Text and Drawings by Abraham Storer Sarah Naciri runs Sustainable CAPE’s Community Children’s Garden at the Truro Public Library, where she leads children in planting, cultivating, and harvesting vegetables. Last […]
Farm & Garden
What would it look like to grow, harvest, and protect our bounty?
Browse all Farm & Garden stories below or dive into a topic:
THE HALF SHELL
Six Tips From Behind the Raw Bar
It takes leverage, not brute strength, to shuck a Wellfleet oyster
WELLFLEET — Lili Hay has been shucking oysters since she was seven years old, though she says her technique has evolved since then. “My dad taught me,” she says. “But […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
Look Closely: Now Comes Our Moment of Fall Color
In swamp maples and marsh grass and tupelos, the Outer Cape’s true colors are revealed
I was driving the other day on a back road, winding my way out toward the ocean, and I saw something I’ve seen many times before. But on that day, […]
QUAHOGGING
Happy as an Eastham Clam
A walk on the tidal flats, rewarded by sunsets and an old-fashioned chowder
EASTHAM — Patience, perseverance, and 25 dollars. In Eastham, if you have all three, you can buy a year’s worth of serenity, plein air exercise, and sustainably harvested seafood: you […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
Turning the Corner to Fall
Grackles and goldenrod announce the shift we feel within
The wind blew, and summer was gone. This is how it happens. One day, a day on either side of the middle of August, something changes. The air feels different. […]
ON THE LANDSCAPE
Swimming in the Rain
A storm washes away a dusty tiredness, the raindrops awakening the universe’s workings
The air feels suddenly heavy. There’s more energy and weight in it than there was only moments ago. My eyes strain their tiny radial muscles to adjust to the sudden […]
BACK TO THE GARDEN
Conifers Are the Heart of the Year-Round Garden
The conifer bed is an exercise in the appreciation of subtlety
Flowers get a lot of attention, and for good reason. They are wondrous, wild, living bursts of color. They are also fleeting, with some blossoms lasting only a day. Deciduous […]
BACK TO THE GARDEN
When Dirt Is Your Canvas, Start With a Big Idea
Rules that lay the groundwork for designing the space you seek
Late summer and early fall are good times to plant. Which means now is a good time to start thinking about that garden bed expansion or adding the new plantings […]
BACK TO THE GARDEN
In the Hidden Gardens of Eastham, Places for Pollinators
Alongside show-stopping hydrangeas, a plant-animal spectacle
Gardens are extensions of their caretakers’ personalities and interests, but often they are mostly hidden from view. Last week, I had the good fortune to attend the Eastham Garden Tour. […]
BACK TO THE GARDEN
The Most Enduring Gardening Decision
Trees provide structure, watching over us as we make memories
Take a moment and let yourself drift back to a memory. Can you recall a place where, long ago, you took shelter in the shade on a sunny day — […]
COMMON GROUND
An Eastham Farmer Tends the Future of His Fields
Bob Wells finds ways to build up the soil and share his land
EASTHAM — The fourth-grade students from Mrs. Howard’s class at Eastham Elementary School marched across the street to Redberry Farm on the morning of June 21. There, they met farmer […]
BACK TO THE GARDEN
Before You Garden, First Nurture Your Soil
On welcoming fungi, worms, and bacteria into your dirt
We often think of our gardens as a collection of plants. They are leaves, stems, forms, and flowers, all interacting with the wind, rain, and sun. They are colors and […]
PLANTS WITH PROMISE
Peter Del Tredici Looks to the Flora of the Future
‘It’s a myth that we can restore what used to exist,’ says the botanist
TRURO — As the climate changes and ecosystems evolve, plant species are adapting to the conditions of their environments. “There is real information here that we need to pay attention […]
BACK TO THE GARDEN
Letting Go of a Grudge Against Roses
All this tough, beautiful plant needs is a little care
For a long time, I held a resentment against roses. I liked to see them, but I wouldn’t plant them. I didn’t want them in my garden. They are too […]
BACK TO THE GARDEN
Deadheading (or Not) Reveals a Gardener’s Aesthetic Leanings
Blooms are beautiful, but so are the seed pods and structures that follow them
The flowers of the irises are mostly passed. Almost all the peonies have bloomed, the petals breaking away and collecting on the ground. The baptisia is still going, in white […]
