It’s a sad time for the madman. He has come to the realization that hot pepper season has come to an end. Days are getting shorter – too short to give his hot peppers the light and warmth they deserve. The madman always says, “the hotter the weather, the hotter the pepper. With the hot…
The madman’s onion harvest was great this year, and it was almost past time to get them ready for winter storage. At one time we braided the onions into long strands, but that was a task that always fell in my lap because the madman was a terrible braider. I’m not so sure that…
We have just left the second wettest April in the history of record keeping, and May doesn’t look any better. The madman and his hot peppers are not happy with this cold, damp weather. But the onions, beets, carrots, radishes, kale and all of its cousins are loving it. Remember those peas that the…
A couple of weeks ago we attended the CMGA 2019 Master Gardener Symposium which draws gardeners from throughout Connecticut. We caught up with old garden friends, met some new garden friends and learned some new ideas. This year’s theme “Nature’s Creatures: Bring More Life to your Landscape” wasn’t necessarily new, but we took away some…
The madman is putting off the peas again. He says It’s still too early. The soil temperature is 44˚. There is still snow on the garden. We haven’t done a soil test. And, we have just returned from the Master Gardener Symposium with some fresh ideas. Plant Peas on St. Patrick’s Day Let’s start with…
“I’m wondering if you’ve had a problem with Eastern Filbert Blight on your Corylus avellana ‘Contorta.’ You may be aware that Ken and I removed the specimen from the Haddam Extension Center for this reason.” -Robert Mirer Let’s Put off the Peas We received a comment from friend and master gardener Robert Mirer that caused…
The madman has been going crazy lately – it is almost March, the Persephone Period is over and he is itching to get outside to continue his pruning tasks. I have to keep reminding him that yes, the Persephone Period is over, but here in Connecticut the shrubs and small trees are still thinking of…
Happy New Year! 2019 is going to be a fantastic year. Spent the morning vacuuming up pine needles, tossing wrapping paper and stacking boxes. Our favorite boxes are the ones with the pretty flowers – you know the ones, they are marked “Amaryllis”. Bet a bunch of you got similar boxes since they were very…