I finally got around to planting this year’s cucumbers. Why, you might ask, did I wait so long? I’m so glad you ask. Last year we had problems with cucumber beetles killing all of our plants. Actually, it’s not the beetles. They just like to feed on the plants. But they carry a bacteria in [...]
When you see the leaves of your zucchini plant suddenly wilt and fall to the ground, it’s a sure sign that somehting is drastically wrong. More likely than not, it’s a squash vine borer. Lately we seem to be plagued with squash troubles. Last year it was too much rain and some kind of rot [...]
Tags: pests·squash borer·zucchini
Do bears attack bee hives? According to our farmer friend Leigh Hauter, they most definitely do. In his most recent letter to CSA subscribers, Leigh describes how bears dismantled no less than seven of his best “survivor” hives, meaning bees that produce year after year. About this time last year, he came upon three bears–a mother [...]
Tags: local farming·pests
We are engaging the concerns of a hungry planet--slowly--right here in our kitchen garden in the District of Columbia, about a mile from the White House.
What's in your turkey? We killed and butchered more than 80 birds on the farm of Mike and Michelle Klein in Prince George's County. Thankfully, Michelle did the gutting. Unfortunately, Mike bought his turkey chicks earlier than usual and they did not stop growing. Our prize for helping was a carcass that weighed nearly 40 pounds. It barely fit in the oven. Here, Mike is subjecting a slaughtered bird to the "magic fingers," a machine with a nubby, rotating barrel that removes most of the feathers. 
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