Blog grid – Lee Reich

YOU NEED A PITCHFORK IN YOUR QUIVER

March 15, 2023

Are organic fertilizers better than synthetic ones? For plants? For the environment? Are all organic fertilizers better. What’s best. Grab your pitchfork and read about it in my latest blog post.

A COLDFRAME IS WARM, UNLESS IT’S…

March 8, 2023

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Riddle: When is a coldframe not a coldframe. Answer: When it’s a hotbed. So what is a coldframe, what’s it good for, how can you make one? And what supersedes coldframes. Explore all this in my latest blog post

SLEEP, MY FIGS

March 1, 2023

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It’s possible and it’s easy to be harvesting fresh figs even where winters are cold. Of course, some accommodations must be made for this subtropical fruit. Most important is not letting the plant wake up from it’s winter sleep prematurely. For why, how, and what to do if it disobeys, read my latest blog post.

FINDING MY ROOTS

February 21, 2023

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I like to find my roots, my plants’ roots. Besides being interesting to look at, imho, they tell something about the plant and its needs. I take action — needed yearly with some plants, not so much with others — letting those in need have new roots and new food. But this only skims the surface; I “dig” deeper into this in my latest blog post:

TREES AND SHRUBS AND VINES, OH NO!

February 15, 2023

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It’s that time of year when nursery catalogues and websites splash colorful plants in my face, enticing me to purchase and plant. But what do I want; what do I have a spot for? And what about my potted grape, filbert, and other plants awaiting planting. There is at least one heavily hyped plant i will never grow. Read my latest blog post to find out what I lust for and what I’ll never grow.

TOO MANY GOOSEBERRIES

February 8, 2023

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Can one have too many gooseberries? Did you ever taste a gooseberry? A really good one? My gooseberry journey has been very long and enjoyable, to the extent that I amassed a large number of varieties. I’ve periodically pared down the collection for various reasons. And now . . . read my latest blog post for details.

A MATTER OF TASTE

February 2, 2023

7 Comments

We all have our favorites — vegetables, in this case. I’ll share mine if you share yours. And what are the main criteria for choosing these winners. Read onward . . .

REVEALED

January 25, 2023

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Only for Gray-Haired Ladies? I’m coming out. Today. Let me explain. Decades ago, when just starting getting my hands in the dirt, I — perhaps other people, perhaps it was even true — thought it was only gray-haired ladies who grew African violets. As it turns out, a number of years after I had started gardening, I was offered an African violet plant (by a gray-haired lady). Back then, before I had accumulated too many plants, I was less discriminating than I am these days. I accepted. I figured I could provide the special conditions African violets demand, according to what I read…

NEW PLANTS, UP IN THE AIR

January 18, 2023

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Asexual Propagation One of my great enjoyments in gardening is propagating plants. So many ways to do it! You can take stem cuttings or root cuttings, or you can serpentine layer, tip layer, or stool layer. And then there’s grafting, of which, as with layering and cuttage, many, many variations exist. Whole books have been written on plant propagation, even solely on grafting. My favorites for these two topics are Hartmann and Kester’s Plant Propagation: Principles and Practices and R. J. Garner’s Grafter’s Handbook. The above mentioned methods of propagation are asexual. New plants…