Vegetable Gardening
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Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Seeds, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
The Pleasure of Growing Semi-Leafless Peas: Guest Post by John Miller of The Old School House Plantery…
Semi-leafless Peas – Photo â“’ John Miller of the Old School House Plantery In this part of New England, peas are a traditional vegetable to serve with July 4th meals, as well as in various summertime bar-b-que and picnic salads. I am sitting here, having just picked my first pod of the year (the pea’s […]
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Bee-Friendly Gardens, Berries, Birds, Container Garden Fruits, Fragrance, Garden Maintenance, Gourmet Garden, Indoor Gardening, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Propagation, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, strawberries, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Ruby-Red, Fragrant Fraises des Bois: Life’s Sweetest Little Luxuries…
Fraises des Bois, or alpine strawberries, offer a continuous supply of summertime fruit – Photo â“’ Michaela at TGE Oh the magic of Fraises des Bois! To me, they look as if they belong at the center of a tiny table in an enchanted forest; one set just for leprechauns, fairies, nymphs and elves. Alpine […]
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Cooking, Garlic, Gourmet Garden, Herb Gardening, Kitchen, Recipes, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
It’s Time for the Great Scape: Harvesting And Enjoying Flavorful Garlic Greens…
Scapes forming on hard neck garlic in my potager… Curious looking things aren’t they, the garlic scapes? In fact, whenever I look at them, I can’t help but think of ET. You do remember ET, don’t you? The friendly little alien flying around on a bicycle, trying to phone home? Of course you do. I […]
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Cookbooks, Cooking, Garlic, Plant Spotlight, Recipes, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Quickie Dinner? Fresh from the Garden? Penne with Oven-Roasted Broccoli…
Penne with Oven-Roasted Broccoli – Photo â“’ Michaela at TGE I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that I have been stalking the broccoli in my garden for more than two weeks. The weather in New England at this time of year is prone to wild mood swings -one minute it’s hot and humid […]
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Gourmet Garden, organic gardening, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
From Verdant Shades to Violet Hues: The Potager is Beginning to Look Beautiful, Bountiful and Very, Very Veggie…
Beautiful Broccoli © 2010 Michaela at TGE… Every morning now, when I stroll through the vegetable garden on my early rounds -coffee in hand and pets in tow- I am astonished by how much the summer crops have grown in just one short month since planting. And no matter how groggy, or harried, or pressured […]
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companion planting, Garden Maintenance, Garden Science, organic gardening, Plant Propagation, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Seeds, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Weeds and Weeding
I Know They Are In There Somewhere! Companion Planting in the Vegetable Garden: Guest Post by John Miller of The Old School House Plantery…
Radishes and Carrots Together Again at the Market, (photo © Michaela TGE) “They”, in this instance, being carrots and parsnips. In my previous post I mentioned how farmers use plug sown onion transplants to overcome the problems associated with the slow germination time of onions. Onions are not the only vegetables that exhibit long germination […]
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Asian Natives, Plant Propagation, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Rare Plants, Seed Kits, Shade Gardening, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager, Woodland plants
Gourmet Gardening: Springtime Adventures in Shiitake Growing…
Shiitake and spinach fresh from my garden Oh the delicious flavor of fresh shiitake mushrooms. I enjoy most fungi, but I have a particular fondness for the earthy, rich taste and firm texture of the shiitake mushroom. Early spring crops, such as snow peas, sprouts and bok choy combine wonderfully with shiitake in healthy stir […]
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Cooking, Early Spring Garden Plants, Recipes, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Hello Heavenly Spring Harvest! Pizza with Arugula and Fresh Asparagus…
Pizza from scratch with fresh asparagus, tomatoes and goat cheese… Although it’s been nearly a decade since my last visit to Italy, I used to travel to Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast every summer. During that time, I fell in love with the simple peasant-style pizza, (no red sauce or gooey cheese), I found along […]
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organic gardening, Plant Propagation, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Seeds, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Growing Great Leeks and Onions the British Way: Guest Post by John Miller of the Old School House Plantery
Triple Planted Lincoln Leeks and Savoy Cabbage,(with Garden Fork for Scale) Triple Planted Onions It’s the middle of May in New England and winter seems to be finally releasing its grip on the climate! Late last week I was planting onions and leeks and I invited Michaela to stop by as I knew what a […]
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Early Spring Garden Plants, Plant Propagation, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Vegetable Gardening, Vegetable Gardening/Potager
Love Me Two Times Baby: Extend Springtime Crops with Repeat Sowing in Timed Intervals – One for Tomorrow, and One Just for Today…
My Second Spinach Crop… Vegetable gardening tips from Jim Morrison? Well why not? When it comes to hedonistic behavior, I am all for taking his lusty advice in the garden: love me two times baby – one for tomorrow and one just for today! Actually, why not love over, and over, and over? After all, […]
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Books, Cookbooks, Cooking, Gourmet Garden, Kitchen, Recipes, Vegetable Gardening
A Coffee Break with Kick! Lee Bailey’s Sour Cream Corn Bread with Onions, Cheddar and Optional Hot Peppers…
Lee Bailey’s Sour Cream and Cheddar Corn Bread with Onions – Photo © 2010 Michaela at TGE Oochie, Owie, Yowie. Those are my  biceps, triceps and trapezoids speaking. They have been getting quite the workout. Gardening can be physically intense, and I work up a serious appetite raking, dragging debris and edging my client’s gardens. I also […]
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Garden Science, Garlic, Gourmet Garden, organic gardening, Planting Techniques, soil science, Vegetable Gardening
Is It Time Yet? Getting a Jump-Start on the Vegetable Growing Season………. {Plus a Special Anniversary Give-Away}
Herbs and vegetables acclimating to conditions in the great outdoors before planting. A process known as “hardening off”… Well here we are in early April, and it’s finally almost-but not-quite-growing-season. What, you say, is she talking about? Why, haven’t you heard of almost-but-not-quite-growing-season? You see, this is the time of year when people start to […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Berries, Birds, Blueberries - growing tips, Cooking, flowering shrubs, Fruit for home gardens, Garden Design, Garden Science, Gourmet Garden, Ground Covers, Honeybee Friendly Gardening, Late Autumn Garden, Native Plants, Naturalistic Garden Design, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Plant Science, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, pruning, Recipes, shrubs, Shrubs for fall color, Shrubs for Winter Interest, Shrubs with Colorful Twigs/Stems, Vaccinium, Vegetable Gardening, Woody Plants
A Rhapsody in Blue: Selecting and Planting Vaccinium corymbosum, (Highbush Blueberry), Plus a Favorite Recipe for Blueberry-Lemon Bread…
A Rhapsody in Blue What would you say if I told you that I know of an amazing cold-hardy shrub, with creamy, bell-like spring flowers, glossy green leaves, brilliant fall foliage, colorful winter stems and an attractive, well-rounded form? Interested yet? It may come as a surprise that the shrub I am describing is none […]
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Books, Organic Disease Control, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, soil science, Vegetable Gardening
Organic Manifesto: Maria Rodale’s Unflinching Look at the Perilous State of Farming in America & A Call to Action…
Maria Rodale’s Organic Manifesto, (available at Barnes & Noble today) Last year, when a friend of mine insisted that I rent and watch “King Corn”, I put my name on a long waiting list, even though I am not one to get overly excited about documentaries. I’d heard about the film of course, and after […]
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Beneficial Animals and Insects, Insects/Entomology, Nature, organic gardening, Organic Insect Control, Vegetable Gardening
Hello Friend – WAIT – Whose Team Are You On Anyway?
It’s easy to recognize this friend as an adult. A ladybug rests upon Peperomia. Photo © Michaela at TGE Hello friend… or foe? In all of life it’s important to know your friends from your enemies, but as gardeners this issue is especially important. We are conditioned to think of bugs as destructive, ‘icky’ and […]
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Berries, Cooking, Recipes, Vaccinium, Vegetable Gardening
I Found My Thrill…
Blueberry Hill Hot Cakes with Syrup Some people never make a mess. Seriously. Have you noticed? Well, I don’t know about you, but those folks worry me. I mean, some of the best fun I’ve had in my life has involved mess. And I don’t mean a little mess. I mean a great, big, rip-roaring, […]
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Annual Flowers, annuals, Books, Children and Gardening, Cutting Garden, Seeds, Vegetable Gardening
Sowing the Seeds of the Future: Starting Early, In More Ways Than One…
Dharma’s Sunflower Seeds, Photograph © Tim Geiss Is it just me, or does it seem like there are babies everywhere right now? While visiting my sister last week, we stopped in at her local bakery for a quick lunch and the place was just packed with expectant mothers, infants, toddlers and little children. Everywhere I […]
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Artful Garden Objects, Birds, Black Plants, Cooking, Dark Plants, Garden Design, Gardening Inspiration, Herb Gardening, Organic Insect Control, Plant Spotlight, Purple and Maroon Foliage, Vegetable Gardening, Virginia Wyoming Pottery, Winter Garden
The Gothic Gourmet: Black Beauties and Dark Delights of the Potager…
Pasilla Bajio (the little raisin) – from White Flower Farm Imagine gleaming, glossy, black peppers, shiny as patent leather shoes. Picture dark red, tell-tale-heart tomatoes and ebony eggplant polished to a satiny patina. Now visualize amethyst hued basil, purple kohlrabi and blue-black cabbage. Intrigued? Welcome to the slightly sinister, and delightfully decadent world of gothic-gourmet […]
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Gourmet Garden, Great Growers and Nurseries, Green House Gardens, Seeds, Shade Gardening, Vegetable Gardening, Winter Garden
Lovely, Luminous Leaves: Potager Purples, Reds and Rainbow Bright Lights…
Stained Glass Lettuce Though the wind is howling and the temperature has dropped into the single digits, visions of sun-drenched gardens and glowing vegetables colored my sweet dreams last night. The first box of seed arrived from Botanical Interests this week, and more orders from around the country are on the way. Although I won’t […]
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companion planting, Cookbooks, Cooking, Gourmet Garden, organic gardening, Recipes, Root Cellar Storage, Vegetable Gardening
What’s Up Doc? Waskilly Seeds and a Recipe for Velvety Baked Carrots…
Baked Velvet Carrots Beautiful Bolero … Flat leaf Italian parsley from the windowsill herb garden… Sliced Bolero Carrots… We all know that old Elmer Fudd thinks Bugs Bunny is a terribly, waskilly wabbit. But frankly I think Elmer has it wrong. I think it’s Bugs Bunny’s carrot that’s a bit waskilly – at least as […]
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Gourmet Garden, Herb Gardening, Indoor Gardening, organic gardening, Plant hunting, Plant Spotlight, Planting Techniques, Potatoes, Recipes, Root Cellar Storage, Seeds, Storing Winter Vegetables, Vegetable Gardening
Gourmet Gardening: Seed Potatoes – Plus an Easy Recipe for Oven Roasted Fingerlings with Fresh Herbs and Parmesan Cheese…
Oven Roasted Fingerling Potatoes with Fresh Herbs and Parmesan in an oven-table baking dish by Emile Henry… Look a little tempting? I confess I just finished off my second bowl of fingerlings about an hour ago. Mmmm. Delicious. As you may remember, last week I touched on the subject of gourmet potatoes in my post […]
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