Fun for Potato Obsessives
That would be me! Potatoes are just about my favorite crop. They are famous for yielding the most food in the smallest possible space, why is one explanation for why [...]
Michele Owens, Ranter Emeritus
Seed Stars of 2011
Happy New Year! The catalogs are arriving, and it's time to start thinking about the vegetable garden. While 2010 was a banner year for me, 2011 was problematic for many [...]
Michele’s New Year’s Gardening Resolutions
Start dozens of alpine strawberry plants from seed. Impossible to find in the nurseries near me already started as plants. Yet for a perennial, incredibly easy to get going in [...]
Fruit Trees: A Triumph of Hope Over Experience
Of all the amazing plants in my garden--'Scheherezade' lilies 8 feet tall, 'Big Smile' tulips the size and shape of a dinosaur's egg, 'Russelliana' roses that explode into phosphorescent magenta [...]
What I’m Grateful For
This week, Susan took a look at what gardeners around the web are thankful for and was personally thankful for the end of "women's page" journalism, which was where the [...]
Q&A with the Graham Rice, the Gardening Deejay
Say hello to Graham, author of more than 20 gardening books, including the American Horticultural Society’s Encyclopedia of Perennials, one of the most frequented books in my gardening library. The [...]
Yes, I’m Still Going On About Onions
Why am I still writing about onions? Because at this time of year, when I'm grumpy about the seed-starting thing...Why won't those peppers and eggplants germinate? Why am I spending [...]
Why I Wrote “Grow the Good Life”
Thanks so much for the many kind comments on Elizabeth's post about my book earlier this week. Thanks also for the forgiving comments about the skinny jeans. My husband and [...]
Turf Management – an Appalling Waste of Horticultural and Scientific Talent
I hate to be shockable at 50--it's unseemly--but I was doing some research yesterday and was shocked to learn that Colorado State University has an entire degree program devoted to [...]
My New Year’s Resolutions
Yeah, yeah, I have a few of the usual impulses towards self-improvement. I think I should run more, argue less, and try harder to enjoy every day. But compared to [...]
Seed Stars of 2010
Merry Christmas! 2010 was a great year in my vegetable garden, and the third year in a row that I have managed my garden with almost no irrigation, not even [...]
Ten Things I’m Grateful For
Tolerance from my family. I spend a lot of time growing food, cooking food, and talking about food. While my husband and children do let me know how bored they [...]