tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82463070471907180862011-08-29T09:02:47.073-04:00Local food, native plants, and the musings of a Maryland gardener.2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.comBlogger631100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-2659374987327455962010-07-07T21:22:00.001-04:002010-07-07T21:24:13.906-04:00

2 Green Acres is going on temporary hiatus. We are moving and hope to restart the blog once we are settled. Hope everyone has a terrific summer.

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-7690640190439367802010-06-28T21:07:00.002-04:002010-06-28T21:14:39.286-04:00

Better late than never!

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-89346846167836876792010-06-07T06:42:00.000-04:002010-06-07T06:42:00.592-04:00

This week, we used our chard and spinach to cook a great dish - chard, white beans, and tomatoes. It is great to have enough chard and spinach to cook. We made so much, we will even have leftovers. This is our first time making this recipe (which we cut out of the newspaper years ago). It was simple and wonderful.I love the fact that a larger portion of our meals are coming from the garden. And

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-1637440858261209632010-05-31T16:56:00.003-04:002010-05-31T17:11:12.874-04:00

This week we harvested our first snow peas. I love growing these - they are easy and prolific. Also, they can be expensive to buy, so they are great vegetable to have in your garden.Last year, I dried some of the seeds and used them this year. At first, it seemed like they were not going to come up, but they did eventually. Not sure why it took so long - probably the weird weather we have had

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-86207122856718778092010-05-15T07:30:00.000-04:002010-05-15T07:30:00.911-04:00

All from my garden. I thought April was the best month for my garden, but May is not too bad either. Although there is not a huge variety in color, I like that there is less pink than last month. The previous owners of our house loved pink. Everything they had planted had pink flowers and bloomed in the Spring. My challenge has been to expand the bloom cycle and palette. It is encouraging to put

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-57086915380172880662010-05-08T13:38:00.008-04:002010-05-08T15:54:50.375-04:00

Last weekend, we went for a hike at Soldiers Delight, a serpentine barren in Maryland. What is a serpentine barren? I'll let the folks from the Maryland Geological Survey explain it:The barrens are underlain by serpentinite, a rock that contains very little quartz and aluminum-bearing minerals and consists mainly of serpentine. When serpentinite weathers most of the rock dissolves leaving behind

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-77004059477845360492010-04-30T18:44:00.002-04:002010-04-30T18:44:00.407-04:00

Last weekend, I got started on the hedgerow I am planting this year. My plans have changed a little from my last post - still plan on blueberries and winterberries. Now, I have also added sumersweet (clethra alnifolia) to the plan.Last weekend was the first weekend of the Herring Run Native Plant sale. Good thing I got there early - they were mobbed! Fortunately, I was able to find most

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-43741454076678247462010-04-26T20:24:00.004-04:002010-04-26T20:38:34.190-04:00

I always hate waiting for the garden's first harvest. This is the main reason I planted radishes. I am really not crazy about radishes, but they are one of the first things to come out of the garden in the spring. So I planted some.I pulled the first ones out of the ground yesterday. And, I tried a new, great recipe for the radishes. It calls for watercress, but based on the comments from other

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-40598797326597840172010-04-20T18:32:00.001-04:002010-04-20T18:32:00.066-04:00

Mystery flower on the C&O canalThis past weekend, I went for a long walk on the C&O canal, near Sharpsburg, Maryland. I was amazed at the wildflowers I saw - at least one of which I could not identify.I saw Mayapples, Solomon's Seal, False Solomon's Seal, Virginia Blue Bells, Squirrel Corn, and a wide variety of violets - purple, blue, white, and yellow. I have never seen so many wildflowers at

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-10505762498690888802010-04-15T07:00:00.001-04:002010-04-15T07:00:11.018-04:00

Some natives, some not, but probably the best month for my garden.

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-30201067001684503372010-04-11T17:04:00.009-04:002010-04-11T17:39:46.553-04:00

Right now, where I live, the Bradford Pears are blooming. And, I admit, they are beautiful. The trees have a nice, formal shape, and their white blossoms are enchanting. But please, I beg you, when you see the Bradford Pear at your local garden center, just walk on by. Bradford Pears are the most common varietal of the pyrus calleryana a species of pear trees native to China. Unfortunately,

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-45152167498446669932010-04-03T09:53:00.005-04:002010-04-03T10:20:40.412-04:00

As mentioned in an earlier post, I want to plant a hedgerow this year.I am only half joking when I say I am not exactly sure what a hedgerow is, but I like the sound of the word. I do know that hedgerows contain shrubs or small tree that product fruit or berries and so are great for wildlife.My hedgerow will be an important source of fruit for wildlife and humans. It is where I will plant my

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-38180582259675245552010-03-25T18:07:00.002-04:002010-03-25T18:07:00.199-04:00

The first weekend of spring was spent cleaning up all of the damage from the winter. In Maryland, we are not used to so much snow, and obviously, neither are our plants. We had a lot of damage on our white pines, and I am still waiting to see if our hollies will come back. The picture below shows what used to be 4 foot tall hollies, smashed by tons of snow that was piled on them. Surprisingly,

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-23688182075183246172010-03-21T17:56:00.003-04:002010-03-21T18:03:43.486-04:00

This weekend was my first chance to get out and look at the vegetable garden. Finally, it wasn't snow-covered, raining, or too dark to see what was happening in my little plot.Over the winter, I wondered about the garlic that I planted in the Fall. Would it really survive this terrible winter? I was happily surprised - the garlic is up and seems to be thriving!Of course, it will be a while before

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-90526099139934596392010-03-15T20:51:00.001-04:002010-03-15T21:25:25.161-04:00

So now that I have decided what to plant, I need to find the right seeds and/or seedlings.To date, I have done this in a pretty haphazard manner. For seeds, I go to a large nursery where I live, armed with a list of vegetables I want to grow and a "Recommended Vegetable Cultivars for Maryland Home Gardens" printout. This works great if the recommended cultivars are in stock, but about half the

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-54838598526631778522010-03-06T16:37:00.000-05:002010-03-06T14:48:06.351-05:00

On a recent snowy Sunday (we have had a few of them), I sat down with my garden journal and some seed catalogs and started to plan this year's vegetable garden.This will be the third year of my formal (meaning not just in pots) vegetable garden. Before that, despite the size of my yard, I only did a few tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers in pots. Then, in 2008, I started my first 4x4 square foot

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-81758042785939896922010-02-21T12:31:00.000-05:002010-02-22T13:36:17.615-05:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, several years ago, I had a berm created in my yard. I thought it would solve at least two problems. First, I had a lot of rock in my yard where an above ground pool once stood. Originally, I thought I could slowly get rid of the rock; but after carrying dozens of buckets of rock and not making a noticeable difference, I decided I had to come up with a plan B.The

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-46586037917961735632010-02-11T17:40:00.010-05:002010-03-21T18:09:24.090-04:00

The snow storms over the past two weeks have not been kind to the garden. At first, I was philoshopical about this. Okay, I might lose a few plants, but hey, it is just nature's way of cleaning up the garden. I would just use this as a chance to introduce some new plants to my yard. Then, I saw the damage to my white pines (cue the Psycho music). My white pines lost some major limbs! Now I can

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-61736010053178144792010-02-06T15:54:00.008-05:002010-02-10T19:13:13.573-05:00

I have several major gardening projects that I want to focus on this year.In the past, my eyes have always been bigger than my spade (is that how the saying goes?) and so don’t hold me to actually completing all (or maybe even any) of these. With that caveat, here are my top projects for 2010:Project 1 – Plant a hedgerow. I want to plant a row of fruiting bushes that will attract birds and

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-30203720400441197322010-02-03T19:15:00.007-05:002010-02-04T15:51:39.843-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about going to the Farmers Market in January. I thought I would report on what we made with all of our winter produce.First, we made a savoy cabbage gratin from Vegetarian Suppers from Deborah Madison’s Kitchen (a wonderful vegetarian cookbook). I have just started making gratins (in December I made a swiss chard and sweet potato gratin from Smitten Kitchen).

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-72305336273224904742010-01-20T21:43:00.011-05:002010-01-27T22:31:35.389-05:00

Okay, this month's plant is a big one, and I really debated if I should include it. I know many people have small yards and are never going to be able to plant such a big tree. However, I wanted to highlight what I have learned about oaks, and this is the most impressive oak that grows in my region (the mid-Atlantic). According to Douglas Tallamy (author of Bringing Nature Home), oak trees are

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-43166441194653393352010-01-18T17:29:00.000-05:002010-01-18T17:29:00.088-05:00

One local farmers market stays open all year round and I have always wondered what you can buy at the farmers market in winter and who goes to the market this time of year.This Saturday was one of the first nice days we have had in a while, so I headed off to the market to check things out. It was surprisingly crowded (perhaps because of the nice weather) and also offered a decent variety of

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-76779727368147483292010-01-12T21:23:00.000-05:002010-01-12T21:23:00.343-05:00

I love to think about garden projects, love to plan garden projects. Love, love, LOVE.Especially in winter. Is there anything better than sitting down with a bunch of gardening books, a computer, and a garden notebook? Researching plants, looking up pictures, sketching out plans, cross referencing height, water requirements, deer resistance, etc?I love this so much that my husband will tease me

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-4995008246073137442010-01-06T20:18:00.004-05:002010-01-06T20:40:36.919-05:00

This year we had a volunteer pumpkin plant that we let grow. It produced those small pumpkins that people use for decorating. We harvested about a dozen of them and had them all around the house for some nice fall decoration.It seemed sort of silly to just throw them out when we were done with them, but I didn't want to throw them in the compost since that is how I got the volunteer in the first

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-12996950293808822022009-12-20T11:39:00.004-05:002009-12-23T20:09:29.863-05:00

When most plants have hunkered down to wait out winter, winterberry (ilex verticillata) continues to put on a show. Unlike most hollies, winterberry is decidious. When it loses its leaves in later winter, all that remains are its beautiful red berries.In addition to being a cheerful bright spot in the winter landscape, these berries serve as a great source of food for song birds in the winter

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-17308370074961776902009-12-11T18:08:00.003-05:002009-12-11T18:08:00.393-05:00

For the final installment of my gardener gift guide, I want to highlight some gift ideas for gardeners beyond books (for books, see gift guides part 1 and part 2).1. Rain barrel - Okay, you might want to be cautious with this one. Some people react to a rain barrel the same way they would react to a vacuum under the Christmas tree. But for the right person, this is a great gift. There are lots of

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-82654715691280803732009-12-06T17:17:00.000-05:002009-12-06T17:17:00.657-05:00

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-49297599500813042012009-12-03T19:03:00.001-05:002009-12-03T19:03:00.867-05:00

Earlier, I focused on books for gardeners interested in native plants. In this post, I will focus on books for gardeners interested in vegetable gardening and local food.1. All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. I have to admit it - this is the only book on vegetable gardening that I own. For begining vegetable gardeners, this is a great book. It provides step by step instructions on

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-43964201847591352592009-12-01T18:40:00.000-05:002009-12-01T18:40:33.167-05:00

With the holidays just around the corner, I thought I would share some of my favorite gardening books (and a few I hope to see under the tree this year).This list is focused on native gardening. I will post another list focused on vegetable gardening and local food.1. Noah's Garden and Planting Noah's Garden, by Sara Stein. Noah's Garden is the first book I read that really got me thinking about

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-12567641221222041102009-11-26T09:15:00.001-05:002009-11-26T09:15:00.614-05:00

Hope that you are with people you enjoy, eating food that you enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving!

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-50914630879566183632009-11-23T16:11:00.001-05:002009-11-23T16:11:00.949-05:00

Composting is great - it keeps yard and kitchen waste out of landfills and creates cool stuff (technical term) that improves your garden soil.But if you talk to some people, composting sounds like a lot of work - chopping up everything you put in the pile, layering your materials just so. Then you have to turn the pile weekly, take the temperature of the pile and adjust the moisture level and

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-26799050118757026142009-11-20T18:37:00.000-05:002009-11-20T18:37:00.305-05:00

For my native plant this month, I am picking an odd one. I first saw this plant on a hike in the Adirondacks this past September. I had no idea what it was, but was mesmerized by its white berries on magenta stems.I came home, did some research and found out that this plant, commonly known as “doll’s eyes” is a member of the buttercup family. The latin name is Actaea pachypoda. In late spring or

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-47380089246556718912009-11-16T18:54:00.000-05:002009-11-16T18:54:00.496-05:00

It's easy to eat local in the summer. But for many of us, it gets harder in the fall and winter. This is especially true if you don't can or preserve food some other way. I preserve a few things, but not enough to last all winter.However, it is pretty easy to get the main components of your Thanksgiving meal locally. Farmers markets have potatoes, yams, and squash. And in Maryland we have a

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-30952956773891361212009-11-09T17:30:00.000-05:002009-11-09T17:30:00.785-05:00

After a couple of weeks of ignoring the garden completely, I ventured in this weekend to harvest anything that remains. The haul? Two butternut squash, a jalepeno, a green pepper, a forgotten carrot and lots of chard. In fact, the chard might keep going, but except for that, the only thing that remains in the garden is oregano and sage.I always feel a bit sad when cleaning up the garden for fall.

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-50982918206475109152009-11-01T18:07:00.000-05:002009-11-01T18:07:00.073-05:00

This weekend, I harvested my last eggplants and peppers. I still have two butternut squash on the vine, and some chard that may continue to produce, but I am ready to do the final tally for my garden.From my 32 square foot garden (two 4x4 raised beds) I harvested: Spinach: 12 servings* Leaf Lettuce: 16 servings Boy Choy: 6 servings Romaine: 2 heads Chard: 22 servings Radishes: 3 servings Green

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-86133930718651507462009-10-27T18:11:00.001-04:002009-10-27T18:11:00.781-04:00

This month, I wanted to pick a native that has amazing fall color. Although there are a number of native trees that provide great color, including birch and hickory, in my mind, nothing compares to the sugar maple (acer saccharum). These trees have incredible leaves that vary from orange, to red, to scarlet.In addition to their beautiful fall color, they make a wonderful shade tree and have high

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-66385967218587047942009-10-20T18:02:00.002-04:002009-10-20T18:02:01.136-04:00

Garlic in the grocery store has become more and more disappointing. Apparently, at least part of the reason for this is because there is very little commercial production of garlic in the US any more. Most garlic we eat in the US is produced in China. As a result, by the time it reaches our stores, it is often old and starting to rot or sprout.I decide to look into growing my own garlic. It is

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-550225369580819012009-10-17T19:14:00.000-04:002009-10-17T19:14:00.588-04:00

Despite our success with a number of vegetables, we still had some that didn't produce. It is often hard to know why this happened. Was it the weather? The soil? Old seed?Last week I wrote about my vegetable garden success stories. Now, here are the disappointments of our growing season:Carrots – these were the biggest (littlest?) disappointment. It was my first year growing carrots and I am not

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-75191427233284291282009-10-15T06:00:00.000-04:002009-10-15T10:37:33.704-04:00

Today is Blog Action Day. Once a year, bloggers around the world write about a single topic. This year, the issue is climate change.I can hear it now - "don't lecture us about climate change - we just want to talk about gardening." But here's the thing - our gardens are impacted by climate change, and we can impact climate change with our gardens.For example, climate change can impact what plants

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-82873314753777497972009-10-08T18:34:00.002-04:002009-10-08T18:34:00.159-04:00

The growing season is not quite over, but it is certainly winding down (at least in my garden). So this is a good time to talk about what worked and what didn't in the vegetable garden. I will start with what worked:Swiss Chard – this year, with cool temps and lots of rain, was great for the Swiss chard. We had tons.Tomatoes – fortunately, we did not get the late blight until late, and our tomato

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-62647934201856687542009-10-07T19:26:00.009-04:002009-10-07T20:00:15.622-04:00

Of course, it happens when you start to feel smug....so sure you are immune. After all, my tomatoes had been doing so well - the best year ever.Then one day I walk into the garden and things aren't looking too good. The next day, it is a massacre. Today I tried to harvest what I could, but it was not much.In the meantime, the tomatoes that I picked earlier in the week were fast deteriorating on

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-87764786362245616692009-09-30T20:53:00.018-04:002009-10-02T20:30:36.505-04:00

Sneaking this one in on the last day of September....Now is the time to think about planting bushes. Blueberries are a great bush that should be considered in every yard. They are beautiful and provide great berries to birds and humans. In addition to their berries, blueberries have nice white flowers in the spring, and also offer wonderful color in the fall. In Noah's Garden, Sara Stein said it

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-17126209249604229822009-09-28T19:54:00.005-04:002009-09-28T20:07:39.250-04:00

A lot has been written this year about more and more people turning to gardening as a way to reduce food costs. The idea – buy some inexpensive seeds, throw them in the ground and voila – abundant, fresh food. We all know it isn’t quite that easy, but intuitively, we believe that vegetable gardening can be cost-effective.A couple weeks ago, the Washington Post ran an article in the Sunday

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-11934544661064852132009-09-26T08:18:00.006-04:002009-09-26T09:19:39.350-04:00

I just returned from a short visit to Vermont. While there, I got to sample a lot of great local food. In one day, we were able to attend to several cool local food events in Vermont.Raw Milk Farm Tour – one day a year, a number of dairy farms open their farms to visitors, offering tastings of raw milk, cheese, and other dairy product. Raw milk (which is neither pasteurized nor homogenized)

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-39884977699341997162009-09-17T18:00:00.000-04:002009-09-17T18:00:01.966-04:00

At the recent Native Plant Seminar at The Irvine Nature Center, I attended an afternoon session entitled “The Woods in Your Backyard”. The purpose of the seminar was to teach homeowners with relatively small lots how to manage the woodlands on their property.In Maryland, 78% of all woodlands are owned by private landowners, and 80% of those holdings are under 10 acres. So what we do in our yards

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-77483431276540103882009-09-13T17:50:00.000-04:002009-09-13T17:50:00.393-04:00

There are at least three kinds of invasive knotweeds – Bohemian, giant, and Japanese knotweed. (latin names: Polygonum x bohemicum, P. cuspidatum, P. sachalinense). All have similar characteristics – they are incredibly invasive and incredibly hard to kill.This time of year, knotweed is particularly noticeable in the native landscape because it is flowering. I am not sure which type of knotweed

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-43922038449031056522009-09-09T20:00:00.000-04:002009-09-09T20:00:00.483-04:00

As I mentioned in my first post about preserving tomatoes, I am overwhelmed by all the tomatoes I have this year from my vegetable garden. I am determined not to let any go to waste. And, since I am afraid of canning and have limited freezer space, I need to be smart about my preservation methods.Oven-drying tomatoes is, hands down, the best way to save a lot of tomatoes in a small amount of

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-91131834888442387922009-09-07T17:07:00.005-04:002009-09-07T17:07:00.690-04:00

For me, the highlight of the recent Native Plant Seminar at Irvine Nature Seminar was a talk by Larry Weaner on Creating Native Meadows. Larry Weaner is a landscape architect focused on native plants and natural landscapes.As I mentioned before, I have never really been that interested in a creating a meadow. They are beautiful, of course, but that carefree look always seemed like it took a lot

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-86901716096947757922009-09-03T18:34:00.003-04:002009-09-03T18:34:00.758-04:00

This past weekend, I went to my first Native Plants Seminar at Irvine Nature Center. Although it was my first time attending, it was the 18th annual event, and there were a few people in the audience that had been to all 18!The morning started with a great native plant sale, including this beautiful American Lotus, apparently the only lotus plant native to the U.S. I don’t have a pond, so did not

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-15794422158354847972009-09-01T18:00:00.001-04:002009-09-01T18:00:04.883-04:00

This year, I have been overly blessed with tomatoes. Although I only have 4 plants in my home vegetable garden, they are all prolific producers. We are eating tomatoes every day, giving them away, and still I have mounds of tomatoes on my kitchen counter. I can't let these tomatoes go to waste, so I had to figure out how to preserve them.Some day I want to learn how to can, and I have heard that

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-275384453168763542009-08-28T17:42:00.004-04:002009-08-28T17:42:00.338-04:00

Two common garden pests that make their presence known this time of year are bag worms and fall web worms.In the Baltimore area, the fall web worms are out in full force this year. You see their huge webs hanging from almost every tree in some parts of the county. The good news is that as ugly as they are, fall web worms are not particularly destructive. They will eat all of the leaves within

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-68598634857847626842009-08-26T20:38:00.003-04:002009-08-26T20:38:00.282-04:00

Maybe I am not cut out for Fall vegetable gardening. I am not sure I have the right personality for it.I am a bit of a procrastinator. Or, perhaps a nicer way to put it is, I spend a lot of time thinking before I actually get to the doing.That is not as much of a problem in the Spring. First, I am so excited to finally get outside again, I can’t wait to get to planting. And, if for some reason, I

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-39874841315741997572009-08-21T17:40:00.001-04:002009-08-26T15:46:38.706-04:00

Bad gardening practices can have a significant (negative) impact on the Chesapeake Bay. To address these issues, the Maryland Cooperative Extension developed a "bay-wise" gardening program that is designed to teach people how to garden in a way that helps protect the bay. Individual homeowners can have their yard certified as bay-wise, gaining points for employing appropriate watering and

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-68589189511792100682009-08-19T18:18:00.000-04:002009-08-19T18:31:06.882-04:00

This is a great time of year for eating local food. I thought I would share some of the recent dinners we have made from vegetables that came from our garden. Although none of these dinners was entirely from our garden, all of the main ingedients were grown right here at 2 Green Acres.First up is Baingan Bharta, an Indian Dish made primarily of eggplant, tomato and onion. The eggplant and tomato

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-91972468056543032832009-08-16T21:06:00.010-04:002009-08-16T21:21:36.122-04:00

This is a great recipe, courtesy of my husband:If you like good crispy pickles, the kind you find in a good Jewish deli (that are never found in grocery stores), here is a fantastic recipe. It is super easy, and they are great with just about any sandwich. Pickling cucumbers are best but regular cukes work great, too. The recipe is based on a 32oz jar that you have already eaten the just ok

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-41740102328470399492009-08-12T17:36:00.000-04:002009-08-12T17:37:18.565-04:00

I want to start profiling native plants that are great for use in a backyard and also have wildlife value. August isn't the best month to start such a profile - there are few plants that shine in the dog days of August.However, Joe Pye Weed is an exception. A tall, graceful plant, Joe Pye Weed has beautiful purple flowers, and is loved by birds and butterflies. Some varieties of Joe Pye Weed can

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-3396521271192193282009-08-09T11:02:00.007-04:002009-08-09T13:22:50.718-04:00

Earlier this week, my husband called me and said there was some sort of animal in our vegetable garden. Now, this was surprising, because we have the entire vegetable garden fenced. The fence is primarily to keep deer out, but we thought it was also keeping everything else out.Unfortunately, he could not get a good look at the critter, which was hiding in our pumpkin patch, but he guessed it was

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-8774412624560283242009-08-06T18:56:00.000-04:002009-08-06T18:56:38.572-04:00

Over the last several years, I have become more and more focused on native plants. In some ways it is hard for me to explain - even to myself - this relatively new passion. But when I think about it, there are three primary reasons I am so committed to native trees, shrubs, and flowers:Native Plants support biodiversity. Douglas Tallamy, author of Bringing Nature Home (one of my new favorites -

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-53090372190012810672009-08-04T18:13:00.002-04:002009-08-04T18:20:19.398-04:00

Check out this great article in the Baltimore Sun on local food. It includes one of my favorite resources for local, humanely raised meat, Springfield Farms.Some of these people go to extraordinary lengths to buy local food - including one woman who said she has not been in a conventional grocery store for years. I am not sure I will ever be that "pure", but it is great to see more and more

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-47857143275277316712009-08-02T13:21:00.004-04:002009-08-02T14:47:32.016-04:00

My favorite time of year - so much great produce at the Waverly Farmer's Market.

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-28399397285698931912009-07-27T22:00:00.005-04:002009-08-02T14:48:50.826-04:00

Lately, I have been writing a lot about vegetable gardening (it is the season, after all), but I also wanted to share some information about upcoming events related to native plants:Irvine Nature Center: Native Plant Seminar and Sale, Aug 29. I have never been to this annual event, but this year I am finally going. I understand that they have great seminars and a wonderful plant sale. The plant

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-48440817639155612692009-07-25T15:57:00.008-04:002009-08-02T14:50:37.943-04:00

Well the eat local challenge week is over - how did it go? The goal was to eat at least one local product a day. I am not sure I ate local every day, but I am sure I got my seven in. Here is what I ate:From my garden:Green beans (3 times)Eggplant (2 times)CucumberJalepeno pepperBasilFrom the farmers' market: Green peppersOnionsTomatoes (3 times)I was also fortunate to have a co-worker bring me

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8246307047190718086.post-51354825242259424102009-07-18T14:49:00.000-04:002009-07-25T14:55:08.808-04:00

If you live in Maryland, this week is the "Buy Local" challenge week. Everyone is challenged to eat one item a day from a local farm. How hard can that be?This is a great time for such a challenge - there is a huge variety of local produce available now - at farmers markets, farm stands, perhaps even from your own backyard. Why buy (and eat) local? Here are just a few reasons:Help local farmers -

2 Green Acreshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07896858616554976410noreply@blogger.com4