Author Archive for Henry Homeyer
Henry Homeyer is a lifetime organic gardener living in Cornish Flat, N.H. He is the author of four gardening books including The Vermont Gardener's Companion. You may reach him by e-mail at henry.homeyer@comcast.net or by snail mail at PO Box 364, Cornish Flat, N.H. 03746. Please include a SASE if you wish an answer to a question by mail.
Henry Homeyer: A few more spring chores for your list
By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC Although I still have some snow around the house here in Cornish, New Hampshire, many of you may be looking at brown grass and mud. It will be some time before real spring weather is safely ensconced. We all want to get outside and enjoy warm, sunny […]
Henry Homeyer: Early spring chores to check off your list
By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC Early spring is a good time to look at the trees and shrubs on your property when you are not distracted by flowers and leaves. Study your “woodies” now to see if they need some care– and if some plants need to be removed for the health […]
Henry Homeyer: How to bring spring into your home
By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC Even though spring has arrived according to the calendar, I fear winter is not done with us yet. Mother Nature is full of tricks, so I am not packing away my snow shovel just yet. But to reassure me that she will provide us with flowers this […]
Henry Homeyer: When to prune your fruit trees
By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC Ask a farmer, when you should prune your apple trees and you will most likely hear, “March.” That’s an old tradition – but not because it is the only time to prune. You can prune any time. However, March is a month on a farm when not […]
Henry Homeyer: Making a plan for your Annual Flowers
By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC Reclining in an easy chair on a recent cold and snowy day, I imagined myself a bumblebee. I meandered from flower to flower, taking in the colors and scents and textures of annual flowers, starting with A (alyssum) and ending with Z (zinnias). I wasn’t a good […]
Henry Homeyer: Get ready to start your indoor seedlings
By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC Starting seeds indoors under lights is a good treatment for the winter blues. It connects me to my upcoming garden and all its benefits. Early March is when I start onions and peppers, though April is the month for most everything else. My wife, Cindy Heath, and […]
Henry Homeyer: The bargain of cut flowers, here’s a few tips
By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC Winter drags on, even though the days are getting longer. The sun is often lurking behind gray clouds, and on a good day we only get about 9 hours of light. I do miss the colors of summer, so I keep fresh cut flowers on our table […]
Henry Homeyer: Organic vs. chemical soil treatments: Which is right for you?
By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC On a cold and snowy day I paused to think back a few years to a conference I attended run by the Ecological Farming Association in Pacific Grove, California. There were several sessions by scientists presenting research confirming what organic gardeners have always known: organic techniques yield […]
Henry Homeyer: How to build a simple plant stand
By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC As I write this, the wind chill factor is well below zero, and summer seems a lifetime away. But if you are thinking about starting seeds indoors this year, this would be a good time to build a simple wooden plant stand. You don’t have to be […]
Henry Homeyer: How to save seeds from your heirlooms
By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC As a boy in the 1950s, I knew there were two kinds of tomatoes: deep red, plump and tasty ones my grandfather grew, and the kind that came four in a package wrapped in cellophane. The Cello-Wraps, as I think of them, had no flavor whatsoever. They […]
Henry Homeyer: Drafting a plan for your garden
By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC This is a good time to make plans. If you are willing to spend just 15 minutes a day, every day, from spring to fall you can create an edible showcase for beauty: the splendid look of ripe red tomatoes, multi-colored Swiss chard, or glossy green peppers. […]
Henry Homeyer: Time for the rundown on spring flower shows
By Henry Homeyer ©2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC The spring flower shows are always a contrast to the cold, icy days of winter. Bright flowers, garden paraphernalia and numerous workshops make these events fun – both for beginner and expert. Here is this year’s offerings, starting with the first ones in February and going on until […]
Henry Homeyer: How to grow for taste and flavor
By Henry Homeyer © 2023 Telegraph Publishing LLC We gardeners love our home grown vegetables. As John Denver sang long ago, “Only two things that money can’t buy and that’s true love and homegrown tomatoes.” And why do they taste so good? We can grow tomatoes that don’t have to conform to commercial requirements of […]
Henry Homeyer: Looking back and ahead
By Henry Homeyer © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC It’s gray and chilly outside, but I have a fire in the new woodstove that warms the house and pleases me as I look through its glass window. I’ve been in the same house since 1970, so I’ve had plenty of time to plan and execute projects. […]
Henry Homeyer: 2022’s lessons from the garden
By Henry Homeyer © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Happy new year! At the end of the year I always like to take a little time to reflect on what worked well in the garden – and what didn’t. This year I also called some gardening friends – some experienced, some less so – to ask […]
Henry Homeyer: What to do after a big storm
By Henry Homeyer © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC We recently got hit by a big winter storm that dropped at least 15 inches of heavy, wet snow. It clung to branches, breaking some and bending others to near their breaking points. If you suffer the same sometime this winter, here are some things you might […]
Henry Homeyer: Your guide to the winter landscape
By Henry Homeyer © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Normally at this time of year I can go out to the stream behind my house and pick stems of a shrub called winterberry (Ilex verticillata) to use in vases and on my wreath. It is generally loaded with small red berries that persist until mid-winter when […]
Henry Homeyer: It’s winter, let’s compost!
By Henry Homeyer © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC When I was a boy it was one of my many jobs to take out the kitchen scraps every few days and dump them in our woods in a compost pile. Like the postman, this was a job I did no matter what: “Neither snow, nor rain, […]
Henry Homeyer: Holiday gifts for your gardener
By Henry Homeyer © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC First on my list for holiday gifts for the gardener is this: a donation to this newspaper. Our local papers need donors in order to deliver to you the news you want but cannot get anywhere else. From local news, gardening tips that fit your climate, obituaries, […]
Henry Homeyer: How to care for your trees in winter
By Henry Homeyer © 2022 Telegraph Publishing LLC Living in New England is a joy, but we gardeners do have some challenges: cold winter winds, deer, rocky soil and more. As we get ready for winter, one of the biggest challenges for many of us are the deer. They are hungry and relentless. In my […]
