Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 30 May 2018.   What to do this week This time of year many people are starting to move their seedlings from the house or greenhouse to the garden. Even if you have decided to run the risk of frost, your seedlings willRead More

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 16 May 2018 but I suspect the picture of the lilacs in full bloom was from the previous spring.   What to do this week There is an old folk saying that one should not plant summer crops until the lilacs and appleRead More

Editor’s Note: This column last appeared on 15 May 2019.   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 onRead More

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 26 April 2017   What to do this week Optimistic beginner gardeners are often tempted to plant after a few days of great weather in May. I think it is important to let you know how to reasonably predict the risk of frost,Read More

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 11 April 2018 and you’ll notice the opening the line could have been written today. Told you Michelle’s tips were timeless.     What to do this week Well, perhaps you noticed that it snowed this week, so maybe we have to goRead More

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 4 April 2018.   What to do this week I took a walk in my back field this week. Now that the snow is pretty well gone, I was able to notice that my raspberry bushes need a bit of tending. This isRead More

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 29 March 2017.   What to do this week Garden planning time is the perfect time to think about what is needed for saving your own seeds. Even at the home level you want to do it properly, which means, you want toRead More

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 22 March 2017.   It may surprise you, as it surprised me, to find out that farming is a political act. And like other forms of politics, it has opposing sides and competing interests as well as philosophical divisions. Quite a lot ofRead More

Editor’s Note: This column first appeared on 15 March 2017. (But, like pretty much everything in Michelle Smith’s archive, it’s still relevant.)   What to do this week This week we are going to start our cold weather greens, things that you can start in the house and get intoRead More

Editor’s Note: I saw the seeds on display in the hardware store recently and realized it was time to re-start the gardening column. This one was first published on 1 March 2017.   What to do this week March is the month for winter care of trees and shrubs. TheyRead More