Small-space gardening from seed, on a teacher's budget
A small-space gardening blog from a 1920s house in New York's Hudson Valley.
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Onion Seeds Under the Shop Lights During February Break
Mid-winter recess means onion seeds in the basement. How I sow storage and red onions thick in flats and give …
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Porch & Containers
13 posts · latest: End-of-Season Clearance: What I Bought and What I Left on the Shelf
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Vegetables & Herbs
15 posts · latest: Picking Our Biggest Garlic Heads to Replant This Fall
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Lavender That Finally Survived a Winter
Three dead lavender plants taught me about drainage. The fourth, in gritty soil beside the sunny porch steps, is blooming …
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Vegetables & HerbsPicking Our Biggest Garlic Heads to Replant This Fall
October 7, 20263 min read
Seasons & Harvest KitchenHot Sauce and Frozen Peppers Before the First Frost
October 3, 20263 min read
Home & Garden BudgetHomeowners Insurance Renewal, Year Two After Switching
September 26, 20263 min read
Seed StartingNotes From Two Seasons of Seed Starting, Before I Forget
September 19, 20263 min read
Porch & ContainersEnd-of-Season Clearance: What I Bought and What I Left on the Shelf
September 12, 20263 min read
Flowers & PollinatorsCollecting Zinnia and Marigold Seeds for My Students
September 5, 20263 min read
Seasons & Harvest KitchenCanning Salsa With an Eleven-Year-Old Helper
August 29, 20264 min read
Seasons & Harvest KitchenComing Home From Lake George to Forty Pounds of Tomatoes
August 22, 20263 min readHome & Garden Budget
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Home & Garden BudgetSummer Water Bill, Year Two: $176 With Rain Barrels and Drip
August 8, 20263 min read
Home & Garden BudgetGroundhogs, Deer and Ticks: Two Seasons of Pest Control Costs
July 25, 20264 min read
Home & Garden BudgetInside the Porch Repair: Four Days, One Rotted Joist, $6,640
June 6, 20264 min read
Home & Garden BudgetBarrels, Diverters, a Drip Kit and a Timer: Our $294 Water Setup
May 2, 20264 min read
Home & Garden BudgetThree Quotes to Fix the Porch: $4,850, $6,300 and $9,700
April 4, 20264 min read
Home & Garden BudgetSetting the 2026 Garden Budget at $500
January 4, 20264 min read
Home & Garden BudgetOur 2025 Garden in Numbers: $538 Spent, 148 Pounds Picked
November 9, 20253 min read
Home & Garden BudgetShopping Our Homeowners Insurance Before the November Renewal
October 18, 20254 min readNew here?
I started with four pots of basil on our front porch in the spring of 2020. Now the porch holds three dozen pots and window boxes, the backyard has two raised beds, and every February the basement turns into a seedling nursery.
I teach elementary art during the school year and garden hardest in summer. Here I share what we grow from seed in zone 6b, what it costs, what the deer and the groundhog take, and what ends up on our table.
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Small-space gardening from seed, on a teacher's budget
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Chive Pancakes for the First Warm Saturday
The chive clump by the back steps is always the first thing we eat from the yard. Crisp scallion and chive pancakes, …
Measuring What the Seedling Lights Add to Our Electric Bill
Two LED shop lights and a heat mat run in our basement from February to May. I put a plug-in meter on …
Hardening Off Forty Seedlings on a Windy Southwest Porch
Our porch gets hot afternoon sun and gusts that flatten tomato starts. My ten-day hardening-off routine and the two trays I lost …
Starting Peppers in Early March While the Tomato Seeds Wait
Peppers get ten weeks under lights here, tomatoes closer to eight. My March sowing schedule for a Mother's Day frost …
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Seed Starting
14 posts · latest: Notes From Two Seasons of Seed Starting, Before I Forget
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