Welcome back to our “Year in the Organic Garden Series!” In May, we got our warm season garden in the ground with organic starts and non-GMO seeds. If you missed the post, or want to refresh your memory, please take a look at May in the Organic Garden. In June, with any luck at all, our tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, squash, and pollinator-attracting Summer flowers are coming along nicely! This month’s post will focus on techniques to help your crops along towards a robust harvest and … [Read more...] about A Year in the Organic Garden – June
A Year in the Organic Garden – May
Welcome back to our “Year in the Organic Garden Series!” In April, our cool season garden hit its stride, we covered the basics on fertilization and started our warm season seedlings indoors. If you missed the post, or want to refresh your memory, please take a look at April in the Organic Garden. May is a month of transition. Our cool season crops will soon be slowing down &/or going to seed as the weather warms. When they’re done, simply pull them and add them to the compost … [Read more...] about A Year in the Organic Garden – May
A Guide to Healthy, Organically-Grown Tomatoes 2023
This article was originally published in 2017, it has been updated with new information and product links. As always, please leave us your comments below! -Pam Scott- I love tomatoes! Canning them, freezing them, drying them, pickling them, roasting them and saucing them is my idea of fun. Tomatoes, basil and mozzarella define the taste of summer for me. Growing up in cool, dry, New England, I spent most every August canning tomatoes with my mother. You can imagine my despair when … [Read more...] about A Guide to Healthy, Organically-Grown Tomatoes 2023
A Year in the Organic Garden – April
Welcome back to our “Year in the Organic Garden Series!” In March, we put the first wave of our cool season crops in the ground by directly sowing seeds and transplanting the previous month’s starts. If you missed the post, or want to refresh your memory, please take a look at March in the Organic Garden. In April, the pace quickens and we can usually count on stretches of warm weather and reasonably consistent rains. We also tend to have frost in the first half of the month. Savvy … [Read more...] about A Year in the Organic Garden – April
Talking Pawpaws with Sleepy Gap Pawpaws
Today’s post is a conversation with Andra of Sleepy Gap Pawpaws which supplies Pawpaw Seedlings to Fifth Season Gardening Co. We thought you’d enjoy learning more about this native fruit tree and hearing her story. Enjoy! Please introduce yourself to our readers! Hi, my name is Andra and I am the founder of Sleepy Gap Pawpaws near Asheville, NC. Sleepy Gap Pawpaws is a small-scale nursery and we also have an orchard with 130 trees growing for future harvests. In my other job I am a … [Read more...] about Talking Pawpaws with Sleepy Gap Pawpaws
A Year in the Organic Garden – March
Welcome back to our “Year in the Organic Garden Series!” In February, we focused on techniques for successful seed starting. If you missed the post, or want to refresh your memory, please take a look at February in the Organic Garden. Now that we’re caught up, we turn our attention to the official start of the outdoor organic gardening season. March is prime for cool season crops which means we’ve got a lot of leafy greens, brassicas and root crops to sow and grow. We’ll get to that … [Read more...] about A Year in the Organic Garden – March
Celebrating a Successful First Brew!
As the new year picks up speed, it’s a prime time to get started on some of those hobbies you resolved to try on for size! Many out there may have found themselves with supplies or a brew kit from the holidays and are looking to get the ball rolling. Whatever the reason, there’s good news for everyone on the front end of the homebrew journey: brewing is a fun, rewarding hobby from the start, and isn’t as complicated as you might think! And if you’re looking to take the plunge but are still … [Read more...] about Celebrating a Successful First Brew!
A Year in the Organic Garden – February
Welcome back to our “Year in the Organic Garden Series!” In January, we focused on the purpose of this series, soil testing and garden planning. If you missed the post, or want to refresh your memory, here’s the link January in the Organic Garden.. Now that we’re caught up, we turn our attention to indoor seed starting as the primary activity for February. Starting your organic garden from seed does take some time and attention, but it is also cost effective and rewarding. Even great … [Read more...] about A Year in the Organic Garden – February
Building a Raised Bed (2023)
Whether you live in the city or out in the country, the best way to have complete control over your garden is by building a raised bed. I say this because everyone’s soil is going to be different. It could be very sandy, loamy, high or low in nitrogen, or even solid red clay like mine is. The best way to overcome challenges presented by your soil is by building a garden bed on top of your existing soil. The first step is determining the size bed you would like to build. I built my raised beds … [Read more...] about Building a Raised Bed (2023)
January: A Year in the Organic Garden
Welcome to a new year and a new blog series for our readers! By far, the most frequent questions we receive are about proper techniques for successful organic gardening for both edibles and flowers. We thought it would be fun and useful to pull together a series that follows the season and serves as a resource to answer those very questions. Our plan is simple. Early each month we will post an article to share our advice on what a successful organic gardener should be focused on in the … [Read more...] about January: A Year in the Organic Garden