Crops

George Washington's garden at Mount Vernon in winter. (Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Gardening Tips: Putting the Garden to Bed

October 19, 2022 at 2:45 am

Editor’s Note: This column was last published on 21 October 2020.   What to do this week This week, I want to do a checklist for putting your garden to bed for the winter. Some of the items on my list have been covered recently in more detail, so IRead More

Oak seed/leaf.  Photo: Supportstorm - Own work, Public Domain https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=8340734

Getting the Garlic In (And Other Pre-Freeze Garden Tasks)

October 12, 2022 at 12:00 pm

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 2 October 2019. What to do this week With that nip in the air at night, it is time to think about planting bulbs. Especially those of the good Stinking Rose, otherwise known as garlic. You can plant garlic and other bulbs anyRead More

Kartoffeloptagning (studie) - 1911 By Jens Birkholm - bruun-rasmussen.dk, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=68613890

It’s Harvest Time, You Tubers!

September 21, 2022 at 12:20 pm

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 25 September 2019.   What to do this week With wind and cold in the forecast – and supposing you haven’t already been hit by frost – it’s time to get serious about the winter food supply. I mean, you‘d better start diggingRead More

Vegetables in a root cellar. (Source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Gardening Tips: Storing the Harvest

September 14, 2022 at 3:00 pm

Editor’s Note: The Spectator is reaching into Michelle Smith’s gardening column archive for some weekly advice that is as relevant now as when it was first written. This column last appeared on 16 September 2020.   What to do this week This time of year there is a lot going on for gardeners.Read More

Beets. (Photo by Madeline Yakimchuk)

Gardening Tips: Getting to the Root of Things

August 24, 2022 at 12:08 pm

Editor’s Note: The Spectator is reaching into Michelle Smith’s gardening column archive for some weekly advice that is as relevant now as when it was first written. This column last appeared on 19 August 2020.   What to do this week This week, we are still on harvesting, and mid-season busy-ness. IRead More

Red currants.(Photo by ojonsson from Göteborg, Sweden [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

Gardening Tips: Berry Busy

July 27, 2022 at 11:45 am

Editor’s Note: The Spectator is reaching into Michelle Smith’s gardening column archive for some weekly advice that is as relevant now as when it first appeared on 7 August 2019.   What to do this week There are so many garden projects vying for my attention these days. The red currants and gooseberriesRead More

Top: Tomato seedlings by Dwight Sipler from Stow, MA, USA (Tomato seedlingsUploaded by Jacopo Werther) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons) Bottom: Potato plants by fir0002 | flagstaffotos.com.au [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)], from Wikimedia Commons

Gardening Tips: You Say ‘Tomato,’ I Say ‘Get Planting!’

June 29, 2022 at 11:15 am

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 24 June 2020.   What to do this week Summer is here and we begin the frantic time of planting all the warm-weather crops as quickly as possible before too much of our very short season passes us by. Every year is different,Read More

Flowering buckwheat cover crop. (Source: The Campus Community Garden http://web.uvic.ca/~ccgarden/buckwheat-covercrop/, University of Victoria)

Gardening Tips: Cover Crops

June 22, 2022 at 11:10 am

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 10 June 2020.   What to do this week This is the time of year when you might be starting a new garden bed — maybe your first, maybe an extension of your existing garden — which makes it a good time to talkRead More

Deep-planted tomato plant. (Photo by Dave Wallis / The Forum http://www.inforum.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/4261574-getting-tomatoes-fast-start)

Gardening Tips: Not-So-Deadly Nightshades

June 15, 2022 at 12:30 pm

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 19 June 2019.   What to do this week It’s been a long time coming this spring, but the apples are in bloom and it’s time to start thinking about – nightshades! Not the deadly kind, of course, but a lot of myRead More

Small-scale crop rotation at the Ecological Garden at Odder. (Photo by Sten, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0), via Wikimedia Commons

Gardening Tips: Beautiful Chaos

June 8, 2022 at 12:30 pm

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 6 June 2018.   What to do this week You may think crop rotation is only for big farming operations, but you have a lot to gain from doing it too. It is just as important in a backyard garden. If you plantRead More