By Jack Kertesz, MOFGA’s Landscape Coordinator I am excited about using hoop structures to extend the growing season as I think they are overlooked and underrated for their practical, economically sound, and user/builder-friendly attributes. DIY Structures Made from EMT Quick Hoopsentered the market garden scene around 2009, advocated for by Eliot Coleman and marketed by
By Will Bonsall When most folks think of growing peas in the garden, they’re assuming fresh peas like shell, snow, or snap peas. Rightly so, I suppose, since those are expensive to buy and require less space. However, few people grow dry peas, also known as field or soup peas, even though they can add a lot more protein
By Patti Genest When mid-April comes to Maine, the urge to be surrounded by growing seedlings can no longer be ignored. With snow still on the ground, visions of sitting on a summer garden bench, surrounded by gigantic sunflower leaves whispering in the wind, is motivation enough for me to start planting. With four months
By Will Bonsall Tomatoes are among the most popular garden vegetables, but most of those eaten raw are not paste types. While paste tomatoes are known for their distinct pear shape, the most important feature of all true paste tomato varieties is their relatively low moisture content, which makes them especially suitable for sauce, ketchup,
Growing your own medicine from seed is an opportunity to enter into deep relationship with our many plant allies. Whether annual or perennial, medicinal herbs create beauty, pollinator habitat, and sacred spaces within a garden while also empowering us to holistically support our health and wellness with the use of these healing plants. Many medicinal
By Will Bonsall Back in the ‘60s and ‘70s, eating sprouts was all the rage, unsurprising since they are rightly reputed to be loaded with vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and easily digested proteins, far more than the unsprouted seeds. Many folks even went so far as to grow their own sprouts (many still do), sprouting clover,
By Will Bonsall Spices have always held a peripheral importance in virtually all cuisines, despite their relatively low nutritional value. They’re especially significant in diets based on bland foods like rice and potatoes, whose nutrient value itself is not enough to stimulate the appetite. To be clear, I’m distinguishing spices from leafy herbs, most of
By Will Bonsall Winter squash are generally distinguished from summer squash by their drier, denser flesh, their sweetness and their storability, though it’s not quite that simple. Most winter squash belong to the species Cucurbita maxima, whereas summer squash (including zucchini) are all in the species Cucurbita pepo. Several winter squash are in fact also
By Will Bonsall Considering that potatoes are the fourth biggest food crop grown by humans (after corn, wheat and rice), that they are so simple to grow, and so productive, it seems strange they aren’t more common in backyard gardens. I suppose it’s partly because, like the other staples, they are so cheap to buy,
By Will Bonsall There’s nothing new about beets. They’re among the oldest vegetables cultivated by humans. The ancient Greeks esteemed them, starting with their wild ancestor, Beta vulgaris spp. maritima (still found growing wild on the Adriatic littoral). They eventually bred them into the sweet and succulent food we enjoy today. In much more modern
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