Article and photos by Rob Danforth Cherry, grape, pear, plum, early maturing, beefsteak, heritage, heirloom … once thought to be poisonous, tomatoes are now a gardener favourite. Of the many flavours, shapes, and colours, gardeners look for the tomatoes
The DTE Notebook for the Urban Organic Vegetable, Herb and Flower Gardener. Potatoes: the good, the bad, and the ugly Article and photos by Rob Danforth Potatoes: the “good” (3.5 lbs from 1 store bought potato), the “bad” (Colorado
Article and photos by Rob Danforth Wind, vibration, and a great many different insects act as pollinators, and all are essential to successful gardening! To attract and keep pollinators, imitate nature by promoting biodiversity in vegetables, herbs, flowers, & flowering
The DTE Notebook for the Urban Organic Vegetable, Herb, and Flower Gardener Reducing the Use of Plastic in Gardening. Article and photos by Rob Danforth In the long run, gardening contributes an enormous amount of plastic waste: tools, scoops, tool
Article and photos by Rob Danforth Odds and Ends: Biodiversity Biodiversity, bug hotels, & bug restaurants attract and keep helpful pollinators and predatory insects. Avoid large sections of one kind of plant; monocultures attract swarms of hurtful bugs and they
Article and photos by Rob Danforth Vertical food gardening saves space & time and maybe your knees and back! 2 of 3 sisters – add a vine like tomato, pole beans, or cucumber to climb the stalk Vertical gardening allows
Article and photos by Rob Danforth Targeted watering can save time, plants, and water. On a hot, dry day, a thirsty plant needs a drink, not a bath! Water plant roots only, not plant leaves, pathways, weeds, or any unproductive
Article and photos by Rob Danforth Mulch to cover exposed soil: keeping soil naked is a lot of unnecessary, labour-intensive work for a gardener, not to mention the waste of growing space! Nature will constantly dress exposed soil in green
By Rob Danforth Tilling increases weeding by bringing weeds’ seeds to the surface and tilling chops up weeds which may significantly multiply the weeds from the many cuttings! No-till gardening with raised beds or permanent earth rows and walkways saves
By Rob Danforth Let’s consider the “labour to yield ratio” or “labour to personal enrichment ratio”: when the labour side becomes much greater than the reward side of the ratio, urban organic vegetable & herb gardening quickly loses its appeal.
