Always on the lookout for cold-hardy, richly-flavored greens, and a sucker for anything billed as "popular in southern Italy", I tried a new one this year. Spigariello liscia in early October. The plants have set a few buds that quickly opened to flowers, but it's the leaves I'm after! The dusky blue leaves are soft like a puppy's ear. Ready for steaming, braising, soups or stir fries. Remove the leaf's center rib — it's as easy as removing Read more [...]

After harvesting potatoes from my new bin, I started to think that setup — made from a three-bay compost bin — looked a lot like a coldframe. And the soil inside is better than any of the soil in my regular garden. So once the potatoes had been harvested, I seeded the area with a bunch of different cold-weather crops. Front to back: Bed 1. Spinach, romaine lettuce, cilantro, kale and radicchio Bed 2. An Italian green called Spigariello Liscia (which I'll write about soon) and Read more [...]

Here in Vermont it's easy to tell when the garlic should be planted. Look up at the hillsides. If they're a blaze of red, orange and yellow, it's time. Related Posts Growing Garlic Harvesting Garlic In most parts of the country, late fall is the best time of year to plant garlic. The cloves establish roots before the ground freezes and when spring comes the plants are ready to charge out of the ground. Bulbs usually mature by late July. This year, garlic sold so fast on our website Read more [...]

I found one of my favorite potatoes while on a garden tour in England about 10 years ago. On our way through the Yorkshire countryside on a soggy spring day, our small group stopped at a pub for dinner. Potatoes produce lots of food in a small space, with little effort. My grandmother, a Maine native, grew Kennebecs and Katahdins. My stepdad, a Vermonter from the cold Northeast Kingdom, swears by Green Mountain, Red Norland, and "whatever is sprouting under the sink." There's Read more [...]

Our new Orchard Rack seems to be something customers have been looking for, though some folks are using it in unexpected ways. Our new Orchard Rack is not just for things that come from the garden. We love it when customers get excited about a new product. This season's star is the Orchard Rack. It seems to be something customers have been looking for, though some folks are using it in unexpected ways. The wooden rack with slide-out shelves is meant to store "keeper" crops, such as apples, Read more [...]