Category: Restoring the Garden

  • 124 This one is chaos.

    124 This one is chaos.

    I usually try to tell a cohesive story. Not this time. The GoPro didn’t record, so most of the footage is missing. I still wanted to share, so expect some chaos in this one. Note: The video version of this post gets released on Wednesday, September 04, 2024. The weather is doing whatever it wants…

  • 123 Weather extremes in the garden

    123 Weather extremes in the garden

    Weather extremes have been the default this year. From wet, chilly conditions with little sunshine to heat waves and drought… extremes have become the new normal. And yet, humanity is not getting their collective act together because individuals benefit from the social and climate crises. So, while I prune the tomatoes, let me talk about…

  • 121 Water and maintenance

    121 Water and maintenance

    August meant most task were maintenance tasks, as spring planting was over, and fall not quite here. So, I cleaned up the greenhouse and dealt with water storage. Note: The video version of this post gets released on Tuesday, August 27, 2024. It’s a very windy day and even though it is very sunny, we’ve…

  • 120 Blackberry jam from foraged fruit

    120 Blackberry jam from foraged fruit

    My neighbors think these aren’t worth the trouble. I disagree. The blackberries in the surrounding abandoned gardens were in full swing. So I harvested what I could. And then I made jam from what we couldn’t eat fresh. Note: The video version of this post gets released on Saturday, August 24, 2024. I’m back in…

  • 116 August garden tour

    116 August garden tour

    I promised your garden tour, so I guess let’s do an August garden tour. Today is August 5th and it’s looking really nice out today, so let’s do a garden tour in nice weather. Note: The video version of this post gets released on Saturday, August 10, 2024. The blueberries are looking good. They aren’t…

  • 115 My tomatoes are dying

    115 My tomatoes are dying

    When all my garden neighbors lost their tomatoes to blight, I began to worry. I trimmed the tomatoes for better air flow but it was not enough. I did what I could to help the plants. It has been a wet year, wetter than even I feared. Let’s try and save my tomatoes, shall we?…

  • 114 Weeds are friends?

    114 Weeds are friends?

    Weeds are nature’s way of repairing the soil. So, why did I spend dozens of hours messing with the balance? Much of my time in the garden is spent weeding: weeding before making beds, weeding beds, weeding paths… I was starting to doubt this was the way to go. Note: The video version of this…

  • 112 Mushroom beds

    112 Mushroom beds

    Two days after I’d abandoned the mushroom beds in a bad mood, my husband joined me in the garden to help. He flew the drone while I did some weeding, and then we got to work. Three mushroom beds, more ripe white currants, and a potato harvest were waiting. Note: The video version of this…

  • 111 Ode to mulching

    111 Ode to mulching

    Mulch is a lazy gardeners best friend. I might not be lazy, but I sure like efficiency. Now that my friend and I had weeded the tomatoes, it was time to mulch them. I am a huge proponent of heavy mulching, so today we’ll talk about mulch. A lot. Note: The video version of this…