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“I MUST KNOW THE NAME OF THE PROMETHEAN PLANTS IN YOUR FRONT YARD,” exclaim $$PLAIN_TEXT_PREVIEW$$
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Grow Cardoon, Pumpkin Fun, Tomato Breeding, High-Altitude Growing, Passive Solar Greenhouses, Figs at -40°, Grow Sorrel
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Welcome. I’m Steven Biggs, a farm, food, and garden writer and speaker. This is my newsletter. Thank you for your interest in what I do. |
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“I MUST KNOW THE NAME OF THE PROMETHEAN PLANTS IN YOUR FRONT YARD,” exclaimed the caller, describing bold, arching, grey leaves. I was delighted by the call, mainly because I love talking about plants—but also because I learned a new word. I knew right away the plant in question was cardoon (Cynara cardunculus). The caller was captivated by the four-foot (1.2-m) tall, silver-grey, spiny-leaved garden sentries arching over the edge of my driveway. They had prime front-garden real estate because they fit the edible theme I have for the space—their ornamental leaf stalks can be eaten. Click here to read more about growing cardoon—an edible that deserves a place in any edible garden. |
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Historic Spadina House in Toronto, where there was a spectacular display of cardoons this fall! |
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Enjoying Pumpkins beyond Halloween
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Pumpkin Fun Beyond Halloween
The first pumpkin is carved for Halloween this year; the kids had a pumpkin-carving get-together with friends over the weekend. That only leaves three giant pumpkins, four pie pumpkins, a warty pumpki |
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Pumpkin Fun Beyond Halloween
The first pumpkin is carved for Halloween this year; the kids had a pumpkin-carving get-together with friends over the weekend. That only leaves three giant pumpkins, four pie pumpkins, a warty pumpki |
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On The Garage Gardeners Show
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“We actually got figs…can’t believe it! Thanks to the Fig Pig’s guidebook: “Grow Figs Where You Think You Can’t.”
Thank you to Emma who shared her success with me on Instagram! |
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Figs at -40°
How to Overwinter Figs in Cold Climates When people ask me about how to overwinter figs in cold climates, I usually start my reply by saying that there are many ways to get figs trees to survive the |
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Kids Gardening VideosEmma and her friend Ty in Pennsylvania have been busy sharing their love of gardening and cooking in another season of videos for kids on their channel From Dirt to Dishes. Here are some of their recent videos. |
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Grow Lemons Where You Think You Can’tHurray! My book Grow Lemons Where You Think You Can’t is now available as an e-book. Want to look inside? Click here. Or click the picture of it to find out about getting a paperback copy. |
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Gardening with EmmaWe have been getting a lot of great feedback about Gardening with Emma. We love this heartwarming note: “We have been inspired to plan our own gardens for next summer by your Gardening With Emma book, which was given to us by our Grandma. (She has a huge garden with both flowers and vegetables). We just looked up where to buy some cucamelon seeds, and are looking forward to planting them next spring.”
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Garage Gardeners ShowOur guests share tips on how to push garden boundaries. Live on Reality Radio 101, 2 pm ET, the first Wednesday of every month. Previous episodes are on the web page and Apple Podcasts. We cover subjects ranging from veg in the Yukon, edible flowers, container gardening, backyard chickens, year-round herbs, northern nuts, figs in the north, passive solar greenhouses, fruit on the prairies, straw-bale gardening, and year-round veg gardening. |
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