What to do this week The weather is still far from warm and settled and like the rest of Nova Scotia I am waiting on the apple blossoms to start planting my warm weather crops like beans, potatoes and tomatoes. Ideally, the blossoms will give us our marching orders whenRead More

What to do this week Having got the early spring planting well underway, it is time for me to turn my attention to orchard chores. The trees are budding out and many are already at the green tip stage. It only takes a few days of warm weather for thingsRead More

What to do this week I finally got my tractor going after having it sit all winter and as soon as the soil dries a bit after the recent rains, I will get going on the mid-spring planting. I generally wait until the lilacs are putting out their first leavesRead More

What to do this week The unseasonably cold weather lately doesn’t encourage planting, but soon the days will warm enough that gardeners will engage in their annual game of frost roulette. We all want to get a jump on the season but as we found last June, it can beRead More

What to do this week Although last week I cautioned against working the soil too soon, one task that should be accomplished just as soon as the soil is dry enough is the planting of young trees and shrubs. I have been busy with that myself the last few days.Read More

What to do this week Michelle Smith is away this week, but don’t worry, she’s got your back as far as early-May gardening is concerned. Back on 3 May 2017, she was urging you to get off your couch and plant some trees: The old saying about it being betterRead More

What to do this week If you are thinking about reducing the area of lawn you have to mow, or any other sort of larger landscaping project, you might want to do your bit to encourage biodiversity and incorporate native plants in your design. I am doing this myself thisRead...

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 soil is heavy, wet, clay? Compost will help the fine, sticky particles clump together and improveRead More

What to do this week It’s about time to start tomato seedlings inside to have them ready for transplanting at the beginning of June. Each year I agonize over the wide variety of colors, textures and sizes available. I grow more than 50 different varieties for seed on a rotatingRead More

What to do this week There may not be any garden insect pests in view just yet but they are still there. They’re slumbering in the soil or the half-rotten dropped fruit you didn’t get a chance to rake up last fall — all waiting for that first warm dayRead More