Falling Temperatures
I received an e-mail today from a gardener in North Carolina who shared some concerns that many of us may have regarding the cold weather that is forecast to strike our gardens over the next few days:
I received an e-mail today from a gardener in North Carolina who shared some concerns that many of us may have regarding the cold weather that is forecast to strike our gardens over the next few days:
Chickweed is one of the common weeds that you may notice taking over sections of lawn and the fringes of your garden beds. If you’ve read any of the entries on my favorite edible weeds such as Nettles and Lambs Quarters, then you probably expect that my take on Chickweed will focus more on the positive aspects of this unpopular plant than on how to wipe it off of the face of the earth with poisons.
I finally spent some time in the vegetable garden this weekend and there are signs of spring all over. From the green lawn, where a neighbor was actually out mowing the grass; to the trees, which look like they are ready to just explode with blossoms, leaves, and seed pods.
I received a question recently regarding using newspaper as a mulch to control weed growth in the garden. Diane made the following inquiry: “I was wondering what you think about using layers of newspaper covered with straw as weed control. We have such a prolific weed problem in our community garden that straw alone does not work and I refuse to resort to black plastic as many other garden members have done for understandable reasons.”
If you are wondering exactly where in the world Manitoba is located, you’re not alone. I believe that it’s part of Canada and was just about to look it up, but changed my mind when I saw that they still have five feet of snow on the ground. Here’s a letter that I received from Michele who grows a vegetable garden in not so sunny Manitoba:
The current issue of the Gardening Secrets Newsletter has been sent out to subscribers on the e-mail list. If you did not receive a copy you can obtain your free subscription to the gardening newsletter at the following link: http://www.mygardeningsecrets.com/optin.html. This month’s feature article offers ideas and activities to inspire the home gardener to get that spring garden off to a great start.
I didn’t plant a single potato in the garden last year due to space constraints, but this year I’m looking to include at least one variety of heirloom potato. I settled on growing a fingerling type potato because I really like the waxy texture and the versatility that they offer in the kitchen. Fingerlings are just as easy to grow as the common standard potato varieties.
As promised in the recent entry on browsing heirloom seed catalogs I intend to share some of the interesting plants that I stumble across in my favorite seed catalogs. Here’s the first new and unusual vegetable variety that I plan to grow in the garden this year; Purple Peacock Broccoli.
The theme of this year’s 5th Annual PA Garden Expo is “A Garden Party” and the festivities begin today March 8 and run through Sunday March 11, 2007. Considering the recent snowfall covering the ground, the PA Farm Show Complex & Expo Center sounds like the only place local gardeners will be able to do any celebrating this weekend.
Gardening is a wonderful gift that I’ve developed the hard way… through trial and error! I hope to share the incredible lessons learned and make things a lot easier for you out in the organic vegetable garden.
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