I'm growing Abenaki Flint corn, in hopes of getting a few ears to make cornbread with. The birds seemed to really like the seed, so I only had about 60% germination, but this little guy survived the culling: How neat is that? I love little surprises like this while gardening! I don't grow a lot of … Continue reading Albino corn? →

This weekend is planting weekend! Tomatoes, peppers, winter squash, eggplant... and lots more. Among the bazillion plants I've got out there so far, I thought I'd take a moment and focus on one crop in particular: peppers. Most people are familiar with all the crazy varieties of tomatoes out there. Well, there are a lot of unique peppers … Continue reading All the Peppers →

For my first try at grafting apple trees, I'd say I didn't do too shabby. Here's the survival rate: Dabinett: 1/3 Bramtot: 3/3 Kingston Black: 1/3 Yarlington Mill: 2/3 Redfield: 0/3 Golden Russet: 3/3 Keepsake: 2/3 Honeycrisp: 0/3 Esopus Spitzenburg: 2/3 William's Pride: 3/3 And our "Beane Hill Pear": 4/5 That makes 21 successful grafts … Continue reading An Apple Update →

Today is roughly 8 weeks before our last frost date, which means the seeding crush is about to begin! Several kinds of vegetables and flowers need 6-8 weeks to mature into healthy seedlings; you simply wouldn't have time to get a big harvest from them otherwise. Or in the case of some melons and winter … Continue reading The countdown begins: 8 weeks! →

The maple sap is still flowing, the rootstocks and scionwood are coming soon, and some of the early seeds are being sown. While I started some onions  a few weeks ago -- Walla Walla sweet onions -- I added parsley, statice (a flower, great for drying in fall) and a few red cabbages under the grow lights … Continue reading Seed Starting →

This spring is the first time I'll be trying my hand at grafting apple trees. I tried to graft 5 pear trees last year (spring 2015), failed, and learned from it. Mistakes included improper healing of the graft, poor sealant of the wounds, and the biggest culprit - using ancient wood from a very old … Continue reading Grafting plans →

The past few months I've been getting the tubing lines run with help from my dad. We've got just shy of 70 taps planned in the woodlot, plus a few field trees by the house we'll have on buckets. We have everything on 3/16th inch tubing (5/16th is standard) in hopes of achieving a natural vacuum. The … Continue reading Maple lines →

After an unusually warm fall, January is looking to turn things around. But here I am, excited at thoughts of spring already, and all that needs to get done in the garden... like fencing. We have the locust poles in, but it needs mulch, and landscape fabric, and and a gate, and well, fencing. It's hard … Continue reading It’s finally winter →