Good Growing

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Person holding pruners getting ready to prune branch off a fruit tree

How to prune fruit trees for healthier trees and better harvests

January 21, 2021

It’s that time of year - time to start thinking about pruning your deciduous trees. Most deciduous trees are best pruned while they are in full dormancy. This happens to be January to early March for this...

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worms feeding on food waste creating compost

Vermicomposting: A Composting Option for the Winter

January 14, 2021

Being two weeks into the new year, I hope those of you with new goals of healthier eating are still going strong. If things didn’t work out the way you had planned, no worries; vermicomposting can help you get rid of all those fruits and vegetables that have gone bad and provide a nutrient rich...

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Positive Change Can Make a Difference in Your Community

January 9, 2021

As I type out this article, I can’t stop thinking about my drive to work today. After days of clouds, ice, snow, and more clouds, the sun shone brightly as it crept over the eastern horizon. As sunbeams edged further across the landscape the trees became illuminated with a rainbow of light. It was...

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New plants for a new year - try growing something new in 2021

December 30, 2020

Out with the old and in with the new. A new year means the garden catalogs are starting to arrive and that it’s time to start planning this year’s garden. Whether you’re just getting started or you’re a veteran gardener, consider growing something new this year in your garden. If you’ve listened...

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Raising Reindeer

December 24, 2020

You know Dasher, and Dancer, and Prancer, and Vixon, and of course Rudolph from being a part of Santa’s trusty reindeer herd, but did you know that Santa isn’t the only one that is raising reindeer? It is thought that reindeer, Rangifer tarandus, were first domesticated around 5,000...

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Using greenery to bring a little holiday cheer

December 16, 2020

The butcher. That’s what I have felt like these last few weeks. Butchering trees for their greenery to make holiday decorations. I would argue, being a fir or pine tree butcher has its perks. I smell like Christmas when I’m done. I’m able to take my kids (and a tag-along cat) for walks as we find...

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European mistletoe with green leaves and white berries on a wooden table

Kissing under the mistletoe – A holiday favorite with a dark side

December 10, 2020

From evergreens and Poinsettias to holiday cacti and holly, we use a variety of different plants to adorn our homes and offices during the holidays. One plant we commonly hear about is mistletoe. Mistletoe has an interesting past, from an ancient symbol of fertility to somewhere to sneak a...

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Christmas Tree Selection

December 3, 2020

Some of my fondest memories of Christmas growing up was venturing out to get a Christmas tree together as a family. Most of the time we just found a misshapen red cedar tree from our timber; however, when choosing a Christmas tree, ideally you want something that has good shape, color, and branch...

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How to winterize outdoor plumbing - irrigation, hoses, spigots

November 26, 2020

Leftovers. Is this why we only eat turkey once a year? Because after all the leftovers we are sick of giant poultry? Nah! I think turkey is simply more of a seasonal thing. We grow up seeing a turkey as the Thanksgiving centerpiece. To eat a whole turkey any other time just feels wrong. It’s like...

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pots with dormant plants covered in snow clustered together on a porch

Overwintering potted plants

November 18, 2020

Have you ever gone a little overboard buying plants and run out of room or energy to plant them all in the fall and figured it could wait until spring, only to find out most, or all have died? Or maybe you’ve had a container planter with perennials and excitedly waited for them to resume growth in...

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