“People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.” --Iris Murdoch

Posted by Susan Reimer at 6:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
Categories: Garden quotations
        

Start thinking pecan pie.

The folks who make just about all the canned pumpkin in the world are reporting that this year's harvest was so poor that we're going to see the impact on our grocery shelves this holiday season.

Libby's says heavy rains during the 13-week harvest in Morton, Ill., -- pumpkin capital of the world -- frustrated efforts to collect all the pumpkins. That, on top of a poor growing season.

"Libby’s has been part of [the holiday pie] tradition for more than 80 years and we appreciate that honor," said vice president Paul Bakus. "That's why we wanted to alert bakers to the anticipated shortage.

"Our calculations indicated that we may deplete our inventory of canned Libby's pumpkin as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday."

There was a shortage of pumpkin in August and September, too, when Libby's typically relies on surpluses from the previous season. But 2008 wasn't much of a year, either, and home cooks started noticing the empty spots on grocery store shelves.

Libby's, as reported here on Garden Variety, seemed confident that the 2009 harvest, which was scheduled to roll into the stores by the end of September, would take up any slack. But the rainy fall made it impossible for the heavy trucks to get into the fields.

The longer the pumpkins sit in the field, the poorer the quality, said Libby's, and the company is considering simply plowing the remaining pumpkins into the fields to enrich the soil for 2010.

Meanwhile, Giant, Safeway and Wegman's in Maryland report enough canned pumpkin on hand to make it to next Thursday. Giant, in particular, anticipated the shortage and contracted for other brands.

For a look at a Libby's tractor stuck in the mud, keep reading.

Continue reading "Pumpkin crisis" »

Posted by Susan Reimer at 9:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden news
        

"The Best Plants Come with a Story." --Maria Rodale in Organic Gardening Magazine, June/July 2006

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Categories: Garden quotations
        

Baltimore Sun file photo

I found my neighbor Bob just outside my picket fence the other day, using his leaf blower in reverse - sucking up, and chopping up, the leaves my husband had swept into the street.

Next, he went into the leaf bags we'd put out for recycling and was sucking those dry, too.

Bob, as you might guess, is a big believer in composting and in using leaves as mulch in his gardens.

I agree. But things are a little tricky at my house.

My husband is kind enough to blow the leaves out of my many gardens and then run over them with his mulching lawn mower, bagging them as he goes.

I use a bag or two in my compost pile.

And then I put the rest right back on my gardens.

My dear husband is so tolerant of all my gardening, but I think this chore maddens him. It is pretty clear I am undoing what he has just done!

There is a school of thought that all leaves must be removed from the garden, to prevent disease and infestations. And of course, there is Bob's point of view: leaves are a gardener's gold.

(Susan Harris does a good job of sorting out these opinions on her Sustainable Gardening blog).

Me? I'm just trying to keep the peace in the house.

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
Categories: Weekend Chores
        

There is a great pleasure in working in the soil, apart from the ownership of it. The man who has planted a garden feels that he has done something for the good of the world. --  author unknown

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Categories: Garden quotations
        

Beautiful blooms are not the only subjects for the garden photographer.

Layanee DeMerchant, author of the garden blog Ledge and Gardens, clearly understands that.

Take a look at her photos of the last days of the garden, when the flowers are overtaken by time and frost. 

Photo credit: Associated Press (2004) file photo.   

Posted by Susan Reimer at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
Categories: Garden photography