Category: Gardening

Vertical Garden: Wall of Mint

by Ivonne Vazquez Unused materials for a different project turned into an opportunity to create a vertical garden. The project: a wall of mint. “Wha-aat?” you say with great interest while conjuring images of the delightful possibilities, the scent of mint swirling about in your thoughts. With some pieces of wood, plastic plant pots, a

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Carrots, Reliable and Sweet

By Will Bonsall I can’t think of any other crop which has proven so reliably productive as carrots. I’ve had some disappointing carrot yields on rare occasions, but even then I ended up with plenty of food on the table, even if small or poorly formed. Moreover, due to their growth habit (small footprint with deep

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Sunlight and Water in the Garden: Two Limiting Factors Not to be Overlooked

By Caleb Goossen, MOFGA’s Crop and Conservation Specialist A foundational principle in agricultural sciences is “the law of the minimum,” which states that plant growth is not limited by the sum total of resources available, but instead is primarily limited by the scarcest resource, also known as the limiting factor. Seemingly all great foundational principles

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Succession Planting for Continued Yields and Season Extension

By Will Bonsall Succession planting may refer to two or more garden practices. For quick-maturing crops like lettuce or radishes or spinach, one makes frequent small plantings — perhaps one every week or two — to ensure a steady harvest over a longer period. Planting your whole radish crop at once guarantees that you’ll have far

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Making Your Garden Less Hospitable to Disease

By Caleb Goossen, Ph.D. In my role at MOFGA, I frequently give talks and provide advice to farmers and gardeners regarding organic management of plant diseases. As any attendee can probably attest to, I often pack as much information into the talk as I possibly can. I sometimes fear that making space for the specifics

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Seed Planting Calendar

If you’re new to growing vegetables or just need a refresher, here’s a basic vegetable planting calendar to get you started. We’ve also included a few herbs that are often grown similarly to vegetables. The dates are approximate — and based on USDA Plant Hardiness zone 5 — and will vary depending on your location,

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How to Plan Your Harvests for Food Preservation

By Roberta Bailey In the last two years, seed companies experienced record sales which translates to new gardeners turning ground for the first time, some veteran gardeners increasing their plots and farmers planting more acreage to meet the growing demand for local, fresh produce and value-added specialty items. Food security is on people’s minds. This

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Basics of Organic Vegetable Gardening

Prepared byDr. Eric Sideman andDr. Jean English Introduction The science of gardening is complex, but the actual practice is simple. The central goal of organic gardening is to maintain or improve the ability of the soil to support plant life as it produces a crop of vegetables each year. That ability depends on a dynamic

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Garden Weeds

by Eric Sideman, PhDMOFGA’s Organic Crop Specialist Emeritus Garden weeds are simply plants that are growing where you do not want them. Any plant species may be a weed, but in gardens in New England, there are some species that are very common. And, in some gardens, very common is an understatement. Why do some

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