Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 10 August 2022.   What to do this week Let the serious harvest begin! (Depending, of course, on what you have planted.) Many of us plant garlic, and mine is about ready. You can tell for sure when the stalk is two-thirds yellow.Read More

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 22 July 2020.   What to do this week This week is a good time to talk about pruning tomatoes and hilling potatoes. Perhaps the most talked about controversy in home gardening is whether or not to even prune tomato plants in the firstRead More

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 30 June 2021.   What to do this week Now that the cold, rainy weather seems done with (for the momentRead More

Here’s the rule I set myself for writing about madeline yakimchuk who died on Friday, June 9, having chosen MAID in her clear-eyed, madeline way: I am not going to say anything in this piece that I didn’t actually say to madeline in person or that I don’t believe withRead More

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 June 2021)   What to do this week This week, I would like to talk about adding fertility to theRead More

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 20 May 2020, and it’s interesting that Michelle was talking about frost because apparently we’re in for some tonight!   What to do this week This week is the perfect time to plant squash seeds, and hopefully you will consider starting them inRead More

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 22 April 2020.   What to do this week This is a great time of year to talk about soilRead...

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 28 March 2018.   What to do this week If you have a greenhouse, that perfect place that will be housing some of those seedlings from the crowded windowsills very soon, this week is a great time to get it cleaned up andRead More

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 21 March 2018.   What to do this week This week is a good time to talk about a couple of things you might want to get to around the garden soon. One of those things is any plants you might have broughtRead More

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 14 March 2018.   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.Read More