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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
