Sheep feed on a summer cover crop of Japanese millet, with another garden in the background. Photo by Eric Sideman. By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. Gardeners do not often think of themselves as managers, but they are. At this time of year, which I refer to as Fair time, gardeners have to make a very important
Toki Oshima drawing By Roberta Bailey Another fall has come, time to give up the quest to keep the garden watered and weeded. Many of the plants have faded to golden hues already. The brown of skin fades. We welcome a sweater and jeans. It is a time of surrender, yet it can be the
By Eric Sideman, Ph.D., Director of Technical Services, MOFGA Tunnels and greenhouses are now being used widely to produce early and often blemish free tomatoes. However, high humidity is difficult to avoid under plastic, and it creates an ideal environment for fungal diseases that can spread very quickly and cause widespread damage. Two common diseases
By Eric Sideman, Ph.D. As everyone knows, last summer was wet and late blight was widespread on farms and in gardens. Some of you may be tired of hearing about it, but whether the crisis repeats in 2010 depends greatly on the weather and on what gardeners and farmers do to prevent the disease. I
By Eric Sideman, Ph.D., MOFGA’s Director of Technical Services Some farmers and gardeners like to use the same ground year after year for their tomatoes. Often this works, but often it doesn’t – most commonly because of a few tomato diseases that overwinter on crop debris. The most common disease in the Northeast that leads
Trim the tops of onion and leek seedlings to make the bases thicker. Use the trimmings in soups or salads. English photo. By Roberta Bailey Pick yourself up, dust yourself off. Congratulations on surviving one of the roughest go-rounds with Mother Nature that most Maine gardeners can remember. The fact that you are reading an
Welded wire “cattle panels” make great tomato trellises. They stand up well; clean easily; and the openings are big enough that tomatoes don’t get stuck growing into them. Tomash photos. © 2008 Adam Tomash In my 35 years of serious gardening, I have tried most of the common trellising techniques for tomatoes, including stakes and
An array of tasty, colorful, locally grown tomatoes served with various types of basil is one specialty of Swan’s Way Catering. Sean Carnell photo. by Kay Stephens Each tomato has its own fascinating shape – mottled, bumpy, smooth – with harmonizing colors every hue of red, brown, orange and yellow. With names like ‘Striped Stuffer,’
Trees and other perennials are often grafted, but is it worth the time and labor to graft annuals? Cary Rivard is trying find that out with his Southern SARE Graduate Student project under the direction of Frank Louws at North Carolina State University (NCSU). Other members of the team include NCSU’s Mary Peet and Suzanne
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