Gardening

McIntosh apple. (Photo by User:MarkusHagenlocher CC BY-SA 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Gardening Tips from Septembers Past

September 11, 2019 at 1:00 pm

What to do this week The Spectator‘s gardening columnist will be back to her regular schedule next week. (Full disclosure: the Spectator forgot to tell her we were resuming the weekly publication schedule as of September 11. Sorry Michelle!) Luckily, she has written oodles of advice for September gardeners, andRead More

Cover Crops. (Photo by USDA NRCS South Dakota, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Cover Crops for Beginners

September 4, 2019 at 10:00 am

What to do this week The first frost is still (I hope) a while away but parts of the garden are starting to look tired and tapped out. As the harvest moves through the garden, it’s important to clean up as you go. It’s time to pull up or tillRead More

Photo: Dennis Jarvis from Halifax, Canada - DGJ_5184 - Jelly Jars, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18729696

Garden to Table: Time to Eat What You Sow

July 24, 2019 at 12:15 pm

What to do this week It has been a slow start but with the recent heat and ample rain, the garden is starting to catch up. This column will spend as much time in the kitchen as outside, with tips on using the incoming bounty. Right now you should beRead...

Spectator photo.

Gardening Tips: Advice from Springtimes Past

April 24, 2019 at 10:00 am

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

A ladybug, (Coccinella sp., probably C. septempunctata) with aphids on a weed. Photo by Greyson Orlando CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35279712

Gardening Tips: Put Down the Pesticide!

March 27, 2019 at 12:20 pm

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

Glen Innes Soldiers' Settlement Estate - receiving instructions in pruning, 1921.(

Photographic Collection from Australia [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

Gardening Tips: Pruning Time

March 13, 2019 at 11:50 am

What to do this week With the prolonged cold weather, there was some serious pouting going on in my house. I wasn’t sure there even should be a column this week and maybe I’m still not certain. But if, like me, you are greatly cheered by a few days ofRead More

Whitefly. (Photo by gbohne from Berlin, Germany, CC BY-SA 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0

Gardening Tips: Indoor Infestations

February 27, 2019 at 12:45 pm

What to do this week These days, I mark time, waiting for my leeks and onions to sprout and it’s time to start my early spring greens next month. It is a good time to pay attention to the indoor garden and other small tasks. Houseplants, particularly those that spendRead More

Soil blockers. (Photo by Michelle Smith)

Gardening Tips: Making Mudpies

February 13, 2019 at 12:30 pm

What to do this week Back in the day, when I got ready to start my transplants, it meant rummaging through my collection of old flower pots, cell packs and cut-down milk cartons. Like all good gardeners I tried to recycle and my Scotch soul hated to buy new plasticRead More

Onion seedlings (Photo by Madeline Yakimchuk)

Gardening Tips: Gardeners, Start Your Onions!

February 6, 2019 at 11:30 am

What to do this week I know it’s the dead of winter but it is still time to think about finalizing your seed orders and starting your transplants. Onions and leeks are the first thing to start on the windowsill rotation. There are a lot of good reasons to startRead More

Gardening Tips: When Less is More

Gardening Tips: When Less is More

January 30, 2019 at 11:45 am

What to do this week This week we need to have a talk. Yes, it’s advice I find hard to follow myself, but just between you and me, we’re going to have to suck it up. It’s for our own good. The advice? Don’t take on more than you canRead More