The Outdoors

Germination Begins!
I finally got my first seeds started on the road to germination, planting them in a special potting mixture that is sterile and free of weeds. I bought my seed starting medium but you can also make your own with vermiculite, sphagnum moss, sand and perlite.

It's Time to Order the Seeds
It’s the end of February, the latest I have ever ordered my seeds for starting indoors but soon enough to start the germination process by mid-March. Depending on the crop, I normally start the seeds six-to-eight weeks before transplanting them outdoors.

A Daffodil Bud
March 29, 2007

The warm weather earlier this week woke the plants outside. Thursday morning I found two daffodil plants had pushed out their yellow buds, just waiting for a burst of warm sunshine to fully open.

A Tour of the Mid-Summer Garden
August 14, 2007

How strange to be writing this gardening column after an absence of two-and-a-half months, June and July, the period when plants are working overtime. You could explain my absence several ways:

Adventures in a Backyard Veggie Garden
February 12, 2007

Broccoli Romanesco: Nature Meets Art

It is high time for me to hunker down and order seeds for this spring’s garden, even if it is only early February. I like to order them early so that I can be sure to get the more popular varieties before they sell out

New York State Flower
The rose, in all its variety and color, was made the New York State flower in 1955.

Fishermen Ready for Striped Bass Season
"When the forsythia blooms, it’s time for striped bass.” James Lupi had this observation as he sat by the riverfront Sunday morning, tending three fishing poles as he waited for the fish to bite.

Where Eagles Fly
If it's too cold to stand out and wait for a bald eagle to fly down the Hudson river, you can sit at your home computer and observe these majestic birds.

An Eagle in Cornwall Bay
The bald eagle population in New York State this winter is the smallest in ten years.

What Is the Moodna Watershed?
This Saturday, Ed McGowan, the head scientist of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, is leading a hike to experience the biodiversity of the Moodna Creek watershed. The term "Moodna watershed" gets tossed around a lot, so we asked Simon Gruber, coordinator of the Moodna Watershed Coalition, to explain. Here's what he said: (more)

Knox's Headquarters Trails Open
Knox's Headquarters State Historic Site Woodland Trails are open for the season.