Read more about the article When Life Gives You Destruction: The Pumpkin Massacre
Rouge Vif e’Etampes much like the one we grew this year

When Life Gives You Destruction: The Pumpkin Massacre

Continue ReadingWhen Life Gives You Destruction: The Pumpkin Massacre

Each year, we grow our own pumpkins for Halloween and winter pumpkin puree-based desserts. Most years it goes well, but this year's results left much to be desired. It all started out so good... We planted Rouge Vif e’Etampes (AKA Cinderella's Carriage) and despite our gloomy overcast summer dishing out gobs of powdery mildew, they thrived. We had three pumpkins in one cluster growing gangbusters. Then, well past the point of pollination infancy, one 5" small pumpkin withered and fell…

Read more about the article A Simple Guide To Digging A Sustainable Garden Pond

A Simple Guide To Digging A Sustainable Garden Pond

Continue ReadingA Simple Guide To Digging A Sustainable Garden Pond

This week we have a guest blogger talking about a subject we haven't covered here at Gardenerd: ponds. Ricky Peterson is a nature lover who likes to walk in the woods and generally spend time outdoors. He loves his garden and, unlike some of us, like sharing it with lots of wildlife. Ricky works for Swallow Aquatics, selling pond supplies to keep home ponds aerated and healthy. He's here to share his knowledge about DIY pond construction. Take it away…

Read more about the article Field Trip: Quebec City Community Gardens

Field Trip: Quebec City Community Gardens

Continue ReadingField Trip: Quebec City Community Gardens

Community gardens are glorious to me. The diversity of each member, the variety of aesthetic design choices, and the ingenuity of cramming as much as possible into one plot is inspiring. During my trip to Quebec City, we visited one such garden that keeps flooding my memory. Here's a tour: The garden was established in 1982, which makes it Quebec City's oldest and largest community garden. The residents came together to create an organic garden where they could grow healthy…

Read more about the article Field Trip: Quebec City Gardens – Roger Van den Hende Botanical Gardens
A different kind of butterfly garden

Field Trip: Quebec City Gardens – Roger Van den Hende Botanical Gardens

Continue ReadingField Trip: Quebec City Gardens – Roger Van den Hende Botanical Gardens

You are about to be transported to a place of lush beauty, where rainfall is abundant but the growing season is short (only 4 months). Given these circumstances, the Roger Van den Hende Botanical Gardens in Quebec City celebrate every moment with color, fragrance and texture. At first glance you wouldn't know it was a garden. The entrance presents a metal and glass building that looks more like a laboratory than a botanical garden. Indeed, inside were rows of plants…

Read more about the article Field Trip: Apricot Lane Farms

Field Trip: Apricot Lane Farms

Continue ReadingField Trip: Apricot Lane Farms

I had the pleasure of not only visiting Apricot Lane Farms in Moorpark, CA last week, I spent 2 hours working in their amazing vegetable garden. It was the kind of experience that gives one hope for a brighter future. Apricot Lane Farms is 130 acres of glorious symbiosis. Established in 2011, this new biodynamic farm is taking sustainability to the highest level. And <<inner child squealing with glee>> they have Hairy Coos (Scottish Highland long-haired cows--AKA walking teddy bears…

Read more about the article Saving Poppy Seeds

Saving Poppy Seeds

Continue ReadingSaving Poppy Seeds

If you've ever considered saving seeds, but have been too afraid to try, start by saving ornamental poppy seeds. Why? Saving poppy seeds is practically labor-free, is incredibly easy, and can be done in about a minute. We grew a beautiful variety this year that came unannounced in the mail from Botanical Interests Seeds. It's called Lauren's Grape. I'm never one to turn down a gift, especially if it's purple or burgundy. This poppy inspires instant happiness. Now the flowers…

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