Author Archives: Ann Lovejoy

Spring Bounty & Bliss

Posted on June 19, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy

Tart pie cherries are fun to cook with, crossing sweet/savory barriers with panache. Here, they partner with fresh snap peas in a robust entree salad with a mouth-tingling raw ginger dressing. If you don’t eat chicken, use slim strips of extra firm tofu and let them marinate for up to half an hour to absorb the zippy dressing.
Continue reading →

Posted in Recipes, Sustainable Living, Vegan Recipes | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Summer Transplanting

Posted on June 12, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy

Making Smooth Summer Moves I’ve recently been asked to advise on the moving of a long established garden. My first response was to wait until autumn, but sadly, that isn’t possible. Generally speaking, summer transplanting of mature woody plants is … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden Prep, Planting & Transplanting, Pruning, Soil | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Planning A Low Pollen Garden

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy

After seemingly endless rain, warmer, brighter days feel especially welcome. Our flowers seem to feel the same way, for blossoms on practically everything are bigger and more abundant than ever this year. However, lots of flowers also means lots of pollen, which spells acute discomfort for many people and even some pets. As pollen fills the air and dusts our cars and garden furniture and even us, we may be tempted to rip out the borders and turn them all to lawn. Well, except perhaps those of us who are allergic to grasses. (!) Fortunately there are more rewarding alternatives, since living without gardens hardly bears consideration. Continue reading →

Posted in Annual Color, Easy Care Perennials, Health & Wellbeing, Sustainable Gardening, Sustainable Living | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Big, Bold Tomato Flavor

Posted on May 29, 2017 by Ann Lovejoy

For even fuller, brighter flavor, you can also feed tomatoes with kelp extract and a mild (5-5-5) organic fertilizer. If tomato stems break before the fruit has a chance to ripen fully, the problem may be linked to using inadequate water-soluble fertilizers, especially when tomatoes are grown in pots. Liquid seaweed extracts help strengthen weak stems by supporting steady plant growth even when cold nights follow warm days. Kelp combines micronutrients and trace elements with plant hormones and growth stimulants that promote root growth, improve stem and foliage density, and increase chlorophyll production. Kelp extracts also contain traces of sea salt. This turns out to be yet another key to amazing taste. In fact, a single dose of salty seawater (1 cup of seawater per quart of tap water) can improve tomato flavor in particular. Continue reading →

Posted in Nutrition, Sustainable Gardening, Tomatoes, Weed Control | Tagged , , | Leave a comment