Ranting Locally – a Letter to the Editor I submitted this letter to the editor of my local paper with the title “No-Mow Presents Problems for Lawns” This year the City of Greenbelt’s “No-Mow April” campaign encourages residents to avoid mowing this month, in order to encourage flowering for bees. I’m pro-bee, too, but … Read more
Guest post by Natalie Levin Composted manure, blood meal, bone meal, and fish emulsion are popular soil amendments. We routinely use these materials in our gardens. But consider adding your own menstrual blood or urine to your watering can and suddenly you might be a pervert. Despite this double standard, I maintain that using one’s own … Read more
Now that “No Mow May” is half over, I want to support Susan in her recent critique of the “no mow” movement. I totally agree with her that if you’re going to have a lawn, you may as well follow basic (and sustainable) lawn health guidelines, which this movement appears to completely subvert. I don’t … Read more
Probably all of us know about the GMO issues, pro and con. How should they influence our planting as home gardeners? Or should they influence us at all? Some foods regularly appear in the grocery store labeled as “non-GMO,” generally in large fonts. You may also notice the same thing regarding seeds for planting in … Read more
3 minute, 22 second read. It’s difficult to chew and enjoy an aged, grass-fed steak when you’ve been living on a diet of McDonalds cheeseburgers – or a sautéed portobello when you’ve got a freezer full of Quorn. If you choose the first option(s), you’re going to give your mouth a workout, and delight your … Read more
Black Tupelo tree, very rare Now here’s a campaign rallying cry you don’t hear too often: “Don’t we have enough trees around here?” It came from the Republican nominee for a Senate – yes, United States Senate – seat in Georgia named Herschel Walker, a former NFL football player who’s running against incumbent Sen. Raphael … Read more
That quote appeared in a story about the election season and how people have been feeling “divided and tired.” Haven’t we all? Though I’ve never been one to go out of my way to avoid political news and I always vote, I became much more immersed in the news cycle when I began working for … Read more
Just as many in America – as evidenced by this year’s election results – are hoping that people are drawing back from the politics of extremism, I’d love to see the same happen in gardening culture. Unfortunately, however, I think gardening polarization is of more recent vintage and will take longer to disappear. I drew … Read more
I haven’t written for this site for quite a while, but today, nothing but a rant will do. In recent years I’ve become an enthusiastic advocate of incorporating ecology into our gardening. That was not always the case. My training as a horticulturist came during the era of “better living through chemistry,” and it was … Read more
An astonishing percentage of Republicans still believe the 2020 presidential election was stolen, though that fever seems to be simmering down slowly. The truth or nothing but the truth. It’s complicated. Thou shalt not steal elections or seeds? The jury is out. I have collected (stolen?) seeds for nearly fifty years. Never copious amounts, and … Read more