Quote of the Day: Organic Gardening
“The only two herbicides we recommend are cultivation and mulching.”…Organic Gardening Magazine
I noticed while working in the garden yesterday that the weeds are starting to germinate. Mulching and smothering is my preferred method of dealing with weeds, especially the tenacious ones. Right now half of my main garden is being smothered, it will remain fallow this year and I should be able to plant next year.
I’m also adding cardboard and feed bags around the little pottage in the back to smother the weeds around the edges. Every year in grows by a few feet thanks to smothering. This method takes patience, but it works very well. Sometimes you’ll need to smother for two years to get rid of vigorous perennial weeds.
My biggest method for controlling weeds is no till gardening. It’s amazing how much of a difference that makes in the number of weeds you have. The first year or two are spent hand weeding to get rid of any weeds from seed or root, after that initial flush the garden settles into a calm. There are weeds here and there, but nothing like there are when tilling.
How do you deal with weeds in your garden?
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Quote of the Day: Augustus Jenkins Farmer
“On our farm, we select plants that fill multiple needs, and we mix together all kinds of growing, living thing. We stack. And we do so for all the reasons that cottage gardeners, everywhere, in all time, did it and still do it–it just makes sense. Its efficient, and it honors the earth’s resources. Today’s gardens don’t have to be our entire pantry, medicine cabinet, hardware store, or art gallery, but they can contribute to all of these things. They can give us cleaner, deeper lives with more layers and more hope that in the future, the people who make decisions about what we eat and how we treat the world and each other have some inspiration–that spark–from their own gardens, and the gardens of their youth.”
Augustus Jenkins Farmer in Deep Rooted Wisdom
I grew up surrounded by gardeners. My grandpa tended a big edible garden, my grandmothers both planted flowers. My parents tended a large edible garden and my mom tended a lovely tropical paradise in our back patio. I never was much of one for gardening until I got older.
The more I gardened, the more I realized it added something to my life. My lifer certainly has many more layers now that I tend a garden and take care of a few animals.
How long have you been gardening?
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Quote of the Day
For Jefferson, plants were intimately associated with people-friends, neighbors, political allies-and the exchange of seeds, bulbs, and fruit scions represented a token of enduring friendship. This union for gardening and sociability is evident throughout the letters in the garden book. Jefferson would chide his daughters and granddaughters for their inattention to the flower beds around the house, while they in turn would report on the latest horticultural dramas taking place at Monticello. Jefferson also engaged in friendly competitions with his neighbors to determine who could harvest the first English pea in the spring. The winner then hosted a community dinner, sharing the winning dish (or teaspoon) of peas.
from Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
As gardeners we often offer cuttings of our favorite plants and receive the same in return. My garden in Ohio was filled with plants collected from friends and family members far and wide. I had peonies that were cuttings from one that was growing in the flowerbeds at my grandmother’s house when they moved there when my mom was a wee little girl.
I’m also lucky to have a start of the old fashioned comfrey that also graced that garden along with a few starts from her lily of the valley.
I had a host of sedum plants collected here there and everywhere as well. A few of these plants made it to Maine with me, some of them I need to get starts from my mom once again. I’m now starting from scratch, hopefully I’ll find a few friendly gardeners here that are willing to share starts with me!
What plant do you think people would associate with you as a gardener?
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Quote of the Day: Robert Burns
“The snowdrop and primrose our woodlands adorn, and violets bathe in the wet o’ the morn.”
Robert Burns
I almost missed these lovelies last week because I was so busy sugaring. So thankful to see a little bloom in the garden. I also have Johnny Jumpups blooming in the back potager – I think spring has finally arrived!
What’s blooming in your garden?
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Quote of the Day: Doug Larson
“Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush.”
-Doug Larson
This quote is perfectly fitting. Yesterday was a beautiful spring day here in Maine. The temperature rose to right around 50, I was able to gather maple sap without my coat. I did, however, end up with boots full of slush, but that’s my fault for not tying up my boots.
I’m happy to see that the snow is slowly receding from the back potager. Each day it gets close and closer, yesterday one tiny corner of the garden was finally showing mulch.
Soon enough I’ll be able to start pulling any weeds that overwintered and take stock of all the kale to see if it managed to survive the LONG winter. I’m definitely getting excited for the possibility of a wonderful gardening season ahead!
Do you feel like whistling when you look at your garden?
