(Via washingtonpost.com - A Cook's Garden by Barbara Damrosch)

Posted by admin to Apple, California, Crunch, Its, Kearneysville, Local, Lovers,, Maine, Maryland, Poland, Steve Miller, Tennessee, Time, U.S. Department of Agriculture, United Kingdom, Virginia, Washington, DC, West Virginia, for on 2007-11-21, 21:00:00

It was a good apple year in England, California and especially Maine, where a sunny spring favored bee activity. Poland's yield, on the other hand, was down because of cold spring weather. An Easter freeze also marred the harvest in much of the U.S. Southeast, especially Tennessee, where the crop was pitiful.

(Via washingtonpost.com - A Cook's Garden by Barbara Damrosch)

Posted by admin to Apple, California, Crunch, Its, Kearneysville, Local, Lovers,, Maine, Maryland, Poland, Steve Miller, Tennessee, Time, U.S. Department of Agriculture, United Kingdom, Virginia, Washington, DC, West Virginia, for on 2007-11-21, 21:00:00

It was a good apple year in England, California and especially Maine, where a sunny spring favored bee activity. Poland's yield, on the other hand, was down because of cold spring weather. An Easter freeze also marred the harvest in much of the U.S. Southeast, especially Tennessee, where the crop was pitiful.

(Via washingtonpost.com - A Cook's Garden by Barbara Damrosch)

Posted by admin to A, Activity, Berry, Good, Kids, for on 2007-10-24, 20:00:00

An emerging tribe of hunter-gatherers colonized our farm this week. Look out the window and you'll see them creeping down the rows of crops, nibbling as they go, or reaching into low tree branches for apples. They are the grandchildren, and they know, with a primitive wisdom, how food should best be eaten. Send a grown-up out to pick raspberries for supper and he'll come back promptly with a quart. Send a young child forth with an empty yogurt container hanging from her neck by a string and she'll come back with a berry mustache, the container as empty as before.

(Via washingtonpost.com - A Cook's Garden by Barbara Damrosch)

Posted by admin to A, Broccoli, Charlotte, Girl, Hoping, Named, North America, United States, for on 2007-10-10, 20:00:00

A friend just gave birth to a baby named Violet, much to the delight of all. A floral name conveys instant charm on a little girl, which is why the world is full of Heathers, Lilies and Roses. We have all encountered Daphnes, Jasmines, Irises, Daisies and Laurels. There are even Primroses, Poppies and Posies. But you're unlikely to meet a little Cauliflower, Parsnip or Potato.

(Via washingtonpost.com - A Cook's Garden by Barbara Damrosch)

Posted by admin to An, Element, Italy, Salad, Surprise, United States, Your, for, of on 2007-09-26, 20:00:00

My delight in growing odd edibles has led me down some strange roads, at times wild and exotic, at other times so homely I feel almost foolish to have trod them. This year's experiment with a leafy green named sculpit (also called scuplit or sclopit) was a case of the latter.

(Via washingtonpost.com - A Cook's Garden by Barbara Damrosch)

Posted by admin to A, Adds, Blues, Borage, Colorful, Cure, Indoors, Out,, The, for, or on 2007-05-30, 20:00:00

One of spring's little sensory thrills is working the herb garden and discovering plants that have self-sown the year before. As you clear away weeds, debris and dead leaves, the seedlings of cilantro, dill and chamomile announce themselves to the nose even before they catch the eye. Borage arrives with much less charm: Its greeting is a prickling sensation on your winter-softened hands. All parts of the plant are covered with fine white hairs, just sharp enough to irritate, that may even produce a slight rash on skin that is especially sensitive.

(Via washingtonpost.com - A Cook's Garden by Barbara Damrosch)

Posted by admin to Is, Payoff, Spears, The, Years, for on 2007-05-16, 20:00:00

Nothing is forever, even a good bed of asparagus. But as garden investments go, this one pays off richly for decades to come. Establishing a productive bed takes some work, and some patience as well, because the first real harvest won't come for several years after planting. But after that, those little spears will poke up dependably every spring as long as the planting is well maintained. That's the tricky part. Long after spring asparagus with hollandaise has given way to summer tomatoes with vinaigrette, this crop still needs your attention.

(Via washingtonpost.com - A Cook's Garden by Barbara Damrosch)

Posted by admin to A, Carve, Cold-Sensitive, Cozy, Niche, Out,, for, plants on 2007-05-02, 20:00:00

After an April marked by high drama (airports paralyzed by storms, peaches frozen on the trees), spring planting requires an extra shot of courage. Even if you've hardened off cold-sensitive transplants such as tomatoes and cucumbers by setting flats outside on sunny days, it's an act of faith to finally put them in the ground. Has the weather "settled," as it must for tender crops? Will it ever?

(Via washingtonpost.com - A Cook's Garden by Barbara Damrosch)

Posted by admin to A, Blanket, Security, for, plants on 2006-11-15, 21:00:00

Meet the Kleenex of the horticultural world. It's called Reemay. Developed by DuPont in the 1960s, Reemay is a white spunbonded polyester fabric that is spread over plants as protection against cold and pests. Intentionally nonabsorbent (it's also used as the top, or "acquisition," layer in disposable diapers), it is porous and extremely lightweight. As with Kleenex -- or Saran Wrap or Band-Aids -- Reemay succeeded so well as a pioneer product that its name became generic. There are now other brands, such as Agronet and Agribon, but most gardeners call all of them Reemay.