IF YOU ARE THE KIND OF GARDENER who buys vegetable seeds or seedlings (including tomato plants) from a local garden center, as I sometimes do, beware the varieties you select. Otherwise, you could very well be putting money into the hands of the wretched Monsanto Corporation. Forewarned is forearmed, right? Here is the list of Seminis/Monsanto home-garden vegetable varieties, and yes, it even includes zucchini: Read more » Pests
Forewarned is Forearmed: Veggies Owned by Monsanto
February 21, 2012
IF YOU ARE THE KIND OF GARDENER who buys vegetable seeds or seedlings (including tomato plants) from a local garden center, as I sometimes do, beware the varieties you select. Otherwise, you could very well be putting money into the hands of the wretched Monsanto Corporation. Forewarned is forearmed, right? Here is the list of Seminis/Monsanto home-garden vegetable varieties, and yes, it even includes zucchini: Read more » Keep Monsanto OUT of Your Veggie Patch
February 6, 2012
I HOPE THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN TO YOU. When I bought 'Early Girl' tomato seeds back in 2010, I unwittingly voted for a corporation I vehemently oppose. Which corporation? Why, the evil empire known as Monsanto. Here are a few facts about this loathsome company, along with a few ways to keep it out of your veggie patch: Read more » The Fall Webworm
August 29, 2011
IN LATE SUMMER, it’s fairly common to find weird-looking webs (like the one pictured above) on crabapple and other hard-wood trees. Who weaves these horrid things? Meet Hyphantria cunea, the “Fall Webworm.” More about this caterpillar, and why you needn’t go out on a limb to eradicate it: Hyphantria lives a well-protected life in the… Read more »
When NOT To Kill a Tomato Hornworm
August 4, 2011
RECENTLY, while pruning a row of paste tomatoes, I noticed a strange-looking worm (above; click to enlarge) on one of the plants. What this worm is, why it has white projections on its body, and why — if you ever see such a thing in your own garden — you should leave it alone: A… Read more »
How Do You Deal with Critters?
June 27, 2011
DO WOODCHUCKS OR OTHER CREATURES think your veggie garden is…theirs? I only ask because some furry varmint had the chutzpah to enter my fenced-in Kitchen Garden last night. Apparently he enjoys kale in its raw state, not braised in vermouth, as I do. Which critters do you have to contend with, and what pains have… Read more »
Got Weeds? Use Vinegar, Not Roundup
June 16, 2011
NEED PROOF THAT VINEGAR IS A WEED-TERMINATOR? Just look at the weeds growing along a pea-stone path in my Herb Garden. These were photographed yesterday afternoon, just moments before I sprayed them with cheap, undiluted, store-brand white vinegar. Here’s what all that greenery looked like this morning:I’d say those weeds are deader than dead. And… Read more »
One Way to Deal with Carpenter Bees
May 27, 2011
LAST NIGHT, I headed out under the cloak of darkness in order to deal with destructive carpenter bees. For weeks these insects, which resemble bumble bees, have been drilling nesting-holes in the pressure-treated fence posts which enclose my Herb Garden. You can see one such bee in action in the photo up top. A Google… Read more »
