Category: horticulture

A Case for Raised Bed Gardening

Necessity is the mother of affection. That’s the executive summary of my journey from disdain to delight about gardening in raised beds. Now the bottom line: Raised beds are better. More vegetables and flowers, less strenuous, more robust all around. The beds look nicer, too. Hardscrabble, puny ground led me to this epiphany. The 27-acre…


On Gardening: The Early Butterfly Gets the Verbena. Do You Have Them Planted?

By Norman Winter From Tribune News Service Swallowtails were early at The Garden Guy’s house this year. Thank goodness I had Superbena verbenas in full bloom. It is as if they had been given the task of announcing the arrival of spring and the butterfly season. On March 22, I photographed an eastern tiger swallowtail…


Australian Union Wants Guaranteed Minimum Wage for Fruit Pickers

The Australian Worker’s Union (AWU) will appear before the Fair Work Commission today to push for a guaranteed minimum wage for fruit and vegetable pickers. At present, the minimum rate of pay for casual farm work is $25.41 per hour (US$19.02). However, the AWU says farms can “dodge” the minimum rate through piece-rate arrangements, where…