What to do this week This week, we have a success report from Madeline about her globe artichoke overwintering experiment, and some encouragement to think about the early spring pruning of your trees and bushes. Let’s start with pruning. The little bit of snow we are getting this week mayRead More

Sorry for the radio silence here. I have been ill — in the hospital actually. Nothing serious or life-threatening, my nice Doctor says stress and overwork. Working 16-hour days, seven days a week for four months straight was not a good idea. Turns out I am not superwoman. Crap. IRead More

What to do this week This week is a good time to care for your fruit trees and shrubs before winter. The first thing to do is to clip the grass short around them. If you leave the grass long, the snow cover will leave little tunnels for mice. TheyRead More

What to do this week Eat! You’ve put 38 weeks’ worth of hard and noble labor into your fall harvest, now it’s time to enjoy it. Michelle Smith and Madeline Yakimchuk are taking a well-deserved week off, so the Spectator decided to ask some of the people involved with theRead More

What to do this week This time of year there is a lot going on for gardeners. You may be very busy figuring out how to store your harvest. This week is a good time to review a few basic storage tips for the most common Cape Breton garden products.Read More

This year my farm has seen a succession of middle to top predators with catastrophic consequences for the chicken population and, by extension, my livelihood. A raucous crowd of ravens was first, flying boldly into the barn and coming out with whole eggs in their beaks. I was sure they wereRead More

What to do this week Let’s talk a little about summer pruning. Most things get pruned in the spring or the fall, but then again, there is the tomato. You can’t get serious about tomatoes without getting involved with the tomato pruning controversy. People always ask me where I standRead More

What to do this week Okay, up off the couch! It’s time to plant trees. What’s that? It’s cold and rainy and the trees aren’t even leafing out yet, you whine? Perfect! The trees are still sleeping, they’ll barely suffer transplant shock. Yeah, I know you’re out of shape. DidRead...

What to do this week March is the month for winter care of trees and shrubs. They are dormant now, and will not suffer from the results of working on them. Trees and shrubs can be pruned for restoration or improved fruit production. You don’t want to do this inRead More

I have something to confess. For someone in my position it is, well, more than a little embarrassing. An affront, if you will, to my public persona. I have spent money I could ill afford pursuing this, this interest, to the chagrin of my long-suffering children. To this strange compulsionRead More