I’ve had plenty of winter this year, yessiree. It is mid-February and that means the worst is over and spring is on its way. Eventually. February gardening in Ohio usually means lots of waiting, unless you are starting your seeds inside. Then, under the lights you see sprouts of spring -just about when March is…
Seasons
Mid-Ohio Gardening Update
The weather has proved unusual, and here is the impact for my garden; plus some jots about other notable conditions and effects. It has been far wetter than usual, and then there is the inverted effect of our temperatures… June was as miserable as any July-August might have been. The heat and humidity was horrible…
Garden Logistics
Spring season is always a matter of logistics when you live in a cold climate. In temperate Ohio we go from cold-can’t-do-anything conditions to hot-don’t-want-to-do-anything weather with only a fleeting spring in between. We can count on two months to get soil prepared and everything planted. Some years there may be some earlier breaks and…
In Touch with the Weather
A definite benefit of gardening is being in touch with the weather. It’s a necessity, and counters the tendency of a modern life to live in isolation from nature. Of course, mankind has always been in something of a struggle with natural forces; but that is just an explanation for why we complain so much…
National Seed Swap Day in January
Swap Seeds For A Better Garden This Year Gardener’s have traditionally loved to trade with each other: tips ad advice, seeds and plants, even tools of the trade. It is no surprise that as the seed supplies available from seed companies have been shrinking, that grassroots gardeners have stepped up to organize seed swaps. These…
Observations on an Ohio Spring
We haven’t entered springtime officially, but tell the weather that! This has been a most mild winter, and Ohio experienced all time high temperature records for the month of February in 2017. It accelerated a climate phenomenon which, as a gardener, I look for each year. Most everyone know of the “Indian Summer” and “January…
Snippets of Gardening, February’s Mercies
One of the mercies found within an Ohio winter are those small windows of dry enough conditions and relatively pleasant weather. They are almost always very short, so the opportunities need to grasped. We have a short window at this moment and I have used it to carry on the weeding and garden preparation that…
Gifts for The Jolly Gardener, New Edition 2016
Sifting through Amazon for gift ideas? At a loss for how to delight your favorite gardener? Or just need a list of friendly hints so that you get what you really would love for Christmas, this year? A list drawn up from my own wishlists. (Affiliate links used for your convenience and to support this site.)…
Is It Fall Already?
Yesterday’s winds, today’s rain, and the smell that has been on the air tells me so. The asters blooming, the store displays burgeoning with mums (I bought two huge ones at Sam’s Club) also tell the undeniable story that summer has past. I still have tomatoes ripening on the vine, and they should continue to…
Tomato Troubles
I have large tomatoes, plenty of them…that is not the trouble. Hornworms. and cracking, those are the troubles. Right now, I am picking the fruits just turning red and ripening them on my window. Hornworms are officially called Manduca quinquemaculata. As caterpillars they are voracious pests, munching through incredible amounts of your tomato harvest. How To…