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Winter Herb Care
It’s been a very warm week in Raleigh, but looking ahead on the weather forecast, there will be a big dip in the evening low at the beginning of next week, almost to freezing. For my garden, I know this means it won’t be long before I bid farewell to the huge, bushy basil plants and some of the more tender perennials in the garden. I will make a final harvest of basil for a batch of pesto and wait…
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October Lovelies
This weekend we took a family trip to Lowes where I found some sad plants on clearance – pentas, aster and mums. The pentas is likely an annual where I live, but for now, I’m just thankful for the pop of color. The tarragon from dad is blooming, and the kale is rejoicing that it finally has some access to sunlight. Slowly, I’m clearing out spent vines and plants. I love the transformation that Fall is bringing to the garden!…
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First Family Camping Trip
It’s the trip I’ve been waiting on for four years – the one where we go camping with a kid. This past weekend, we went camping with not just one, but two under the age of five. I consider the trip a success because no one got burned, no one had to do or wipe a number two in the woods (other than a diaper change), and it didn’t rain. There were likely many other aspects to rejoice in, but…
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Evaluation of the Summer Garden
After a summer growing season, it’s great time to evaluate the planting choices, layout and management of the veggie garden. The season treated us well, with peppers as only crops blatantly failing. Out of a large variety of seedlings, only the Tapas peppers produced a good crop. Nearly everything else at least gave us at least a sampling for the table. Not every summer is like this, so I’m thankful for the season we had. One aspect of home gardening…
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Fall Gardening
Sunday, a friend asked if my garden was winding down yet. This time of year, sure the tomatoes squash and other crops are mostly finished, but there is still so much happening out there. In fact, there are many crops that are just getting started. The best part of fall gardening is that many of the pests the drive me away are gone. I haven’t sustained a mosquito bite in days! The nasty little bugs that were sucking the sap…
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Sweet Potato and Arugula Salad
I just pulled up the first sweet potato from my garden and knew that it deserved a massive celebration … in my mouth. With the arugula propagating like a weed in the garden, it now serves as the base for salads around here. There are three kinds currently growing. One is rather spindly, but the other two are tender with broader leaves, one which is pleasantly spicy. The other lettuces we planted either never took off or are just too…
