SEED SAVING An excellent way to preserve a favorite vegetable variety is to harvest and save the seed from your own garden plants.  This can be done with all open-pollinated (non-hybrid) vegetables.  Hybrids are pollinated by humans for a specific resulting plant.  (Seeds saved from hybrids will not produce the same fruit or... More

  SEPTEMBER GARDENING CALENDAR GENERAL Harvest beans and other crops; remove blossoms from eggplant and peppers to ripen remaining fruits.  Cover sunflowers from birds, pinch tomato tips.  Lay down grass turf.  Watch for slugs and snails, cultivate to destroy grasshopper eggs.  Also, watch for corn earworms. VEGETABLES Cultivate or hoe around cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli,... More

  A GARDEN FOR POLLINATORS Some plants are pollinated by wind, others by water and some are even self-pollinating.  However, most flowering plants depend on bees, birds, flies, beetles, butterflies or other creatures to pollinate their flowers.  In recent years pollinators have declined in numbers worldwide, due to destruction of their native habitats or... More

AURICULA PRIMROSES When we think of primroses, the first thing that comes to mind are the ‘Pacific Giant’ hybrid primroses we see in garden centers.  Actually hundreds of species of Primula are in existence, and some species have been brought into gardens and significantly developed.  The auricula primroses, members of the species P. auricula, have been grown in... More

PEONIES Two main types of peonies are commonly grown in gardens: herbaceous peonies and tree peonies.  Herbaceous peonies die to the ground every winter and regrow in spring.  Tree peonies are shrubs; their flowers bloom early in spring on woody branches.  Here we will discuss the herbaceous, perennial peonies whose flowers appear in early... More

  SOIL PH FOR GARDEN VEGETABLES Soil pH is a measure of acidity or alkalinity.  This measurement can range from a very low pH of 1.0 to an extremely high pH of 14.0.  7.0 is considered neutral and several vegetables will thrive in soil with a neutral pH.  Some vegetables do prefer a more... More

A GARDEN FOR HUMMINGBIRDS   Hummingbirds are native to the Americas.  The ones we see here in Montana migrate every season from Mexico and Central America.  All species of hummingbirds need to eat often, in fact they consume 100% to 200% of their body weight each day, eating bugs and drinking flower nectar.  To... More

  Raising vegetables in containers is an excellent option for those of us who are living in a dwelling temporarily, are short of space, or have poor soil.  Containers are useful and versatile; pots can be moved around if a location is too hot, windy or shady.  Plants that enjoy heat, such as melons,... More

SOME HEIRLOOM AND NEWER HARDY SHRUBS I wish I had more pictures to illustrate this article; but I include a few of hardy shrub roses.  All the shrubs described here grow well with organic gardening practices. Flowering shrubs brighten our home gardens.  They bring beauty and fragrance while providing cover and nesting places for birds.  Listed below are a... More

  Tomatoes are native to the Andes Mountain region, a region of varied climates.  The kind of tomatoes most frequently grown in our gardens are botanically classified as Lycopersicon esculentum.   Tomatoes are easy to grow in Western Montana if given the right conditions in the garden.  The site should be sunny and protected from... More