Share my passion for all things gardening!
I just planted my pole beans. It’s exciting to see them in the garden because, to me, that really means the season is underway. Planting pole beans is pretty easy, provided you have a sturdy trellis for it. If you haven’t seen how I grow mine, I’m hoping this photo will give you some inspiration! Several years ago, I got […]
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It won’t be long before we plant our warm-season crops so I wanted to make sure you saw this video to help you get excellent germination rates. It’s all about proper seed orientation. What’s that, you say? Well, there are certain irregularly-shaped seeds that will germinate more successfully if they are planted in the correct direction. The types of seeds I’m […]
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If it’s Sunday, that means it’s time for my next garden column. This one is all about growing melons. What? You think it’s impossible to grow them in this region? Well, I’m here to tell you that I’ve been doing it for years and it’s easy-peasy. I have to admit I’ve given up on growing watermelons. The large ones do […]
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I’ve been busier than ever in the vegetable garden lately. That’s because there are plenty of cool-season crops to get into the ground. So far, I’ve got potatoes, onions and lettuce planted. In case you missed my latest video on planting lettuce, here it is. In it, I share several tips that I’ve learned over the years. Lettuce is such an […]
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I just finished planting potatoes and thought you’d be interested in seeing my latest video on how to do it. This year, we’re growing ‘Viking Purple’ and ‘Yukon Gold’. I’ve grown and enjoyed ‘Yukon Gold’ for many years and have only grown ‘Viking Purple’ for 2 seasons so far but we’re very impressed with it. Despite the name, the flesh […]
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Sometimes I feel a bit guilty. I’ve got a great sunny spot for my vegetable garden. Yet I know that many of you aren’t so lucky in that regard. You might be dealing with partly shady vegetable gardens, or perhaps thinking you can’t even grow veggies in that spot. That’s not necessarily the case, however. In my garden column today, […]
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Happy Spring, everyone! Are you familiar with anthocyanins or am I making you scratch your head? They are pigments that give purple, red and blue hues to different species or varieties of plants — whether it’s in their leaves or flowers. And they’re very healthful, although scientists haven’t completely figured that part out just yet! It just so happens that […]
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When planting vegetable seeds, there are some that should be sown directly into the garden and others that do better when started indoors first. But which is which? In my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review, I take the mystery out of sowing seeds and am hoping you’ll find it really helpful. Here is a link to it: Different […]
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Now that we’re into the month of March, this seems like the perfect time to do a wrap-up on growing vegetables through the winter. This was my 3rd winter of attempting to grow salad greens through our chilly zone 4b/5a winters and I’m happy to report it was my best ever! Hooray! As a quick recap, my husband and I […]
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If you live in a northern climate, I hope you haven’t planted your tomatoes from seed yet! Yes, it’s easy to get excited but it’s still too early. I used to start my tomato seeds indoors in early February. I figured the plants need to be large and robust before planting them out into the garden in mid-May. I quickly […]
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