Posted in Garden on May 13th, 2008 No Comments »
Here’s this week’s column, voicing my frustrations at trying to build “no dig” gardens following instructions on the Internet:
“Hay is for horses … not my garden”
There is an epilogue to this story. I had a chat today with Tom Stachulski, store manager of Dodge Grain Co. in Salem, N.H.
That’s an Agway, though not my local one, and it turns out they do carry bales of alfalfa hay.
And that’s not all. Tom also had … continued »
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Posted in Garden on May 13th, 2008 No Comments »
I’m pulling this up from the comments because I think it’s such a clever idea, I don’t want anybody to miss it:
Hi Julie:
I had never seen the “yard dirt column/blog” until today when I was reading the G.D.T. online, what a great way to share and receive some great information! Please allow me to introduce myself, I work @ Neptune’s Harvest, We are an organic fish fertilizer company in Gloucester, MA.
Anyway, I noticed you where … continued »
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Posted in Garden on May 8th, 2008 No Comments »
My indoor seedlings are coming along nicely this year.
Here are the tomato sprouts:
And here are the purple basil, with tomato in the background.
I really like the combination of seed starter mix and sphagnum moss. These little guys went almost two weeks before I needed to water them — that soil really holds water!
The poblano pepper seedlings just popped out a couple days ago, two weeks … continued »
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Posted in Garden on May 5th, 2008 1 Comment »
This week’s Yard Dirt column is about how I’m scrambling to make garden beds so I have a place to put all the things I want to grow.
“So many seedlings, so little space”
Two days ago I noticed the leaves on my shell pea plants have been nibbled a little. That means something has been sneaking through the chicken wire fence (chipmunks?). I’m so sad!
If the peas don’t survive, though, at least I’ll have more … continued »
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Posted in Landscape, Garden, Lawn on Apr 28th, 2008 No Comments »
One of the best things about being a lawn and garden geek is that you can appreciate a dismal rainy April day. Isn’t today gorgeous?
I enjoyed all that sun, but the tender new grass in my lawn was getting thirsty. Yesterday it was looking a little yellow. And my lettuce didn’t seem to be growing. It was just sitting there. Now it’s so green I can see it from the window — it’s almost glowing!
Love … continued »
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Posted in Garden on Apr 27th, 2008 1 Comment »
This week’s Yard Dirt column is about my adventures starting seedlings for my veggie garden:
“This week’s lesson: It takes two hands to handle a seedling”
Here’s my messy kitchen counter during the planting process:
And here’s the baby right behind me being patient:
And then not so patient:
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Posted in Landscape, Garden on Apr 24th, 2008 2 Comments »
It’s been a great week for yard work. I’ve miraculously been able to get outside in short bursts — thanks to my mom’s visit and a baby monitor with good range — and it’s been enough to make real progress.
My big project right now is tidying up the gardens in the front of my house. I’ve had a curl of plastic edging getting in the way in the garage since last spring. Yesterday I finally … continued »
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Posted in Garden on Apr 3rd, 2008 1 Comment »
I’m off to an early start this year. I planted my shell peas and leaf lettuce last week in garden beds that were already prepared from last year. It was so much fun getting my hands dirty even before the last of the snow flies for the season.
I’ve also printed out a bunch of blank calendars and started planning the rest of the spring. I find these monthly calendars are much easier than a journal … continued »
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Posted in Garden on Mar 20th, 2008 1 Comment »
It’s still too cold to do much outdoors, but I thought I’d take a moment to update you on my indoor plants.
Some did well this winter. This is the Night-Blooming Cereus plant that we started from a leaf cutting, last year with just one new shoot and now:
The winter was less kind to my big rosemary plant. I posted on the blog in … continued »
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Posted in Newspaper, Garden, Lawn on Mar 16th, 2008 No Comments »
My Yard Dirt column has started up for the season in The Eagle-Tribune newspapers north of Boston.
Here’s the first installment, including a photo of my family:
Back in the dirt: New season of yard work, gardening comes with challenge of caring for a brand-new baby girl
The column is moving from Wednesdays to Sundays in the Eagle-Tribune. I’ll also be posting links on the blog.
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