Agriculture

Cuttings. (Photo by Madeline Yakimchuk)

Gardening Tips for Seedy Characters: Week 42

October 25, 2017 at 12:00 pm

What to do this week Now that the leaves are being blown off by the fall winds that have finally arrived, it is a good time for hardwood propagation of some of your perennial bushes. Gooseberries and currants are what I am working on this week, but you can doRead More

The author. (Photo by Madeline Yakimchuk)

Bean There (And Back Again)

October 18, 2017 at 11:50 am

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

Gardening Tips for Seedy Characters: Week 40

Gardening Tips for Seedy Characters: Week 40

October 11, 2017 at 11:47 am

What to do this week Gardening is a year-round pleasure, or obsession, depending on how hard you have fallen. There is always something to do, whether it be preparing for winter, preparing for spring, preparing for summer…you get the picture. This time of year, most gardeners are busy between theRead More

Still life with fruit, roast, silver and glassware, porcelain and columbine cup, Abraham Hendriksz van Beyeren

Gardening Tips for Seedy Characters: Time to Feast

October 4, 2017 at 1:35 pm

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

Photo by Madeline Yakimchuk.

Gardening Tips for Seedy Characters: Week 36

September 13, 2017 at 11:32 am

What to do this week It must be green tomato season, unless you have been as lucky as I have been and are enjoying ripe tomatoes too. Local tomatoes had a bit of a slow start this year. It was cool, and then it was dry, so the plants didn’tRead More

Iannetti pole beans, brought to Sydney Mines from Britolli, Italy by the Iannetti family in 1902  (Photo by Michelle Smith)

Gardening Tips for Seedy Characters: Week 35

September 6, 2017 at 12:00 pm

What to do this week It is getting to be dry-bean time, especially since we may be getting excess rain (or even frost) very soon, making it a tricky time of year for beans. You may have planted dry beans deliberately. Certain varieties of bean are specific to dry beansRead More

Bean There: Cold Calls & Hot Potatoes

Bean There: Cold Calls & Hot Potatoes

August 23, 2017 at 11:49 am

Really, this was my fault. Stephanie hadn’t wanted to do it this way at all. She thought it would be better for one of us to fly to St John’s, rent a car, and visit farmers in the surrounding area. With only six days to work with, it was aRead More

A Short History of Blame:  Reckless, Imprudent Miners

A Short History of Blame: Reckless, Imprudent Miners

August 23, 2017 at 11:47 am

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series of essays by Susan Dodd on Nova Scotia’s history of blaming coal mining accidents on the miners themselves — a history that finally changed in the wake of the Westray disaster. You can read the first, third and fourth essays by clicking theRead More

CFIA: No Safe Route from Sydney to IW Disposal Site

CFIA: No Safe Route from Sydney to IW Disposal Site

August 16, 2017 at 11:50 am

I wrote last week that dealing with international waste (IW) at the Sydney Marine Terminal will involve more than simply getting in a stash of orange garbage bags. You can read the details here, but the gist is that international waste coming off vessels must be segregated from domestic wasteRead More

Raspberry canes. (Photo by Madeline Yakimchuk)

Gardening Tips for Seedy Characters: Week 32

August 16, 2017 at 11:35 am

What to do this week If there is one thing that is true about gardeners, it is that we are always thinking ahead. You might think we would all be busy enjoying what we have grown, or perhaps be scattered in multiple directions picking and processing everything that is comingRead More