Gardening

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

Gardening Tips: Compost, Compost, Compost

April 14, 2021 at 12:45 pm

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)

Gardening Tips: Elementary, My Dear Gardeners

April 7, 2021 at 12:17 pm

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

Dolomite limestone (Source: minimal.com http://minmat.com/portfolio/dolomite/)

Gardening Tips: Fertilizing Periodically

March 31, 2021 at 2:15 pm

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

Gardening Tips: Tomato Time

March 24, 2021 at 11:48 am

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

Blueberry bush. (Source: UConn Blueberry bush pre-pruning. (Source: UConn http://ipm.uconn.edu/documents/raw2/html/500.php?aid=500))

Gardening Tips: Isn’t Spring the Berries?

March 17, 2021 at 1:00 pm

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)]

Gardening Tips: Early, Leafy Greens

March 10, 2021 at 11:45 am

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...

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Source: The Little Garden Shop, Etsy https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/gardenlelah?ref=listing-shop-header-item-count#items

Gardening Tips: Perennials

February 17, 2021 at 1:47 pm

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

Regenerative Farming Practices v. Pesticides

Regenerative Farming Practices v. Pesticides

December 2, 2020 at 1:00 pm

Millions of people from around the globe have been expressing their well-founded views about the need for substantial changes because they realize in order to survive as a species we have to change what is in our heads. As an example, we collectively know the core scientific factors regarding climateRead More

By Matt MacGillivray from Toronto, Canada - Black-capped Chickadee, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=74580795

Winter Preparations: A Slightly Lazy Gardener’s Guide

October 28, 2020 at 12:15 pm

Editor’s Note: We’re reaching into Michelle’s Smith’s archives for posts as useful now as when they were first published.   What to do this week It’s time to wrap up the gardening season, but there doesn’t need to be a wholesale effort to rake and tidy up before winter. It’sRead More

Gooseberry Photo: Pavel Leman - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4424742

Go Forth and Multiply: The Art of Propagation

October 14, 2020 at 1:45 pm

Editor’s Note: We’re reaching into Michelle’s Smith’s archives for posts as useful now as when they were first published.   What to do this week Soon the autumn gales will strip the leaves off the trees and shrubs and the cold nights will send them into their winter slumber. ThatRead More