Plan the garden

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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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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4 Jan
2013
Cold-killed tomatillos in the winter garden.

New year. New plants.

I don’t know about you, but I get a little resolution-happy when it’s time to hang a new calendar. All that potential and hope. All those plans to be made and those goals to be set. Every new year is a new chance to shine up our dreams, and move ...

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2 Dec
2012
alpaca smile

Alpacas, leaves and winter prep

Have you put your garden to bed for the winter? Or, do you prefer to clean the mess away in the spring, on some surprisingly warm March day, when the sun heats the soil and you can smell the earth begin to awaken for another season of growth? I like ...

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22 Nov
2012
fifty cloves of 'Music' hardneck garlic

Happy Gardening New Year!

I’m a few days late with my New Year’s resolutions for the 2013 garden. Yes, I know, today is Thanksgiving Day. And, no, I haven’t gotten my holidays confused. We’re still about six weeks away from the first day of 2013 on the calendar, but, here in my garden, we’re ...

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13 Jul
2012
10 rules for breaking the rules in front yard vegetable gardens

10 rules for growing vegetables in the front yard

What!? Rules for breaking the rules? What kind of outlaw gardener am I? Sheesh. Actually, hopefully, I’m the kind of outlaw gardener who gets to continue being an outlaw gardener. Put another way, I recognize that I’m breaking the rules here. At any moment, my community’s HOA could demand that ...

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20 Jun
2012
blueberries

EWG’s Dirty Dozen list provides inspiration for the vegetable garden

As every seed-catalog-perusing gardener knows, there are approximately 4,372,912 possible fruits or vegetables to choose from when planning our gardens each year. Or, something like that. [Note: It's possible that I pulled that number out of thin air. Probable, in fact. Ok, I have absolutely NO proof that there are ...

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17 May
2012
brick path through front yard vegetable garden

Growing the Outlaw Garden blog…

Like the garden itself, I’m planning a soon-to-come expansion for the Outlaw Garden blog. Because, really, springtime is generally a slow season for gardeners… What I really need now is a new project. Something to keep me busy, since the garden isn’t really demanding much time these days. </sarcasm> I’ve ...

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12 May
2012
apple-feature

Espalier dreams…

I’m not sure whether I’ve mentioned the apples trees yet. There are two of them, and they are just little whips right now. Both are heritage or antique apples — Winchester and Virginia Gold — and were originally developed for Virginia’s crazy humid and hot summer climate. Neither is a ...

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8 May
2012
books-feature

Five books to inspire the gardener

Last week, I mentioned that I’m participating in the 2012 Blogathon — which is essentially a month-long promise to blog every day for the entire month of May. That’s 31 blog posts in 31 days. That’s a lot of blogging and original ideas and creativity. Honestly, the thought of it ...

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