Author: dalemariehoagland
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Harvest
Winter solstice tomorrow. It’s been a bountiful year and different from the last. Some things I’ll do again, others probably not (I’m looking at you mouse melons – cute, but they were a trap for mites and not even that tasty). Still getting a few greens and parsely, especially out of the greenhouse, which is…
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Antifreeze
It’s amazing to me how some plants are just unbothered in cold temperatures. We’ve had many nights in the 20s recently, and some in the low ‘teens, but these hardy things have managed to keep green leaves and even flower. In spite of a slowed metabolism, there must be powerful compounds keeping the cells from…
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Hydrophobia
The numbers are in, and New York City officially just saw it’s driest October in 150 years. We are on drought watch, when plants should be conserving energy and peacefully going to sleep, they might just faint without changing color. If you have tried to water a garden here recently, you probably saw water pooling…
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Stratification Nation
Everyone is talking about Brat – But I want to talk about Strat! In which the theme is also *green*.Seed stratification is when you keep seeds in the refrigerator for a cold damp period in order to help them germinate, mimicking what would happen in winter. Some species need this, it’s an adaptation to ensure…
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Vegetable Errors
My Roma tomatoes all have blossom end rot. How could they do this to me!!! I’m reading that it’s calcium deficiency and/or inconsistent watering, probably the latter – there’s no hose bib in my backyard, so I have been bucket watering from the kitchen sink, but it was…ambitious to think I would make time to…
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Salad
The greens I started from seed in January are finally full grown! It’s time to keep harvesting from the outer leaves of each plant so they keep producing. I pick a few leaves every morning, it’s the best salad of my life – I’m grazin. It’s been a long wait for them, but I’m pretty…
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Grasses in Snow
Bluestem grass is one of my favorites for winter interest, with it’s coppery color and graceful form. It takes a few years to establish, and lots of sun – I’ve noticed they tend to flop over when first transplanted, especially in windy or only part-sun areas. Aster, sedum, hakonechloa and goldenrod also looking sparkly these…
Dale Hoagland Gardens 