Garden | Jenmenke.com

Shallots are In! …I Mean Out!

I don’t know how I’ll ever use them all, but roughly calculating along the lines of grocery store prices, I could probably sell them and pay for my daughter’s college. Or better yet, something fun for my office.

Seriously. Why are shallots so damn expensive? They are an onion, for Pete’s sake!

Anyway, it has been years since [...]

It’s Never Too Late To Start A Garden

Take it from one who knows.

Due to a serious lack of character, I never got around to planting my squash, melons and pumpkins in their dedicated patch. You may remember part of the reason why from the pictures I posted when writing about Strawberries back on June 4th. For your convenience, here is what the patch [...]

When Will I Ever Learn?

I keep notes, I write this stupid blog. And still, I make the same mistakes over and over.

What, pray tell, was I thinking in March when I created this mess?

Actually, I know what I was thinking when I planted shelling peas two rows wide followed by sugar snap peas weeks later, three rows wide. I was [...]

Always Deadhead Your Peonies

Or Deadhead Your Kids.

Just pick one and commit.

Kids are out of school. At our house that means that I attempt to include them in the household chores. Now, I could go on and on about the various angles I have taken over the years on this subject. But I can tell you this:

None of them are [...]

The Earliest Ripe Tomatoes

Step-By-Step Instructions

You can read all about Wall-O-Water mini greenhouses, early tomato varieties, special fertilization methods and countless other ways to get the jump on your garden tomato season and try to implement them with varying degrees of success depending on the weather and rainfall in your area. Or, you can follow my easy, step-by-step instructions for [...]

The Trouble with Blue Fescue

I Hate To Say “I Told You So,”

So I’ll say “I told him so.”

(Yes, I mean Dave.)

Two summers ago, when we did some new plantings around the house (after 13 years of living here), Dave was set on Blue Fescue in a large area back by the pool. Having dabbled in ornamental grasses for several years, [...]

Strawberries and Cream

Well, not cream. Half and half.

Dave went to Costco again the other day. He brought home these.

For those of you following along, I am not allowed to complain if he is doing the shopping. However, please note that if Dave were to take notice of his surroundings, he might have seen this in the garden:

Of course, [...]

Planting the Tomatoes

With the Help of Heavy-Duty Concrete Reinforcing Wire.

I finally bought my tomato and pepper plants. I should really buy them sooner. Actually, I should start them from seed in March. Better yet, I should save my seed from the previous year, thereby keeping only the best…

You see? You see the black hole of my thoughts?

How can [...]

Mint is Invasive

…Lest there is anyone else as gullible as I.

We are surrounded by things that should illegal: Motorcycles without mufflers, Barbie commercials that make them look like they can walk by themselves, food labeling that want you to believe a fruit snack is as good for you as the real thing, and

…plant descriptions that say, New! Clumping, non-invasive spearmint.

Wow, [...]

What a Difference a Day Makes

In Minnesota, anything is possible. Anything with the weather, that is. On Saturday, I laid in bed, reading, working on my computer, happy. The weather map showed a great big sunshine with a high of 83. Not sure why that was, because out my window it was windy, cold, and 48 degrees. And then, in true [...]