Author: Bob Bauer

It seems like it takes forever to grow a cauliflower. I know the packet of seeds says they mature in 65 days but walking by them every day makes it feel like two thirds of the summer. To keep the fresh cauliflower pipe line full requires 37,000 acres of planting, far more than I can even imagine. It’s the most […]

I pulled up the cauliflower in the greenhouse to make room for spring planted lettuce, and the white flies caused a blizzard like a snow globe. I don’t know if they like lettuce, but I might have to use a leaf blower on ’em. The other side of the aisle will be a double row of spinach because leafy greens […]

Winters seem just too long for our short summers. I guess that’s why so many greenhouses get built. Extending the growing season is one way to shorten the winter. Lots of the recently constructed large greenhouses around here feature fans at the vents, heaters, and grow lights on all day long. There isn’t enough sunlight in the winter to promote […]

Tomatoes, corn, beans and zucchini. I need to think about these garden favorites every day now that the winter dismals have set in. Remembering how they looked, where they grew, picking them, weeding, mulching and watering them makes me less solemn. Sunlight and warm temperatures are in short supply this time of year and are sorely missed. When the ground […]

I’ve just read an article about photosynthesis that was enlightening. It seems that it is very inefficient in plants due to the action of RuBisCo, which does not always select carbon dioxide for the process. Twenty percent of the time it chooses oxygen instead, resulting in the formation of toxic substances. The plant devised means of removing the substance, called […]

I had a burn pile in the garden yesterday and it was great. Bright orange flames can really cheer me up. The whole garden became more festive as I gathered up sticks. Instead of hauling my bush and vine trimmings down to the creek all summer, I piled them up in a corner of the garden. This saved a lot […]

There’s was another juvenile rat in the trap yesterday, reminding me that there is still an adult at large. I better add peanut butter to the shopping list, this may take awhile. There were also red buds on the oak tree. I spend half the winter looking for signs of spring. After pining for the return of the buttercup blossoms […]