Suburbs, HOAs and neighborly gardening

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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5 Sep
2012
Confessions of an Outlaw Gardener

Organic Gardening Magazine features the Outlaw Garden again!

Some mornings start with a really nice surprise. This morning was one of them. I always start my days with a cup or two of coffee, and a quick stroll around the internet. Today, I clicked over to Organic Gardening Magazine’s website. I was thinking about fall crops, and wondering ...

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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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7 Jul
2012
Confessions of an Outlaw Gardener in the August / September 2012 issue of Organic Gardening Magazine

The Outlaw Garden is in Organic Gardening Magazine!!

So, the secret’s out. I’m just waiting for the HOA authorities to come knock on my door and ask for my seed packets and favorite garden trowel. Should be any time now… You see — HUGE news!! — there’s a profile about my rule-breaking outlaw garden in the latest issue ...

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26 Jun
2012
Guinea fowl on a suburban street

Outlaw guinea fowl?

So. This photo of a guinea fowl? Yeah, I snapped this photo from my driveway. This leaves me with one very important question: Why did the guinea fowl cross the road? Ok. No. Not that question. Sorry. Instead, this one: Is this guinea fowl a rule-following guinea fowl, or a ...

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22 Jun
2012
three garlic heads

Summer’s arrival. Garlics’ departure.

The transformation to summer is complete: Yesterday I harvested the garlic crop. The signs of summer are everywhere: On the calendar, which tells us that Wednesday was the summer solstice. On outdoor thermometers, which registered record-breaking heat all through the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast yesterday. On the computer, which I’m using ...

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13 Jun
2012
gaura blooming profusely

Monday morning garden stroll #6

Well, we’re moving in the right direction. This week’s Monday morning update is coming out on Wednesday, not Thursday. Progress! The garden along the front path is bursting right now. It’s an incredible change from this time last year, when I had just finished installing the brick path and had ...

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14 Mar
2012
Let's admit it. Tomatillos are just fun to grow. They have a nice mounding and spreading habit, and grow rapidly. Their exuberance is admirable and welcome — no coddling needed for these nightshades. Simply plant them, water them a bit, and then enjoy an abundant harvest of green or purple fruits. Not sure what to do with them? Grab any Mexican cookbook for inspiration. Salsa verde is just the beginning...

6 vegetables that are super easy to hide from the HOA

Maybe your HOA bans vegetable gardens. Maybe your city or town has written some obscure legal code that literally outlaws veggies. Or, maybe you just want to grow vegetables that are also beautiful. Whatever your reasons, this blog post is for you. Here are six varieties that I grew last ...

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5 Jan
2012
A collection of organic, heirloom and non-GMO seeds for the 2012 garden.

Another year in the garden

There’s flurries blowing around the street and salt staining the sidewalk. It’s the coldest day of the winter, and the sky has that steel-gray snow-is-coming look to it. There’s no doubt: winter has finally arrived in my little Virginia town. Winter. And, yet, here I sit — bundled in sweaters ...

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20 Sep
2011
There's not a right angle to be found in the Outlaw Garden, which curves and meaders through the front yard.

Lessons from a first-year front yard vegetable garden

There’s a chilly rain falling on the front yard vegetable garden today. It’s mid-September, and the garden has definitely transitioned from summer to fall. I’ll be honest: the garden has looked better. There’s a lot of cleanup to do out there. The squash plants have finally collapsed, the tomatoes need ...

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