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 It’s time to pick those garlic scapes, so let’s talk about that, and other timely harvesting tips this week. Garlic puts up a flower stalk, something that is very expensive for a plant. If you pick that stalk before it develops, the plant will putRead More

What to do this week I’m putting my squash in and you should too. The weather is settled and warm, and they will be happy. They are heavy feeders, such big plants after all. Plant them in your richest soil or add lots of compost. They could grow in pureRead More

What to do this week Cover crops are garden plants that you don’t plant to eat. They cover up garden space that doesn’t have an immediate planned use. Why, you ask? They are planted as a way of stabilizing soil and building organic matter, are useful for weed control andRead More

King Corn, like most monarchs, is demanding of land and resources, requiring high inputs like fertilizer, water and pest control. True, it rewards the effort with impressive yields; so much so that in an age when we thought oil was forever, with the agrichemicals it provided, corn became the dominantRead More

What to do this week If you are doing what I am doing this week, it has to do with tomatoes. By now your beans should be planted, or you are also planting them, but your squash, not yet. Squash will be bothered by the few cool days we areRead More

What to do this week There are tricks to beating the pest cycle in the garden. Knowing the life-cycle of the one you want to beat and figuring out a work-around is critical. Having problems with cucumber beetle? They are expanding their range with climate change and are becoming anRead More

What to do this week Soon we will be getting very itchy to plant, but how do you tell for sure that your soil is ready? One of the most common questions I get this time of year is if it is time to plant yet, and I always say,Read More

Caring for seedlings: I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that it is very important for recently planted seeds to be warm until they germinate. Once germinated, they are a little more forgiving, and can be moved to a cooler windowsill so you can use your warmest spot for theRead More