Share my passion for all things gardening!
For this week’s garden column, I wrote about tomato care. You’ll learn what we gardeners need to be doing for our tomato plants this time of year. Then they’ll grow their very best. You can read it in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Proper staking, consistent watering key to best tomatoes. (or you can read my column lower in this […]
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I recently learned something interesting about broccoli harvesting from our friends. And it’s so intriguing that I wanted to share it with you. Keep in mind that it’s still in the experimental stages in my garden, though! During a recent visit with our friends, Mark and Jane, we had the opportunity to stroll through their vegetable garden. They are the […]
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One of the most enjoyable things a gardener can do during the summer months is go on garden tours. It’s a great way to get inspired, learn new things and meet other like-minded folks. Next Sunday, July 14, the Coeur d’Alene Garden Tour will take place. That’s the topic of my garden column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: For […]
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If you live in the Inland Northwest, you won’t want to miss the Friends of Manito Spring Plant Sale next weekend! That’s the topic of my garden column and here’s a link to it in The Spokesman-Review: Find water-wise plants at Manito sale. Or you can read my column below (don’t miss this week’s video underneath it!). The Friends of […]
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My husband, Bill, is a genius! He’s come up with a great method for controlling slugs. I place rings of copper tape around the base of my cabbage family seedlings to keep the slugs away. Here’s the amazing thing. The skin and antennae of slugs reacts electrically with copper. That means you can use it as a deterrent. I’ve been […]
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Most gardeners know that when it comes to growing cabbage family crops, insects are likely part of the package. In my garden, these crops are susceptible to slugs, aphids, cabbage worms and sometimes even pillbugs. Talk about your bug magnets, eh? Members of the cabbage family (a.k.a. cole crops or Brassicas) include broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts and kale). Whenever […]
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Take a look at this tomato seedling. I just planted it in the garden yesterday and am very pleased with the shape it’s in. I’m not posting this to brag. But, in my humble opinion, this is absolutely the perfect size tomato seedling for transplanting. You might recall that I mentioned a few weeks ago when I plant my tomato […]
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Do you grow beans in your garden? They are one of my favorite vegetables. Why? They are so flavorful and abundant enough to also give you plenty to preserve for fall and winter eating. In my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review, I share tips for successfully growing bush and pole beans. Here’s a link to it: Placement counts […]
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And now for something completely different! Bill and I recently decided to build a garden scarecrow. Why? It’s primarily for the purpose of scaring the quail away from some of our vegetable crops. But it’s also there to add a bit of whimsy. If you’ve been following me for a while, you know we are birdwatchers and bird-lovers. We do […]
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This is your friendly reminder about the importance of hardening-off plants before setting them out in your garden. It only applies to plants you started indoors from seed or any plants that have never been exposed to “real” sunlight. Why is hardening-off plants so important? Well, if you think about it, the amount of light you provided your newly-started seedlings […]
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