Thursday, December 1, 2011 at 2:00PM 
I’ve been told by certain garlicphobes—shockingly, I know a few—that I stink of garlic. “Stink?” I think. And then, inevitably, the look of bewilderment slides off my face, my mouth opens and something along the lines of “Here, eat some of my husband’s pesto and shut up” graciously pops out.
Thursday, November 3, 2011 at 2:00PM 
It’s hard to believe that in a city where August is punctuated by air quality alerts and the heat index routinely hits the century mark, cool salads, after taking a short hiatus in July and August, are back in rotation by September. So, smog be damned, late August is a great time to plant another round of lettuce, bitter greens and radishes.
Monday, October 10, 2011 at 2:00PM 
Thursday, September 29, 2011 at 3:51PM 
October’s waning days and crisp evenings provide welcome relief from the summer’s brutal heat, but it’s a bittersweet reward: The summer’s bounty is already nothing more than a bright delicious memory, and your garden is largely in hibernation. If your recall is anything like mine, though, it’s a great time to document your gardening triumphs and your brown thumb travails before March hits and you think, “Now, what was it that I was going to do to keep my tomatoes alive? Dance naked in the moonlight while chanting the lyrics to ‘Eye of the Tiger’? Or was it something about marigolds?” So, pull out that frilly journal from Aunt Sally and take a few notes. Your neighbors will appreciate it.
Thursday, July 28, 2011 at 4:31PM 
Beetles, worms, ants and aphids, oh my! I’m convinced that because my Pennsport deck is home to the only vegetables within, oh, most of the neighborhood, every pest in the ’hood sees my garden as an oasis of tastiness. Last year’s battles included all the garden-variety bugs you’d expect, plus whiteflies, cabbage loopers and brown marmorated stink bugs
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 at 3:07PM 
One of the upsides to container gardening is that crops are less likely to succumb to soil-borne illnesses. Unlike traditional farmers and gardeners, container gardeners have the option of starting with fresh, sterile soil each year. If last year’s crops lost the battle against blights, wilts or mildews, then it’s smart to ditch the dirt, sterilize some containers, and start anew. Sadly, that’s rarely enough to keep a garden hale and hearty—every year, it seems as though my garden gets hit with one affliction or another, despite the clean dirt. Prevention is paramount, but when that doesn’t work, witches’ brews and sacrifices to the garden gods are in order.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011 at 3:37PM 
I confess. I judge books by their covers. I’ll happily lay down an extra couple of dollars for the bottle of wine with the well-designed label. And yes, this unfortunate tendency extends to my little garden. For the past several years, containers sprouting heirlooms with awesome names (Mr. Stripey, Dragon’s Egg, Boothby’s Blonde, Painted Lady) and gorgeous packaging have taken up every available inch of dirt. Alas, the packaging often seems to be better than the yield.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010 at 2:00PM 
We’ve all carped about the litter cluttering our neighborhoods’ streets—even catching litterbugs in the act and voicing disapproval. For Matt Migliore and Brooke Allen, it got to be too much. They could no longer see past the tossed tissues and discarded Doritos bags.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010 at 10:41AM 
Last winter, after helping our neighbors shovel out of a blizzard, we were rewarded with a lovely pineapple. It got me thinking: “How do these things work?” Unfortunately, it remains a bit of a mystery, as last year’s attempts at pineapple propagation failed, and ditto the efforts to start an avocado tree.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010 at 2:20PM 
Sigh. It’s that time of the year again—days are on the wane and winter is on its way. As much as I’d like to replace the contents of each container with a promising crop of hearty root vegetables, the Earth’s revolutions (and my neighbor’s bathroom addition) shelter my little blue roofdeck from most of the sun’s beneficial winter rays.
