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Growing baby ginger in the home garden sure sounds interesting; but isn’t ginger a tropical plant that’s not suitable for the climates here in the U.S.? Well not exactly, farmers and gardeners across the country are discovering that they can raise a crop of fresh ginger under a wide range of conditions and climates!

I first gave the idea of growing ginger in the vegetable garden serious thought a year ago when I met Susan Anderson of East Branch Ginger at a PASA Farm Conference. The thing that immediately caught my eye was the gigantic, plump clusters of seed ginger on display at her booth.

Pre-Sprouting to Get a Good Start with Growing Baby Ginger

Of course my immediate question was “Can you really grow ginger here in PA?” Susan spent the following twenty minutes telling me all about cultivating baby ginger and the potential that this crop has for production here in the U.S. I was s

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The mild temps continue here in Central PA with yesterday’s high reaching into the 70’s. These are great times to enjoy a fall vegetable garden and to complete those final fall clean-up tasks before colder weather arrives.

My garlic, shallots, and potato onions are all in the ground, the last seeds have been planted, and the cold frames and low tunnels are in place and ready to grow. Not much left to do in the garden besides harvest the crops as they mature, and to enjoy the scenery.

Enjoying the Fall Garden as the Growing Season Lingers

There are carrots, beets, parsnips, gobo, and other root crops biding their time underground but there is no rush to harvest these just yet. The

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I can spot a garden designers garden a mile off.   Its the experiments that generally give it away.  Designers gardens (in my experience) dont tend to be the perfect havens that we create for our clients.  Rather they are the try out zones for the latest of ideas.  My own garden is mish mash of things that are in various proving stages of scientific theory postulation doesnt always cut it.

Last year, I set out to prove that I could have a soft mossy look in a high sun area.   Miniature stonecrop (Sedum requieni) was planted between the cobblestones of a new path and I have been awaiting fresh green mounds mixed with stone ever since.   But its not happening.turns out the Stonecrop doesnt spread very fast and more importantly it doesnt choke out weeds. Crab g

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I had to take the day off yesterday.  I came home from vacation to a horrific garden mess and I spent the entirety of yesterday in the garden fixing things up.  At least, when I drive up my driveway I need to gain of sense of peace rather than agitation.   I also spent much of that time pondering ideas for making all of it more simple so I can be more settled.   Here is what I came up with for my garden but I am hoping you can share some of your simplifying tips too.

1) I HATE hosta flowers.  And, I have a garden full of hostas….mind you I have never purchased a hosta, they are all the sad cast offs of clients, so I have shoved them every where I can think of.  Many of the places are just right, but the row of them in front of the front wall is just wrong.  They are getting too much sun, and the hideous hosta flowers greet me daily.   They are going.  I think I am going to replace them with a short lavender hedge to match the one on the other side of the driveway. Much easier a

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I shared this garden last week over at Apartment therapy, but I just love it so much I wanted to make sure you all saw it here too.   It speaks to me on so many levels.  I love it’s thriftiness and creative use of flea market finds.  I love that it is perfect for its place and isn’t trying to be something that it can’t or shouldn’t be. I love its Read more text…