Blog: Musings on the Earth, Mindful Living, and our Connections
A 2020 Vision: Green Up
One of the subjects In the Gardens has posted on from time to time involves the changes occurring in our climate and our natural world. This is a topic that is becoming more front and center for us as we hear more about rising temperatures, expanding …
Stretching Out Our Roots
This is our first blog and email since my move to North Carolina. It was a rocky move at best, and after we got settled, we began to explore expanding In the Gardens to North Carolina. What seemed like a quick and easy process wound up having numerous twists ...
Nothing is as Sure as Change
Dear Friends, One thing that any gardener or farmer learns is that nothing is as sure as change. Moving from winter to spring and summer we can all imagine changes in temperature and landscape. When we are growing trees and plants for food, we notice...
It’s Spring at In the Gardens!
Spring is springing! I don’t know about you, but I thought it would never arrive. We’ve been seeing parsley now for awhile, even pushing through the snow, but today its delicate frills have been joined by greening-up sage leaves, red-veined sorrel, onion spears, lots of green...
Mindfulness in the Garden
This weekend I had the opportunity to lead a session at the 2018 Good Food EXPO, a conference for all things garden, farming and fresh food related. It was my fourth year at the conference. The first year I attended, I met a young man – a high school student – named Lucas Zeidner. We...
It’s in Our Yard: Confronting the Reality of Climate Change
On Sunday, February 11, I had the honor of presenting at a “Climate Reality Presentation and Discussion,” held at Temple Israel in Gary, Indiana. The brunch was open to all members of the community, to learn about current issues of climate change and actions we can take....
#MyGivingStory—The Power of Compassion
The following is a story I submitted for this year’s #MyGivingStory, in recognition of some of the roots (no pun intended!) of In the Gardens. Parts of this story have been shared before, but here it is in its most updated form. Vote! #MyGivingStory is a storytelling contest created by the #GivingTuesday organization to foster...
A Wonderful Celebration!
Sunday was a stupendous day in the weather department. After several days of rain, the skies were clear and sunny. It was the perfect day for our Sukkot Harvest Celebration and Fundraiser. One of the day’s objectives was to thank ...
Planning Your Garden Part 4: The Fall Garden
In the last few weeks, we have harvested lots of fruits and veggies, and some plants have completed their season. The garden looks different. There are big pockets of emptiness, soil with nothing growing in it. Harvesting turnips, beets...
Planning Your Garden Part 3: Saving Seeds
As spring has yielded to full summer, you might be seeing your garden overflow with produce. You might even see flowers or fruits that got away – that you didn’t see when they were ripe, and now..
Planning Your Garden, Part 2: Flowers and Veggies Together
I recently learned something about why it’s great to plant certain flowers near specific vegetables. I knew a few basics: that marigolds deter pests and sweet alyssum is great next to your kale, broccoli, collards and other brassicas. But why? Well, let’s start with marigolds. And note that there are different varieties of marigolds. You can grow the average size, from about 18-24 inches high, or you might prefer, as I do, the dwarf size. These grow up to about eight inches high and make great borders, because they don’t take up a lot of...
Planning Your Garden, Part 1: Companion Plants
“I planted peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, basil and zucchini,” a neighbor told me. “The tomatoes aren’t growing at all, and the cucumbers are really struggling. How do you get your vegetables to grow so full and productively?” I hear these questions often. There are some basics...