NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – When someone mentions wildflowers, what comes to mind? Daisies? Black-eyed Susans? They’re as familiar as the summer days of youth, so well-loved that wildflowers are often added to a garden. A weeds tend to be any plant claiming a place for itself uninvited and unwelcome. Goldenrod[Read More…]
In the Garden
Yard Erosion Impacts Water Quality
NORTHFIELD – Did you know that the condition of your yard can have an impact on regional water quality? Areas where soil is left open and unvegetated are spots that are susceptible to erosion. Erosion happens when unprotected earth is moved by water from one place to another. Sediment from[Read More…]
Manage Stubborn Weeds with Flame
NORTHFIELD – Weeding is often a reality of summer landscape maintenance. Some people don’t mind weeding, some highly dislike it, and other people fall somewhere in between.Weeds are not necessarily a certain group of species. They are plants that are unwanted in a particular area. Therefore, a weed to one[Read More…]
Striped Cucumber Beetle is Key Garden Pest
BURLINGTON – Cucumber and squash production is in full swing in the garden, but there is a key pest that can affect the yield and quality of the fruit. The striped cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittatumare) can be a destructive pest on all cucurbits (cucumbers, summer and winter squash, melons and pumpkins)[Read More…]
Growing Community in the Garden
GREENSBORO – Greensboro’s Community Garden, with just seven raised beds and three in-ground beds, has already produced enough for multiple donations to the Hardwick Area Food Pantry (HAFP). Last Saturday alone, 30 pounds of fresh, organic produce was delivered to the food pantry. The donated harvest included lettuce, kale, snap[Read More…]
August in the Garden and Kitchen
CORNISH FLAT, N.H. – It seems to me that summer has been zooming by. Of course, I did plant many vegetables two to three weeks earlier than usual and crossed my fingers that demon frost would not appear. It didn’t. We’ve had a very sunny summer and my garden is[Read More…]
Saving Seasonal Foods Without Canning
CABOT — It’s the heart of summer in Vermont, and vegetable gardens and orchards are overflowing. It’s wonderful (and healthful) to have a table full of local foods from your garden and neighboring farms. And all this great food doesn’t have to be a fleeting pleasure. With a little planning[Read More…]
Creating Better Environment for us, and Animal Friends
CORNISH FLAT, N.H. — There is much gloom and doom spread in the news and on social media. Many people believe that our ecosystem is irreparable: climate change is bringing death and destruction to many of the animals that we share the earth with. But some gardeners believe that although[Read More…]
Growing Roses and More
CORNISH FLAT, N.H. – June is, traditionally, the month for weddings and roses. A coincidence? Perhaps. But here, in mid-summer, I still have plenty of roses blooming. Many modern hybrids keep on blooming, just like the energizer bunny keeps running. My mom was an organic gardener who loved her roses.[Read More…]
In The Garden: Grow Your Own Potatoes
CABOT – A couple decades ago, I was a new gardener with a small plot at a community garden. One of the more experienced gardeners had tall, lush plants with white flowers. I was surprised to learn that these were potato plants. They were lovely, but I was puzzled why[Read More…]
Watch Out for These Two Pests
BURLINGTON – Many gardeners are reporting damage lately from two pests, the fourlined plant bug and slugs. The plant bug causes minor cosmetic damage, but slugs can be quite destructive if left unchecked. The fourlined plant bug (Poecilocapus lineatus) feeds on mint, basil, sage and Shasta daisies. This little insect[Read More…]
Beneficial Bugs Control Pests in Garden
BURLINGTON – Insect pests get a lot of attention because we see the damage they cause. Less obvious are beneficial insects that provide “biocontrol” of insect pests. These include predators that kill or disable their prey quickly and parasitoids that kill pests more slowly. Predators include lady beetles, ground beetles,[Read More…]
