Posts by Jenks Farmer
Carolina Gems
Today’s plan got canceled by the cold. And by the desire to do something fun like getting a new wash station set up in the nursery— Jacob and I dug trench and secured a sink. We were supposed to work with this beautiful plant, ‘Carolina Ruby’ Yaupon. Tomorrow maybe, we’ll dig holes to ready some…
Read MoreHere are a dozen slides or so of tools — pictures I’ve taken from around the world!
Read MoreBetter Than Boiled Peanuts?
I understood immediately when he said, ‘taste this’ that Mr. Ben wasn’t trying to trick me or wait to laugh as I grimaced. He was sharing. Now, he and I know and we know each other knows, the taste of the amber colored jelly that fills the bean pods of Kentucky Coffee Tree. He told…
Read MoreSoil Soul Test
I’ve been sitting inside all morning, a rare thing for me, trying to decide how to handle the disappointing results of our most recent soil test. Yeah, our great red organic soil failed. 60 points on a 100 point scale. I came up with a five step program to address the failings of my soil…
Read MoreSnails, Nails, Puppy Dog Tails And A Blue Princess Dress
We had a bunch of children over New Year’s Day. These are outside loving young-uns. Who ever says youth is all tied to technology today, hasn’t met these dirt lovers. A second grade girl, one minute in a princes dress and the next minute tricking me into smell her hands — covered in putrid, rain…
Read MoreMost days, Sugarbear is farm dog who rolls in manure and moves her buried treasures, dead squires, pizza crust, ham bones, from hole to hole thus keeping it secure from the cats, who’s surely just get it while she’s asleep in front of the fireplace, if they wanted a three week old squirrel body. Tough…
Read MoreRare Plants that Look Like Common Plants!
People say I’m not patient. But here is proof. Just this week, someone said to me, “oh no, we can’t plant a sago palm, my friend says it will get all brown and ugly in the winter.” What I didn’t say was, “How many species of Cycads does your friend grow?” See? The patience…
Read MoreGo see it, Go love it. Preservation of Ancient Cypress.
Do you care what goes into the river and stream and storm gutter? If you go see the life, the magic the fragile and towering things that live in along our water ways, you do. Every little rivulet formed in in these rainy days has this kind of life beside it. It takes everybody. We…
Read MoreDrizzly Memories
These gray days remind me of life and gardening in Seattle. It took me a while to realize that people do stuff in drizzle, besides read the paper and take naps. Mowing grass in the rain, raking in the rain, putting out bulbs and seed in the rain. It’s a great time to garden…. This…
Read MoreMen on DL Don’t Let Them Play with Atrazine
You know all that nice apple green rye grass that people put out this time of year? It makes your balls shrink. It’s all around the gates and entries to the Augusta National now and in banks’ lawns, golf courses and roadways. The grass itself isn’t a problem. But a chemical used on it might…
Read More