22 Apr
2013
large monarch caterpillar

Earth Day, monarchs and the little things

Two years ago, I planted butterfly weed — aka. milkweed — in my garden for the very first time. That summer, I saw monarchs in my garden for the very first time as well. They found the milkweed (and the purple-flowering liatris, another native), laid their eggs, and moved on. ...

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25 Mar
2013
snow covering the outlaw garden

Garden stroll #16: More snow!!?? Good grief.

According to the calendar, we’re nearly a week into spring. Here in Virginia, this usually means we’re looking at sprouting peas and potatoes, blooming fruit trees and bright, warm days with temperatures in the 60s. Of course, the weather varies from year-to-year. Sometimes it varies a lot. After spoiling us ...

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18 Mar
2013
snow-covered mantis egg case

Garden stroll #15: Snow!?

I published my last weekly garden stroll on August 22, 2012. That’s, uh, well, a long time ago. Time to bring that tradition back. It snowed today, but I’m not letting that stop me. In fact, that’ll be today’s theme. It needs to be; there’s not much else going on ...

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7 Mar
2013
organic sweet potato in plastic

E-books and experiments

It’s been almost a year since I wrote what’s become the most popular post on this blog: Grow Your Own Sweet Potatoes. This one post has been shared on Pinterest more than 86,000 times. I guess I’m not the only sweet-potato-lovin’ gardener out there. In honor of that anniversary — ...

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26 Feb
2013
first peas of the spring

Here comes spring!

I know. I know. It’s still February. Some of you are digging out from yet another snowstorm, while others are already enjoying homegrown harvests from your year-round gardens. And then, of course, it’s high summer for you Southern Hemisphere types. But, here in the United States, in USDA Zone 7a, ...

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14 Feb
2013
2013 warrenton seed swap

2013 Warrenton Seed Swap

I’m going to start out by apologizing to most all of you. Because — sorry — this post is for just some of you. But, please, before you accuse me of playing favorites: it’s not up to me who this post is for. It’s up to you. Or, rather, your ...

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3 Feb
2013
birdhouse in the snow

It’s time to plant some … birdhouses!?

It’s a perfect wintry morning. Snow flurries are drifting past the window, I’ve got a warm cup of coffee and hand, and there’s the promise of a hot bowl of Superbowl chili later today. Not bad, as far as lazy wintertime Sundays go. But, I’m not thinking about snow or ...

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28 Jan
2013
comparing home-grown and store-bought sweet potatoes for taste, color and texture

Home-grown vs. store-bought: sweet potatoes!

We gardeners claim lots of reasons for our obsession hobby. There’s the exercise and sunlight (never mind all those times we’ve hurried to finish a garden task in bad weather). There are bragging rights and the pride of feeding ourselves and others with something we grew in our own garden. ...

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25 Jan
2013
Sunchokes are also known as Jerusalem artichokes

Sunchokes from store-bought tubers? Hopefully!

Have you ever grown sunchokes? Perhaps I should step back and ask: Have you ever tasted sunchokes? Oh man. Wow. Delicious. If you never noshed on this particular tuber, you really should do something about that. Sunchokes — aka Jerusaleum artichokes — are a fantastic, delicious and remarkably healthy starch. ...

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15 Jan
2013
2013 garden catalogs

2013 seeds: ordered!

There’s a cold front coming. This past weekend saw temperatures in the 50s, and Monday started out almost balmy. But now it’s raining and we’re cooling off fast. Granted, this is Virginia in the era of modern climate change; things aren’t going to get too cold. We’re looking at highs ...

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