Tag Archives: compost

Spring Fever or (Im)patience is a Virtue

Posted on May 8, 2019 by Benjamin

“Visions of ripening tomatoes burrow into my brain…” Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized | Tagged black krim, Blackberry Winter, compost, compost tea, DIY, food, garden, gardening, grow your own, growing tomatoes, heirloom tomato, heirloom tomatoes, home, homegrown tomatoes, Kentucky, Kentucky urban farming, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, photography, spring, Suburban garden, suburban gardening, tomato, tomatoes, weather | 20 Comments

As Summer Slips Away

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Benjamin

Summer loosens her grip on us reluctantly in our part of Kentucky, snug on the southern shores of the Ohio River Valley. The heat and humidity claw at us through the month of August and well into September. Occasionally, though, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, bees, beneficial insect, bugs, compost, cucumber, daisy, Eleanor Perenyi, Ernest Dowson, fall, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, garden, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, lemon cucumber, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, photography, propagate, straw bale gardening, summer, sunflower, sustainability, tomato, tomatoes, vegetable, vegetable garden, zinnia | 28 Comments

September’s Warm Embrace

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Benjamin

By all these lovely tokens September days are here, With summer’s best of weather And autumn’s best of cheer. ~Helen Hunt Jackson If April is the cruelest month, as T.S.Eliot suggested, September may be the kindest. And September in Kentucky … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged autumn, backyard, bees, birding, birdwatching, Brussels sprouts, Cincinnati, compost, coneflower, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom tomato, Helen Hunt Jackson, Kentucky, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, perennial, photography, September, Suburban garden, suburbia, summer, T.S.Eliot, tomato, vegetable, vegetable garden, Winter, Winter Landscape | 29 Comments

“Not yet,” Spring whispered. “Not just yet. But soon.”

Posted on March 24, 2015 by Benjamin

A string of warm, bright days coaxed the jonquils and hyacinths and early tulips from their earthy slumber. Happily, these sturdy plants are built for early spring because, as luck would have it, the warm weather was quickly followed by … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged backyard, cold, compost, daffodil, farming, flower, flower garden, flowers, garden, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, heirloom tomato, hyacinth, jonquil, Kentucky, landscape, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, propagate, spring, sugar snap peas, tomato, vegetable, vegetable garden, Winter | 23 Comments

Break Out the Mittens, Here Comes Winter!

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Benjamin

The weather map shows ominous arrows sweeping down from the frozen tundra of the North and pointing straight at our little slice of the Ohio River Valley later this week. This is when we realize (and usually quickly forget) that, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, backyard, books, compost, farming, flannel, flower garden, flower gardening, garden, gardening, gardening tips, Kentucky, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, polar vortex, reading, weather, Winter | 39 Comments

Wrap Yourself in Daisies

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Benjamin

“Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit…” ~e.e.cummings. Ms. Professor and I grew our first patch of these confident little daisies (actually Chrysanthemum carinatum) this year. They’ll definitely be … Continue reading →

Posted in Flower Gardening, Gardening, Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, backyard, Chrysanthemum, Chrysanthemum carinatum, compost, confidence, curiousity, daisies, daisy, e.e.cummings, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, gardening tips, Kentucky, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, Painted Daisy, procrastination, propagate, Winter | 42 Comments

Cosmos: A Gardentime Odyssey

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Benjamin

“Let’s go wait out in the fields of the ones we love…” ~The National As the flowers wind down for the year, petals shriveling, stems and leaves hunched against the chilly October mornings, the Cosmos is still radiant, shooting up … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged autumn, backyard, bees, birding, butterflies, butterfly, compost, cosmos, daisy, fall, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, garden, gardening, gardening tips, harmony, heirloom, Kentucky, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, Seashell, The National | 36 Comments

Gardening Home Away From Home

Posted on September 11, 2014 by Benjamin

Whenever we go on holiday, we like to scout out the cool garden shops in the places we’re visiting. Sometimes it takes a little bargaining with the kids. “We’ll give you 4 hours at the waterpark for an hour of … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, birding, birdwatching, compost, daisy, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, garden, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, nursery, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, peony, propagate, rose, summer, vegetable, vegetable garden | 23 Comments

End of Month View-August 2014

Posted on September 2, 2014 by Benjamin

August ended the way it usually does for us in this part of the Ohio River Valley–Hot, humid, a thunderstorm or two. The days are noticeably shorter now, and the plants have noticed. A burst of productivity in the vegetable … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged backyard, black krim, bugs, cleome, Cleome hassleriana, compost, coneflower, daisies, daisy, farming, flower, flower garden, flower gardening, flowers, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, landscape, Ohio, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, pepper, propagate, romanian pepper, rudbeckia, summer, tomato, vegetable, vegetable garden | 43 Comments

August and Everything After

Posted on August 25, 2014 by Benjamin

August surprised us this year in our part of the Ohio River Valley. Mild temperatures in the 70’s and 80’s (F) are unusual during what we usually refer to as the “dog days of summer.” Felt much like late September. … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged backyard, bugs, climate, compost, farming, flower garden, flower gardening, garden, gardening, gardening tips, heirloom, heirloom tomato, Kentucky, Ohio River Valley, organic gardening, peonies, peony, snakes, summer, tomato, vegetable, vegetable garden, weather | 38 Comments