![A compost bin in the garden of Feeringbury ManorBy Acabashi (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://capebretonspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/compost_bin_sq-200x150.png)
Editor’s Note: We’re dipping into Michelle Smith’s archives to provide timely tips for gardeners. What to do this week It may seem sometimes like the gardener’s answer to everything is compost. Got sandy, light soil? Add compost to help absorb water and slow the leaching of nutrients. Your soilRead More
![Students testing soil fertility, circa 1816. (Source: By OSU Special Collections & Archives : Commons [No restrictions], via Wikimedia Commons)](https://capebretonspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Soil_testing_crop-200x150.jpg)
Editor’s Note: We’re dipping into Michelle Smith’s archives to provide timely tips for gardeners. What to do this week This week, we continue with the soil nutrients I introduced last week. We are left with N, P and K. I would like to give you an idea of whatRead More
Editor’s Note: We’re dipping into Michelle Smith’s archives to provide timely tips for gardeners. What to do this week As promised last week, here we go with a little bit of science. There are four main nutrients your plants look for in the soil, so you have to knowRead More
![By AnRo0002 (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons](https://capebretonspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/green_tomatoes_square-200x150.png)
Editor’s Note: We’re dipping into Michelle Smith’s archives to provide timely tips for gardeners. What to do this week It is time to think about seeding lettuce, tomatoes and peppers, and other summer annuals, but we don’t plant before taking the first step of thinking about what varieties suitRead More
Editor’s Note: This week, we are re-running the third in a series of three columns from 2017. They are perfect for this time of year, and will help you get ready for spring while Michelle deals with a few things that have her tied up right now. What toRead More
![Dwight Sipler from Stow, MA, USA [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]](https://capebretonspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/lettuce_seedlings_square-200x150.png)
Editor’s Note: This week, we are re-running the third in a series of three columns from 2017. They are perfect for this time of year, and will help you get ready for spring while Michelle deals with a few things that have her tied up right now. What to doRead...
Editor’s Note: This week, we are re-running the third in a series of three columns from 2017. They are perfect for this time of year, and will help you get ready for spring while Michelle deals with a few things that have her tied up right now. What to doRead More
![By U.S. Department of Agriculture (Seedling) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://capebretonspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/germination_square-200x150.png)
Editor’s Note: This week, we are re-running the third in a series of three columns from 2017. They are perfect for this time of year, and will help you get ready for spring while Michelle deals with a few things that have her tied up right now. What to doRead More
Editor’s Note: I spoke with Michelle Smith this week, and she says it’s time to start gardening again, so the Spectator will resume publication of timely advice from her archive. What to do this week Most of the vegetables we grow from seed in our gardens are annuals. TheseRead More
Editor’s Note: We’re reaching into Michelle’s Smith’s archives for posts as useful now as when they were first published and this week, we’re revisiting one of her lovely long-form essays, first published in November 2019. The cat and I huddled under the blankets in the dark as the windRead More
![A compost bin in the garden of Feeringbury ManorBy Acabashi (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://capebretonspectator.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/compost_bin_sq-75x50.png)