not of “Peace.”
Robb from the old OGOLI club says
Margaret….A Happy and Healthy New Year to you and yours and as always, thank you for your knowledge, spirit and sharing of same…Robby
margaret says
Thanks, Robb. You are welcome, and I am glad for the encouragement.
nance says
Margaret, I just watched In the Garden With Margaret Roach on Growing a Greener World and am so glad I now have seen you in person so to speak. I DVR that show. Your place is lovely. I agree with you about never using the chemicals. We do some gardening where we live (New Mexico) and of course it isn’t green here like where you live so we pick what we want to have green. My husband’s vegetable garden is great so we use our water mainly there. One thing I would like to say is that we have decided to not grow summer squash or zucchini because of the horrible squash bug infestations and we refuse to use any chemicals or poisons to try to control them. Nothing we have tried has helped so although squash is one of my favorite things, we have to at least for a few years give up growing squash. Do you have any suggestions for getting rid of squash bugs? Or preventing them? The more I pick them, the more come around. Last year, I tried putting fingernail polish on the eggs to prevent them from hatching (didn’t help at all, they just laid twice as many eggs), we planted radishes and nasturtiums around the squash plants which I read on the internet (had absolutely no effect other than maybe the squash bugs love those things!). Anyway, if you have any ideas, I would love to hear from you. I love your blog and your books. Such a pleasure.