The threat of frost is past, which means it’s time for planting out tomatoes, peppers, and all manner of warm-weather crops here in Virginia. While planting out is certainly not rocket science, and plants can recover from much rough treatment, there are some ways to ease the transition for them, keeping them happier and healthier and ultimately leading…
Tag: transplanting
Planting Tomatoes
April 15 is a red-letter day here in Zone 7. It’s our last expected frost date. And especially in a warm year like this one, it means all the frost-tender crops like tomatoes and peppers can safely go outside! Actually, since the weather was already so warm (today we’re supposed to hit 90 degrees…good grief),…
Asparagus, Part 5: They’re In!
Eight weeks ago, I started 30 Mary Washington asparagus seeds between two damp paper towels. Potted up, 12 of those became healthy little ferns, and now they’re continuously sending out new shoots, each one a little bigger in diameter than the last. (We might finally be up to a hair’s breadth!) Since the apple trees…
Edible, Flowering Mulch
One of the principles of permaculture is that everything should serve more than one purpose, and every purpose should be served by more than one thing. This complexity makes an ecosystem flexible and resilient, leading to long-term stability. Creating a garden that emulates nature in this way is one of my long-term goals. But permaculture…
Rhubarb from Seed
A couple years ago, I spent the summer on a farm in Brittany, France, doing some gardening, raising some chickens, and picking baskets and baskets’ worth of fresh fruit from the trees and bushes tucked around the property. There was a wild-looking, unstaked raspberry patch about 4′ by 6′ that yielded bowl upon bowl of…
Planting the Cold Frame
I was very proud of myself this winter when I finally got a decent cold frame built—and from all repurposed materials, which didn’t cost me a penny. I was even prouder when last week I took the temperature of the soil (with a meat thermometer!) and discovered it was five degrees warmer than in the…
gettin' fresh! 