Garden Wisdom Blog — how-to-grow

“Green manure” is the name given to cover crops that are planted for the purpose of adding nutrients and organic matter to the soil. These plants can be as effective as animal manure in producing humus, thereby increasing soil fertility and structure. Green manure cover crops are inexpensive to plant, and serve multiple purposes. Best of all, they can be put to work during times of the year when growing food crops is not feasible. A central concept of organic gardening is the notion of feeding the soil. We literally add organic matter to the soil to provide food for...

What is manure? Broadly speaking, manure is organic matter. Animal manure is the feces of animals—primarily of livestock like horses, cows, and chickens. It may be “pure,” but it often includes bedding or litter materials like straw or sawdust, in which case it will also contain animal urine. Facts about manure. Depending on the source, manure is very high in organic matter as well as nutrients essential to plant growth. As animals digest the plants and other food they eat, they are broken down by anaerobic bacterial action in their stomachs. Manure is, in some ways, like compost that has...

Why grow strawberries at all, when there are so many plump, juicy ones available in the grocery store? For me, that’s like asking, “Why grow tomatoes from seed when the stores have lots, even in winter?” Anyone who has enjoyed a home grown tomato will understand the inescapable truth about harvesting the fruits when they are truly ripe, and at the peak of their flavour potential. They do not compare to the relatively bland and watery tomatoes available in most grocery stores that are the product of a mass production greenhouse system. The luxury of harvesting truly ripe fruits for...

It’s early July, and squash plants of all types are beginning to bloom on farms, in gardens, and even in balcony containers. Every year at this time we start hearing from would-be squash growers with a mysterious complaint: The plants appear healthy, the leaves are bright green, plenty of flowers are opening, but the fruits seem to wither from the blossom end. Instead of producing nice, plump fruits, they turn from green to pale yellow. Some just fall off the plants. This is the result of incomplete squash pollination. Let’s look at how squash pollination works. Male squash blossoms, borne...

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) This evergreen perennial herb is native to the Mediterranean region, where it still grows wild as well as domesticated. Its Latin generic name refers to the dew (ros) of the sea (marinus). For thousands of years, this attractive, intensely aromatic plant has captivated our senses as well as our folklore. The references about rosemary in both history and legend are abundant. In ancient Greece, the herb was burnt to cleanse the air and to ward off evil spirits. This tradition lasted well into the middle ages, when it was burnt in areas affected by plague. It was...