North Country Gardening

Pumpkin Harvest

2009-11-02T04:08:00.000-08:00

Gardening can be a lot of work. The payoff is good healthy food to eat. Gardening can be a lot of fun too, though. Especially when my grandson is helping me in the garden.

Lady Slippers

2009-10-31T04:12:00.000-07:00

I went for a walk in the rain yesterday looking for the elusive lady's slippers. I heard the seed heads can be found in the fall. I would like to try to propagate them, though I've been told it may be difficult due to unique soil needs. But first, I need to find the seed!

Chemicals!

2009-09-04T05:24:00.000-07:00

I can't stand chemicals. But like a bad habit they can be hard to quit. I used a 2-4D product yesterday to get a leg up on weeds in a lawn. Bad idea! My nose ran and head ached. How can anyone use this crap over a long period of time if I can't even tolerate a single application? I've been reading up on natural lawn care and believe I've got the idea of how this works. Takes more time up front, but no chemical expenditures or exposure problems down the road. I'm going "drug" free from now on.

Blotanist

2009-07-26T06:56:00.000-07:00

Just signed up with Blotanist. Be the first one to post a comment to my blog! I'll have some interesting stuff/pics, etc. from years of gardening experience and pure joy of gardening. I garden in the cold climate here in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where we manage to get tomatoes and corn to ripen with a few short season gardening tips and tricks. Roses for the north? You betcha! My Christian Dior red long stem roses from Gurney's are so pretty right now. How about you? What are you up to? Need some tips? I don't know everything but I've got plenty of years of teaching horticulture and gardening here in the north. Plus, I like to hear from folks.

It's a beautiful day!

2009-05-03T13:10:00.000-07:00

Great day to be outside! I opened the doors on the greenhouse, planted a few trees and did a little raking. Garden too wet to till yet. I ordered some fraser fir Christmas trees. We'll see how they do. They've got a natural Christmas tree shape and a nice aroma when the leaves are crushed.

Frazer Fir

2009-04-28T15:37:00.001-07:00

I just ordered 25 3" fraser firs today from Musser Forests. They're the Cadillac of Christmas trees. A very natural shape needing little pruning. They are also quite fragrant, especially when the leaves are crushed. We'll see how they'll do in the rugged north.

Blizzard

2008-02-10T08:42:00.000-08:00

It's a good day to write about gardening. At times I can't see the line of spruce trees by the road, less than one hundred feet away.

Last weekend I got a taste for gardening as a group of us got together for good food and a seed cleaning session. We were cleaning seeds we collected in the wild this past fall. We cleaned coreopsis, rudbeckia and sweet grass, among others.

I am currently working on a book on collecting, propagating and enjoying wildflowers in the upper midwest. I welcome any suggestions for what people might want to see in such a book.

Stay warm,

Neil

New Greenhouse

2008-01-27T07:05:00.000-08:00

Finally finished building greenhouse. Just in time for winter! Now I've got to sit and look at it while the snows swirls around outside. The good news is I can sit in my warm house and make plans for what I'm going to grow in it this spring. I'll grow vegetable plants for sure but I am also thinking of growing cut flowers for market. Any body have experience with this?

Greenhouse Finished

2007-12-08T05:54:00.000-08:00

I finished building a greenhouse (grow house) this fall. I worked on it through snow and cold, hot summer sun (painting) and then finally when the leaves were falling (the best time of year for working). I'm pleased with the results, now we'll see how it works. I am planning on using it to start spring seedlings and also to grow early crops of greens and herbs.

New Greenhouse

2006-09-15T03:18:00.000-07:00

I've decided to tear down my old hoop style growhouse/greenhouse and build something sturdier. The old one was in the shape of a quanset hut. The problem was snow accumulated on the clear plastic and eventually ripped the plastic. I'm going to build a greenhouse structure made of 2X4's and the polycarbonate plastic. It has a steep pitch that should dump the snow. I've got a gas heater to go inside.

Season End

2006-09-02T05:52:00.000-07:00

It's been a pretty good summer here in the north country. I had corn that could have taken a blue ribbon at the fair, had I entered it. But then, I judged at the fair, so I couldn't do it. I have good results with the variety I grow. I'm working on an herb garden. Since I gave up caffeine for health reasons I've decided to drink more tea. Why not make my own herb tea? This combines my love for gardening and plants and the need for a healthy drink. I'll add dried rose hips to give it a good vitamin boost (you wouldn't believe the vitamins in rose hips). I'm looking forward to fall and some fall garden chores, but mostly the extended harvest of grapes and pumpkins, broccoli and Brussel sprouts.

N.M.