We're Digging It | Journal Gazette

How to get children interested in gardening

Anne Gregory — Sun, 12 May 2013 12:59:49 EST

Rosa Salter Rodriguez has a great story

Small-fruit seminar offered

The Journal Gazette — Fri, 10 May 2013 08:23:26 EST

Ricky Kemery, Purdue Horticulture Extension educator for Allen County and a Journal Gazette garden columnist, is offering a seminar on growing small fruit. The session is 10 a.m. June 1 at the Allen County Extension office. He will talk about growing fruit such as strawberries, raspberries, currents and grapes.

Might have pears this summer

Cathie Rowand — Wed, 08 May 2013 03:00:00 EST

My pear trees are blossoming for the first time since I planted them two years ago. I found two small trees that were sort of flat to begin with and have been training and pruning them grow espalier on the backside of my home.

Keeping it simple in the garden

Cathie Rowand — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:20:25 EST

Every year I vow to keep it simple in the vegetable garden. My idea of gardening is to check out how it is doing in the morning while drinking my cup tea and that's it.

Orioles are back

Cathie Rowand — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:13:12 EST

Every year my Baltimore orioles return on the first of May. I put out my oriole and hummingbird feeders mid-April just in case they arrived earlier.

Take a hike and smell the wildflowers

Cathie Rowand — Wed, 01 May 2013 17:42:51 EST

The recent warm weather has set off a burst of color in the woods. Check out the photos.

Repot your starts

Cathie Rowand — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:35:23 EST

Repotting is an import process in growing your own vegetable plants. I always plant the thin stem way down into the dirt leaving the foliage just peaking out.

Leave of absence

Cathie Rowand — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:50:36 EST

I haven't seen a squirrel at my bird feeder for a whole week. I usually see one of the four resident squirrels hourly at the feeders.

Hardening off the plants

Cathie Rowand — Wed, 01 May 2013 10:42:11 EST

The few 60 degree days, that we seem to have every once in a while, is a good time to start hardening off your vegetable plants. Hardening is needed to acclimate your plants to the great outdoors after they have been cuddled and nurtured in a perfect indoor environment.

April showers bring May … weeds

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:44:03 EST

"The public should call 311 to report a possible violation where weeds or grass are at least nine inches tall."

That buzzing sound? Blame the rain

Anne Gregory — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 13:01:32 EST

Experts say that Indiana could have a bumper crop of mosquitoes this year.

13 other reasons to add a cucumber plant to your garden

Cathie Rowand — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 03:00:00 EST

I always include cucumbers in my garden because they are one of my favorite summer vegetables. If my plants produce more than can be eaten, then I will pickle and can them to eat during the winter. An email from a friend gives some these other uses for an over abundance of cucumbers which I find intriguing.

Daffodils are in bloom

Cathie Rowand — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 15:37:33 EST

Spring is here when the daffodils are in bloom and I hear the trill of a kingfisher.

It's not too late to start plants by seed

Cathie Rowand — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:47:10 EST

I started this year's vegetables indoors by seed a couple of weeks ago, but it isn't too late to start your vegetables and flowers for the summer.

Off to the home & garden show

Anne Gregory — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 12:22:27 EST

Answering the siren's call to Memorial Coliseum this afternoon, hoping to pick up some ideas for Dirt Cottage. Maybe I'll see you there.

Seeing green? You can see more

Anne Gregory — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 12:42:39 EST

Our test pots at the office are starting to put out new growth, and one of the peace lilies is sending up a bloom stalk.

How to make your garden more 'green’

StatePoint — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

If you want to feel truly good about what you grow, consider upgrading your garden to be more planet-friendly.

Tips to start composting for your garden

StatePoint — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 03:00:00 EST

It doesn't matter if you're a gardening novice trying to supplement your dinner table with some home-grown veggies or an entrepreneur that earns a living off the land, composting is a simple way to go green and help save the environment.

Tips to save time on lawn maintenance

StatePoint — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 09:33:26 EST

You can prevent weeds from taking over your lawn by letting your grass grow out a bit, as longer grass supports a deeper root system.

Allen County 4-H takes plant sale orders

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 09:25:35 EST

"Orders must be placed and paid for by March 29 or while supplies last."

Attempting to have a winter garden

Cathie Rowand — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 12:22:21 EST

I cooked up the mustard greens and I am now realizing that mustard has too strong of a flavor.

What's the best way to save geraniums over the winter?

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 09:29:31 EST

Subject: The Dirt I love your column! I wish it were in the paper more often ... but then you wouldn't have time to dig in the dirt. I appreciate that you don't preach perfection, but instead share your love of gardening with a little humor and realism.

Hard work

Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:57:39 EST

Two friends, Levi, 3, and Gabby, 3 1/2, take a rest from messing up Gabby’s grandpa’s leaf pile while others wait their turn!

Leaf long jump

Debbie Odden — Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:48:02 EST

My daughter, Ava Odden, is jumping in our leaf pile.

A fall garden

Cathie Rowand — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 14:49:34 EST

Yesterday I planted a fall garden with the mustard greens, Swiss chard and broccoli I started by seed in August

Fall broccoli off to a bad start

Cathie Rowand — Wed, 03 Oct 2012 16:44:57 EST

The other day I found my young broccoli plants devastated by cabbage worms. I stopped counting the number of worms after I pulled off a hundred.

Whole bunch of honeybees

Anne Gregory — Sun, 30 Sep 2012 13:22:27 EST

I was visiting a neighbor in Lafayette Place on Saturday and noticed she had a whole bunch of honeybees crawling all over her pink-flowered sedum plants.Don't think I've seen that many honey-makers in one place for at least a couple of years now.

Early frost means a cold winter?

Cathie Rowand — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 20:13:21 EST

I was flipping through the channels on the television before I headed off to bed last night when I noticed a frost warning on the local weather station. Seems a bit early to have frost, especially now that my tomatoes seem to be producing more than they did this summer.

Sunflower with a bee

Jan Davis — Wed, 19 Sep 2012 12:21:04 EST

This photo was taken in Davis Park (as my neighbors call it) at Tri-Lakes, Columbia City.

Drought, economy kill Neuhouser’s

Anne Gregory — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 08:39:42 EST

We posted the announcement this morning that Neuhouser's has closed.

Doggone cute

Lynn Taft — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 13:33:40 EST

A stray fell into the tomato barrel and produced a lovely blue “weed.”

Cannis for the hummers

Cathie Rowand — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 12:56:12 EST

Last spring I planted cannis roots with the thought that the hummingbirds would discover the flowers. As the season progressed, I began to think that that this wouldn't happen.

Not a miniature

Jennifer Sorg — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 08:09:15 EST

Next year’s plan: Weed or plant, if I didn’t put it there, it’s not staying.

Jack and the mandevilla vine

Mrs. Robert Fahl — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:29:17 EST

It is reaching for the stars, in a year when bunnies are eating the lovely ground flowers we usually have.

Bumblebees, what's not to like?

Cathie Rowand — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 15:00:02 EST

I really love bumblebees. My co-worker, Anne, says that as a child she wanted to pet them.

Beautiful mistake

Rita Squadrito — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 17:04:12 EST

Before long it was climbing up and attaching itself to my trellis of ivy and clematis!

Garden fireworks

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 12:05:25 EST

Photo courtesy Ted Bates of Fort Wayne.

Fleeting beauty

Mon, 03 Sep 2012 06:13:04 EST

So worth the wait, if only to last a day or two!!

Garlic chives needs some supervision

Cathie Rowand — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 03:00:00 EST

I noticed this beautiful flower in bloom in my vegetable garden. I don't remember planting garlic chives there, but it doesn't surprise me.

Collecting seeds for next year's garden

Cathie Rowand — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 03:00:00 EST

Last summer I collected yellow sweet pepper seeds from the peppers I grew when I discovered that a pack of just yellow sweet peppers has hard to find at local stores.

Indiana bans sale of invasive aquarium, water garden plants

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 09:08:30 EST

"The purpose of this rule is to help prevent the introduction and distribution of aquatic invasive plants into Indiana waters and wetlands."

Fort Wayne's tallest sunflower?

Courtesy Betsy Magner — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:56:22 EST

Stefan, 9, and the sunflower

Beautifully designed for invasion

Cathie Rowand — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 15:03:56 EST

Purple loosestrife is beautiful plant with spikes of purple flowers but invades wetlands in clumps that multiply fast and choke out native vegetation.

Mystery eggplant is edible, sweet, delicious

Cathie Rowand — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 12:19:46 EST

Eggplants are slow-growing, and take about 3 months to mature from seed to mature plant. I started harvesting eggplant in July but now the plants have reached their prime and are producing a lot of fruit.

Water + nylon pull strap + 4x4 pickup = no bush

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 08:26:23 EST

Seriously Anne ... the easiest way to pull a big bush out of the ground

Fall crops are the second spring of the season

Cathie Rowand — Fri, 17 Aug 2012 08:00:00 EST

After reading Rosa Salter Rodriguez's article “Starting fresh: Let fall be the new spring for your withering garden,” I realized that now is the time to start vegetables from seeds for this fall.

Defenders of the garden have arrived

Cathie Rowand — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 13:47:05 EST

At the beginning of the season, I saw aphids on one of my tomato plants. I sprayed them off with my garden hose and contemplated buying some ladybugs.

Critters make themselves at home in my garden.

Cathie Rowand — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 16:15:52 EST

I'm starting to get beautiful big juicy tomatoes in my garden but a critter is plucking the green ones, eating half and then tossing the rest.

In your garden: Zinnia patch

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 17:19:26 EST

Don Snyder says his 92-year-old mother told him he should send us these photos of his zinnia patch on Maple Avenue in Fort Wayne.

Making the most of little rain there is

Cathie Rowand — Fri, 27 Jul 2012 10:33:20 EST

I built and installed my second rain barrel just before the last rain. It seems strange to be adding a rain barrel during drought conditions, but we have had heavy four rains this summer, enough to fill the barrel 4 times.

Pick okra at its optimum size

Cathie Rowand — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 17:39:09 EST

Some of my okra was rather woody. I didn't have this problem last year, so I thought it was the heat.

What's blooming now?

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 03:00:00 EST

You can use the comments or email garden@jg.net

Water and mulch to survive

Cathie Rowand — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 14:47:18 EST

The high temperatures have been really wicked on my garden and yard in general. I have been watering some of my trees, 2 years old and younger, plus a couple of fruit trees.

What's your least favorite garden chore?

Sat, 30 Jun 2012 03:00:00 EST

Mowing? Weeding? Edging? Do you just get it done or have you found a way to make it more fun? You can use the comments or email garden@jg.net

Birds get thirsty, too

Cathie Rowand — Fri, 29 Jun 2012 11:04:06 EST

Birds need to drink a lot of water on hot summer days. They pant when it is really hot.