Hello fellow readers; Sara from Oxford, NJ, asked how to prepare a plot for starting an organic garden. She suspects the previous owners used chemicals, as when they moved in, the lawn “looked like a golf course.” Kudos Sara. It’s wise to consider the prior use of ch

Hello fellow readers, I interviewed my lifelong friend Russ and his wife, Sara, from Oakland, Tennessee, about their adventure growing hot peppers in pots and turning them into jelly. I watched them grow up!  Remotely that is when they decided to start their hot pepper seeds indoors.

Hello fellow readers, Have you ever considered plantain, the flat-leaved weed with spikey seed heads that invade your lawn, a beneficial plant? It was news to me to learn that plantain is a valuable herb, though I’ve known for years that dandelions should be considered welcome l

Hello fellow readers, Last week, I had the privilege of visiting with Elisabeth, who moved back to Blairstown from Chicago to be near her family. She purchased a farm built in the 1800s and is amid renovating and restoring the house and barn. Elisabeth wishes for a landscape design fi

Hello Fellow Readers, Karen of Washington, NJ, emailed, “When should I plant garlic? I’m going to put leaves in my raised beds. Should I mix them in with dirt or just lay leaves on top?” Two great questions! Garlic, Allium sativum, can be planted in the fall or early spring as soon as

Hello Fellow Readers, While wrapping up the fall planting season, providing garden tweaks for a longstanding client, become friend, I had the delight of receiving veggie garden hand-me-downs. Ed of Bridgewater, NJ, tidied up his pots filled with green tomatoes; some plants were still

Hello Fellow Readers, I am a new owner of a big girl camera—a digital Nikon SLR. Previously I’ve relied on a point-and-shoot camera, “which is getting long in the tooth,” per my dear Curt. Funny saying, long in the tooth stems from how horses’ teeth continue to

Hello Fellow Readers, As I write, it’s President’s day, honoring George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. Some states combine remembrance of Thomas Jefferson, who was born in April. This brings to mind the Pawpaw tree most have never heard of. Jefferson planted a grove of th

Hello Fellow Readers, “Seems timely,” wrote Anita from Blairstown NJ in an email this morning with a Rose is Rose cartoon (a syndicated comic strip by Pat Brady.) It starts out with a woman decked in garden cloths and wide-brimmed hat adorned with a pink bow. She’s on her knees up to

Hello Fellow Readers, What a rainy start we’ve had for the new year. Or, should I say continuum of the rainy growing season. It’s worrisome really; our ground is so saturated. And yes, I miss the snow. Though please freeze the ground, Mother Nature, before bringing it on for fea