Kate's Blog

We are closed for August, re-opening in Tuesday September1 2020. Enjoy your space and the creatures, like this Ebony Jewelwings, that share it with you!
In September, we will continue to be open by appointment at whatever time suits you, for buying or browsing.
Advance orders for September pickup are being accepted. Check the plant list, which will feature some additions over the next month. 
Fall is a great time to plant, allowing your plants to go into dormancy and overwinter, and get off to a good start when next spring arrives.

The age of COVID-19 is upon us, marking a time for anyone with access to growing space to step up and grow food. Never done it? ‘Snippets,’ on this website, is a general gardening series I did for the Springwater News a few years ago that touches on some basics of growing, including vegetables. For instance, now is a good time to start seeds indoors, and May 24 is the traditional date you can safely put frost-tender plants outside, although with coverings at the ready, you can do so much earlier. And fortunately… there’s LOTS of help out there on the world wide web. A down-to-earth advisor on growing food in conditions like ours is Maritime gardener Greg Auton, to be found on YouTube and through podcasts.

I find the most productive vegetable in terms of space, deliciousness and freedom from pests is the French filet bush bean. Which despite its Frankish name is a New World native. The homegrown tomato is another list-topper for deliciousness. Also a native, as are corn and squash. A tip: If you’re growing in pots, your plants will do better if the pots are placed on earth so soil micro-organisms can access the roots.

But when growing food, don’t forget the pollinators. They will increase the productivity of your vegetables. Plant some pollen- and nectar-rich natives in your kitchen garden beds to attract the insects that will not only ensure good fruit and pod set, but will also be the predators that take care of some of your pests.
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Thanks to Randi V. Wilfert Eckel, owner of Toadshade Wildflower Farm, a New Jersey seed business, for permission to re-publish this article. It first appeared in the current Spring 2020 issue of the state's Skylands Visitor magazine

By Dr. Randi V. Wilfert Eckel

Insects are critical components of any natural area. Gardeners have become increasingly aware that, if we want wildlife in our gardens, we must support all life stages, year 'round. With the fragmented state of our natural areas, wildlife relies on our gardens, yards, fields, hedgerows, and woodlots to survive. When using native plants in a landscape, we are attempting to recreate functioning ecosystems to support the wonderful wildlife that, in fact, needs us to survive.

Insects of all kinds fulfill critical, and under-appreciated, roles in our lives. They are pollinators, herbivores, predators, and parasites. In a balanced ecosystem, there are rarely outbreaks of any particular insect species because, in the humorous words of Victorian mathematician Augustus De Morgan:
"Great fleas have little fleas upon their backs to bite 'em,
And little fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum."

Near the very bottom of the food chain, insects are the primary consumers of plant matter on the planet. Leaves, bark, seeds, roots, flowers, rotten wood-they eat it all. Most insects die young because they, in turn, are the primary food source for a great deal of the animals on our planet. Many caterpillars never grow up to be butterflies and moths, but rather are fed upon by birds and fed to their young. Doug Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home (among other wonderful books), has found that a single nest of black-capped chickadees needs 390-570 caterpillars a day to keep the young birds fed. Hummingbirds do not raise their young on nothing but nectar. They need protein, which they get from hunting small, soft-bodied creatures such as aphids, gnats, and spiders.
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