Category: Interacting with nature

season update – what grew, is growing, and still to come

This morning the sun ducked behind clouds and instead of retreating before the heat I took some pics of growing activity. At the top of the hill stands a solitary thistle. Thistle, a symbol of Scotland, brings back memories of vacations in the Highlands. And the pipes of the Black Watch swirling through our living room when my Dad, who fought in a Scottish regiment in WW2, would play our favorite record.  Not that it is universally admired - here is a quote from Botanical.com: In agriculture Read more [...]

young life abounds

In the past week I have seen many instances of young life.  I became aware that this was the season from a local news report about a 5 year old kid bitten by a young copperhead - he survived, the snake did not.  The ranger said that young venomous snakes are the most dangerous because they have not yet learned to get out of the way. The next day my companion, Trudy, barked furiously as I worked my 3 sister row (corn, bean & squash) and there was a blur of something large moving ungainly Read more [...]

leveling my fig tree and preparing the tree nursery

The property came with a big fig tree about 15 ft high and 15 ft broad which bore delicious figs each year for the wasps and me.  Then came the cold January weather when the temperature fell close to 0 deg F, which is cold for this area and unaccustomedly cold for fig trees which had not seen less than 10 deg F in the past 30 years.  Most of the fig tree died and, as they will do, it has produced growth at the foot of the tree.  My neighbor came by and nicked the tree in various places and suggested Read more [...]

late freeze, black locust, a broody hen, frass and swarm lure

The average date for last spring freeze where I grow  should be after March 30 and before April 10 based on a map provided by the National Weather Service.  On April 16 the temperature in our area fell to 30 deg F and caused some damage.  The potato plants suffered - the volunteers on the ground surface were almost wiped out - While the potatoes I had planted in a trench had less extensive damage - I was concerned about my apple trees some of which are in blossom but they seem fine Read more [...]

at last some growing activity

The occasional cold temperatures in March dissuaded the plants from growing.  This was evident from an experiment with peas.  I moistened the peas and those which appeared to be growing the fastest I planted outdoors and  the remainder I planted in a soil container in the greenhouse.  Until a week ago very few of the peas planted outdoors had broken surface.  Those in the greenhouse grew steadily.  Today I transplanted the greenhouse peas. Of course the daffodils are out and my comfrey Read more [...]

starting the tomatoes

The annual ritual commences - germinating tomato seeds for the summer.  I have a number of varieties stored in their original paper packets in a ziplock bag (but not zipped) in the basement.  And each year I select 4 of each variety for growing.  I moisten commercial seed starter mix and with my mould produce a 20 block rectangle of  0.75" individual soil blocks. Into each block I insert a single tomato seed on the tip of a moistened pencil.  The seedling tray sits on a heating pad below Read more [...]

why I feel better about the appearance of my organic veggies

I recently attended an open house event at a  local organic farm trending to permaculture.  I wandered the fields with the manager and we discussed many topics.  It was only later when I was by myself and walking his rows that I noticed how perfect his vegetables looked.  No weeds - well I could manage that too if I was doing an open house, but not a single insect chewed leaf!   By that time the manager was busy with other visitors and not accessible. I thought long on what I had seen.  Read more [...]

as the season winds down

It has been some time since my last post.  Coursera, the online education system, has absorbed a lot of my time.  I can spend 10 to 15 hours a week just on the calculus course with The Ohio State University. Plus I am enjoying Animal Behavior with the University of Melbourne, Australia, and What a Plant Knows with Tel Aviv University.  And for an unconventional outlook there is A Brief History of Humankind from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  Plus I am busy with Fall tasks. This summer Read more [...]

erupting fungi

Rain continues to drench our region and, unsurprisingly fungi are erupting in the woods.  Domes up to 1 ft diameter shoulder aside pine needles and mulch.  The underside where new life is stored and released is mysterious and almost cavernous when you get close enough and small enough. There is no shortage of feasters - here is a slug at work And no shortage of color, sizes and shapes   Some seem a bit drab   And some are half eaten   And Read more [...]

mullein is an unusual plant

The Permies permaculture website recommended mullein.  So last year I bought seeds of 3 varieties and grew them.  In their first year they are low lying with large very soft leaves.  The leaves can be used for various purposes and apparently the plant has some medicinal uses.  But they appeared to contribute little to my vegetable garden.  Unlike comfrey (one of my favorites which sends its roots deep to mine nutrients) the mullein roots run horizontal and suck the nutrients out of the adjoining Read more [...]