Square Foot Gardening and Getting a Grip on What You Really Need

Want to grow more food in less space with less effort? The "All New Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew has the approach you might be looking for. With gas headed skyward, putting away the tiller and growing what you need makes a lot of sense. 100% of the harvest at 50% of the costs, 20% of the space, 10% of the water, 5% of the seeds, and 2% of the work - that makes it a no-brainer.

Themes and Resolutions

Did you make any gardening New Year's resolutions this year? Do you have a strategy when it comes to keeping up with your garden? Last year, I used goal-setting and time-management techniques to try to get an upper hand on the weeds. My mission was to "Establish Boundaries" over which no weed should dare cross! Lesson learned: weeds do not respect my boundaries. Many things - particularly the garden - are beyond my control. This year, I'm working more from an attitude of cooperation rather than conflict. We'll see whether Mother Nature agrees.

Thanksgiving – today and every day

A happy Thanksgiving to one and all, and a few thoughts about abundance, gratitude, supporting family farms, and thinking about what is important in life. Thank you everyone for all your support, and may you have a wonderful and safe holiday! Remember to buy local!

St. James Infirmary (Ode-to-Garlic) Blues

A sad farewell to my garlic crop, which did not do well this year. And a thank you to all the frogs that spontaneously joined me in my song.

When All Else Fails, Buy Plants

A little retail therapy helped offset the dreary weather and having to face a very poor garlic crop. Sad day. Looking for some bright spots amidst a lot of bulbs that rotted in the ground. Looking for reasons why. Even after over 30 years of growing this stuff, gardening is always such a learning process, huh.

Garlic Reconnects Old Friends and Makes New Ones

Progress reports from Pennsylvania and the Mojave Desert: Barbolian garlic is thriving across the country! Plus a little philosophical wandering into how the Internet, gardens, and garlic can reconnect old friends and make new ones!

Blue Moon Garden Review

A cold winter's night beneath a blue moon: December 31 and it's that time of year again: time to evaluate what worked and what didn't in the garden. Once you complete this year-end ritual, you can dive into all those seed catalogs. But don't skip this pre-garden planning step: a realistic evaluation now might prevent you from making crazy impulsive purchases based on glossy photos, mouth-watering descriptions, and a human tendency to forget the bad and remember the good. Or not.