Author: Bob Bauer

My discomfort with the scattered around Swiss chard plants that interfere with a sense of neatness is being resolved. With every rain squall that causes me to take refuge in the greenhouse, a bunch of sparrows descend upon them, eagerly ripping at the leaves in haste because they know I’ll be back shortly. They must wait in the surrounding grape […]

Letting all the volunteer Swiss chard grow in the garden is interfering with my sense of orderliness. I have swung back to a more formal preference, with defined borders. I would prefer the chard plants all in a row somewhere, but they are so deep rooted that transplanting them could be a disaster. The garden looks messy, and having hollyhocks […]

I still haven’t gotten my onion sets planted. All of our local suppliers don’t have any. They think there was a crop failure, and I immediately think global warming. Any agricultural failure on a large scale has me paranoid thinking of catastrophic consequences on the horizon. I could order some on line but am reluctant to pay the freight charge, […]

“Remember what peace there may be in silence” is a line from the Desiderata, and this time of year we have both in the garden. The fog has replaced the shadows, and gray is in the air. Dormancy abounds and the garden’s life is muted. Introspection is winter’s gift; a time to analyze our priorities. A busy life is required […]

December gardening is, you guessed it, a lot like November gardening, except there’s less to do. If you’ve been getting your compost spread, mulch applied, weeds removed, bushes trimmed, vines cut back and areas cleared for spring planting, you are probably running out of things to do. I start my spring garden in six packs, in the house, on a […]

I trapped another rat in the same place as the last one. It was the same size too, and I’m wondering if I got two adults or two adolescents. I guess I’ll find out by resetting the trap and waiting. I also decided to use up the remaining straw because I won’t need more mulch until July. The springtime will […]

If you old coots want some excitement in your life go fire up a burn pile in your garden. Bright orange crackling flames scorching your face, gray smoke billowing up into the sky, the roar of oxygen combusting. Whoo-hoo, you’ll feel like a kid again. It’s a good time to burn all the sticks and coarse debris before the rain […]