Entries by Lee Reich

ALL-AMERICAN THANKSGIVING

Danger of Squashing Thanksgiving is a most appropriate time to put together a truly American meal, one made up of native plants, many of which are easily grown, that might have shown up on the original Thanksgiving table about 400 years ago. (The date of that first feast was 1623 but the date for celebrating […]

UBER ORGANIC & A BEAUTIFUL BLOSSOM

‘Tis the Season     ’Tis the season to really put the “organic” in organic gardening. “Organic,” as in organic materials, natural compounds composed mostly of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. “Organic,” as in materials that are or were once living, things like compost, leaves, manure, and hay.     I’ve spread compost over almost all my vegetable […]

THE GOOD AND THE BAD OF A DRY AUTUMN

Just Like Korea?     The bone dry weather blanketing the Hudson Valley and much of northeastern U.S. does have its saving graces. For one thing, it forces perennial plants to shut down and direct their energies to toughening up for cold weather lurking over the horizon. That’s a good thing — unless, of course, the […]

DUCKS AND TOMATOES

My Discerning Ducks     Every morning when I throw open the door to my Duckingham Palace (a name coined by vegetable farmer Elliot Coleman, for his duck house), my four ducks step out, lower their heads as if to reduce air resistance, and race to the persimmon tree. They trace a large circle around the […]

THE WEATHER, AND BLACKCAPS

Dry Soil     Digging a hole to bury an animal last week gave me new respect for the plant world. Each shovelful brought up dusty, light brown soil, even to a depth of more than two feet. That’s expected, since it hasn’t rained more than 1/4 of an inch here for the past five weeks. […]

GOOD FOR CROPS, GOOD FOR THE EARTH

How to be a Good Gardener/Farmer, Simplified     “The poor farmer grows weeds, the mediorcre farmer grows crops, the good farmer grows soil.” How true, when I think of the good farmers and gardeners I’ve visited over the years. I aspire to be a good farmdener and spend a lot of time trying to grow […]

FRUIT HARVEST, WHEN?

Easy to Grow, Hard to Harvest     Of all commonly grown tree fruits, pears are the easiest, mostly because they succumb to fewer pest and weather problems than do other common tree fruits. Of all commonly grown tree fruits, pears are the most difficult to harvest.     Timing is what makes pears so difficult to […]