For years I wrote to my farmshare members every week: what was growing, what was failing, and why. Field Notes continues that letter for anyone curious. Seasonal advice for Upstate gardens, the occasional hard lesson, and the reasons behind all of it.


The hardest part of a fall garden is that you plant it in the worst possible weather. Tarps, flame weeding and shade cloth for germinating cool-season crops in Upstate heat.

Most mystery plant problems in the Upstate are one of three soil fertility issues, not a disease. Tied-up nitrogen, nitrogen burn, and asking too much of one bed.

Peppers and tomatoes do not love a 100 degree heat index either. What July does to transplants, to a to-do list, and to the person holding the hose.
Seasonal advice for Upstate gardens, sent when there is something worth saying and not on a schedule. No pitch, and one click to leave.