Ants-in-the-Pants Not a Fun Game

Yesterday while removing spring/summer blooming plants in a raised bed, I found a little more than dying plants. Recent rains encouraged fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) to look for higher ground. Raised bed = water-free home. Think of a beach house on stilts. Part of the mound fell from the root ball of a plant onto the leg…

YOU CAN GROW THAT: squash isn’t just a child’s game!

When you follow the rules in gardening, it works.  When you don't, it doesn't. But the rules we must follow are not OURS.  They are nature's rules.  That's why gardening seems difficult.  We Americans tend to be proud of our rule-breaking ways! Actually, rules make things much easier and as Andy Rooney loved to ask,…

Another gardening blog?

Growing up with a gardening parent, I recognize my good fortune.  My childhood was spent soaking in Dad's knowledge of the natural world, although at the time I looked at it as "work."  Thankfully, by the time I started my own family, that changed.  The hours spent doing gardening chores as a kid paid out…