Category Archives: garden

The First Prairie Flower

It’s always a great day when the lupine assert themselves in the greenery of the prairie. And it’s always a surprise. There in a field of flowers that still seem to just be getting started is a cluster of bright … Continue reading

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How to Eat Radishes

Last year was the year of raw kale. This year I wanted to try cooking radishes. Having seen a cooked radish garnish on a menu recently, and since a bunch of beautiful radishes have literally popped up in the garden … Continue reading

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Pickled Asparagus

One of my goals this year is to do more pickling. First on the list and most important was pickled asparagus. It’s the first year of eating asparagus from the garden, and I knew that as the spears got thinner … Continue reading

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Tomatoes

This is the most anxious time in the garden. This year feels especially fraught. In May we have had a record low temperature (14 degrees on May 2) and a record high (96 degrees on May 15). And it is … Continue reading

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Asparagus!

Three years ago, I had a dream. A dream to eat asparagus from my garden. I obsessively watched Youtube videos, ordered some plants and put them in two of my raised beds. And for that year and the next, I … Continue reading

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Fruitfulness

Here is that photo of the prairie from May 9th. It is hard to believe how fast the green starts to assert itself after a burn. I do love the look of this photo with the paths running through it. … Continue reading

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Spring Greens

Yesterday morning I worked diligently away on the proofs of a book while the classical music station played songs related to May. Ah, May! Glorious spring! Month of full bloom! We can finally put that cruel month, April, behind us. … Continue reading

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Arrival of the Bees

Spring 2013 officially began in Central Minnesota on April 26. Yesterday the temperature went up not just into the 50s and not just into the 60s but actually up to 72. And today, we were all ready. I’m actually relieved I didn’t … Continue reading

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The Mushroom Farm

In 1985, two years before Steve purchased our 80 acres from the Sisters of the Order of Saint Benedict, Kevin Doyle, who was a classmate of Steve’s at St. John’s University, purchased the monks’ old hog farm in Collegeville. These … Continue reading

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Two Months to the Summer Solstice

Most popular blogs tend to be about one thing. They focus on gardening, cooking, culture or politics… And the bloggers who maintain them post frequently, sometimes even daily. If this were a garden blog, each entry for the last two months would read … Continue reading

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