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Asparagus in October
In March of 2010, I planted Purple Passion Asparagus up one of our property lines. These were two-year roots, and as recommended, we didn’t harvest that spring. This spring, once again we didn’t harvest but let the spears branch out for a month or so before cutting them down. Soon after, new spears popped up in their place. I decided to harvest these, and they were delicious. Another wave came to replace those, which I allowed to grow for another…
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Wordless Wednesday: My Messy Studio
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Putting Down Roots
We have had quite a few friends over the years head out across the country to Portland, Seattle, College Station, TX and Davis, CA. As I see pictures of their adventures along the rocky coast, under a big sky, in chilly winters, my heart aches a little for exploration – more so than just a vacation. I long for a life-altering adventure. As a high school student I was determined that I would one day live in Montana, preferably near…
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Purple Hyacinth Bean:
The purple hyacinth bean, one of Thomas Jefferson’s favorites I first saw the purple hyacinth bean when I visited Monticello with my best friend in the fall of 2007. This past spring, my brother, with whom I am always swapping seeds and garden talk, sent me home with a handful of beans to plant on the boys’ teepee. I’ve really enjoyed watching this vine grow. It is far more aggressive than the other pole beans, though it took longer to…
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Open letters to plants
Dear extremely lazy tomato plant, I hope you realize that you had all summer to produce offspring, and why you decided to wait until the end of September to make a tomato is beyond my understanding. Was it that the climbing squash vine was cramping your style? As you can see, waiting until the cool weather was a very poor decision. No, I will not be eating your nasty rotten fruit, nor will I be saving your seeds. Dear bi-color…
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Morning Garden Walk: Mystery Greens and Pest Problems
At the end of summer, I started scattering seeds: radishes, parsnips, romaine, arugula, spinach, bok choy, baby butterhead, black seeded simpson, carrots … you get the picture. Every seed packet that allowed fall planted was scattered over several plots. As I waited for seeds to sprout, and as they failed to or the sprouts were shriveled in the heat, I seeded more. I added straw. I watered. Then, the tropical rains came. I had no idea what was planted where,…
