I’ll admit, my enthusiasm for gardening on the plots my mom and I share at the local community garden (part of the YMCA) was lacking a bit this year. With the lousy weather, it was all I could do to drag myself out there to do a lot of tending. But between the two of us, we got our plots ...
It’s hard to imagine that there was a time when I had very little interest in growing vegetables. You might not know it by looking at my vegetable garden, which is in a sorry state this year, but I get so much pleasure out of growing my own food. Last night, I asked Mr. Much More Patient to bring home ...
This is the time of year when I start taking stock of garden with a long-term view. In general terms, it’s easy to spot areas that need attention and improvement. In some cases, though, it’s identifying plants that I need to take a hard look at. And I am officially putting two pretty important plants on notice. It’s time to ...
It’s a bittersweet time to be a gardener. My enthusiasm for the small but important jobs around the garden has long since waned. I did some edging this weekend and it was all I could do to will myself to do it even though it was a job that was way overdue and one that I’m always happy with the ...
A couple weeks ago when I shared my favorite tools, I suggested that there might be a few gaps in my already expansive garden tool collection. Well, I may have filled them. I think the most glaring omission from my collection, I think, is a fork. Digging forks have a lot of uses but the two instances I think call ...
Geez, you would think I was vying for the “Most random posting blogger” award or something. I left you hanging all last week! I’m sorry. Life. You know? It is hard to believe that Labor Day has now come and gone. It has been such a lousy summer weather wise. I know I am a professional weather complainer, but I ...
We started with my four most used tools and yesterday I covered pruning and raking tools. Today I’m going to hit you with all the rest, so hang onto your hats. Just to review, these are my favorite tools that I use for specific jobs in the garden. My entire tool collection numbers far more than the tools I actually ...
The Impatient Gardener blog was started in 2009 and its library of posts includes practical how-tos, plant guides, favorite garden gear, successes and failures and much more. If you’re looking for something specific, the search function at the top of the page can help.
I love mail order, particularly for gardening products, since our selection in the area is somewhat limited. It opens up a whole new world of possibilities. For most gardening companies, before I buy I consult the Garden Watchdog which has customer reviews of companies. This time of the year, I order so many things that […]
If you’ve been here before, this page probably looks different to you. I’ve been playing around with the various blog templates, trying to find something that suits me and the subject matter. If you have any suggestions, particularly as far as readability goes, I’m more than happy to hear them.
I’m not sure why (well, I’m sure it has something to do with the big lake about 500 feet from my house), but spring seems to take forever to arrive at my house. Right now the only real signs are a few daffodils and the arrival of the Virginia Blue Bells (in the foreground). All […]
So the first plants to have the honor of going in the new veggie garden are onions. I bought onion starts (a long-day onion sampler of Walla Walla, Ringmaster and Mars onions) from Dixondale Farms and planted them Saturday, April 25. Then I planted them again on Sunday, after we had almost two inches of […]
The new raised vegetable garden is almost finished. We still need to mulch the path between the beds, and put up the deer fence around it, as well as the door at one end. We (and by we, I mean my husband) made it with cedar posts sunk into the ground about a foot, and […]
The compost bin we threw together two years ago in about 15 minutes and four pallets has disintegrated. It didn’t help that we stirred the compost pile with the Kubota. That’s the bad news. The good news is that I REALLY want this: Lee Valley Tools Compost brackets. I first saw this on Gardening by […]
For the first time in my life I’m going to try my hand at vegetable gardening. Well, not the first time. When I was a kid my mom gave my brother and I some space in her veggie garden to grow things that are satisfying for kids to grow. In our case it was radishes. […]
Local gardeners, take note. The Ozaukee Master Gardener Heirloom Plant and Herb Sale is 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 23, at Concordia University in Mequon, Wisconsin. More than 11,000 plants will be for sale. Just about every kind of herb you can think of (and plenty you didn’t know existed), plus heirloom tomato, peppers […]
It really is. And there’s nothing like becoming a gardener to remind you of that. I’ve been gardening for about 15 years now. Well, 15 if you count the peppers I tried to grow in a pot on the front step of my first post-college apartment that I watched with eager anticipation of eating something […]
