Deep container for long tapped rooted persimmon tree

TREES & SHRUBS FOR ALL

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So you’re going to plant some trees and shrubs. Fall is an excellent time. In addition to the kind of tree or shrub, what kind of nursery plant do you want — b & b, bare root, container grown? And, bigger plants are more expensive, but are they better? I write about all this in this week’s blog post:
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Yellowjacket

A GARDEN PEST OF HUMANS

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Yellowjackets are often in a garden, and they are pest. So are they garden pests? Yes, to you and me. But they also attack plant pests. What to do, to keep them at bay? What to do, once they’ve attacked? For more about yellowjackets, see:
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Eating a fig

FIG SEASON

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[Even in cold winter climates, such as here on the farmden, figlets line the stems of our fig trees. Baby figs near the tops of the stems, fatter ones and riper ones lower down. The ripe figs are sweetly delectable — but only if picked dead ripe. In my latest blog post, I explore fig ripening as well as ways to hasten ripening, and what to do with the ripe fruit. Read about all this here:[Even in cold winter climates, such as here on the farmden, figlets line the stems of our fig trees. Baby figs near the tops of the stems, fatter ones and riper ones lower down. The ripe figs are sweetly delectable — but only if picked dead ripe. In my latest blog post, I explore fig ripening as well as ways to hasten ripening, and what to do with the ripe fruit. Read about all this here:
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Meadow with monarda

A WILD AND CULTIVATED BALM

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I long admired bee-balm and wanted it more close at hand also. But was it bee-balm I admired? No matter. Now it and a close relative grows happily in my garden and the field. Want to know more?
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Bed of lettuce and Chinese cabbage in fall

THE VERY BEST TOMATOES

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The best-tasting tomatoes are not (necessarily) home-grown tomatoes. Find out which tomatoes taste best, then go about getting them for next year and years to come. All this is detailed in my latest blog post:
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Goldenrod in meadow

EASIER MEADOW PREP

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I went against all my previous suggestions in planting — or should I say encouraging — the meadow here on the farmden. That was 25 years ago. How did I do it, how did I maintain it, and how has it fared? Read about all this at:
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Meadow with poppies

MEADOW BEGINNINGS

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Ah, to look out on a meadow. You can have this vision — but you need to plan and prep before planting, a topic I cover in my latest blog post:  
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Spreading wood chip mulch

ANTI-SOCIAL WEEDS

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Some of my worst weeds keep mostly to themselves, which — I guess — is good. But, being worst weeds, they do need to be reined in. Do your weeds socialize? Which are worst? Mine, and how I rein them in, are . . . well, it’s all in my latest blog post:
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Bed of lettuce and Chinese cabbage in fall

PLAN(T) AHEAD

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Plan(t) now and you can greatly increase the effective size of your garden — without increasing your garden’s actual size. In my latest blog post, I recount 3 commitments I make for a fall garden and then go on to describe what to sow, and when, for that whole other garden — in the same space as my present garden. Read about it here:
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