MORE PRUNING?
Here on the farmden, the main spring flowering show is past. With various pruners in hand, I plan for an showy encore, next year. Join me in pruning various shrubs, the why and the how much, in this latest blog post:
Lee Reich, PhD worked in agricultural research for Cornell University and the U. S. Department of Agriculture before moving on to writing and consulting. He grows a wide variety of fruits and vegetables on his farmden (more than a garden, less than a farm), including many uncommon fruits such as pawpaw, hardy kiwifruit, shipova, and medlar.
Here on the farmden, the main spring flowering show is past. With various pruners in hand, I plan for an showy encore, next year. Join me in pruning various shrubs, the why and the how much, in this latest blog post:
Like most brief affairs, this one ended without rancor. A friend had introduced me to garlic mustard, our meeting coming at a time when I could look fondly upon any wild edible plant. What went wrong, oh so wrong? I bare my feelings about all this in my latest blog post.
I feed my soil and plants organically. Organic feeding is functionally different from feeding synthetic (chemical) fertilizers, and the differences must be taken into account when using them. I cover timing and ways of using organic fertilizers in my latest blog post:
In my latest blog post I write about my success with overwintering figs outdoors here in cold hardiness zone 5. This method will work in even colder climates. Last winter, temperatures got down to -18° F here on the farmden. Here’s the link/address to the post:
Do I hear my fruit trees asking something of me? Yes, pruning. I describe how to deal with these pruning-needy trees in my latest blog post:
Growing trees from seeds is a long-term project, which makes it all the more satisfying. Just getting them to sprout is exciting, and then you get a special affection for them as they grow. I write about tricks to getting tree seeds to sprout and other suggestions for this also fun and useful activity in my latest blog post:
Wilting or browning leaves on your rhododendrons? Are they dead from some infection? Should those stems with browned leaves be lopped to the ground? Wait! Before you do anything, read the backstory to all this, with advice on where and when to yield your pruners, all in my latest blog post.
With so many pots to water, I could be tethered to my home like a dairy farmer to his cows. But I’m not, thanks to capillary watering. In my latest blog post, I write what it is, how to buy it or make it, and how best to use it.
I love to plant trees, and I’ve planted plenty. Some are now 60 feet tall. If you plant correctly, its really not very difficult to get a tree into the ground properly, especially if you ignore a few myths of traditional tree planting:
Soaps have been around gardening for hundreds of years, can take care of insect, weed, or disease problems, and they’re pretty much nontoxic. But the kind of soap must suit its intended use. Read about all this in my latest blog post.