Mood Indigo: Growing blueberries is easy as pie

story by Char VandermeerI once took great pleasure in planning my flowering container garden. My imagination brimmed with bright annuals as I sketched plans and gathered supplies. I spent countless hours paging through seed catalogs, agonizing over varieties and colors, flowering times, watering requirements, height, greenery, grasses, vines and heaven knows

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Battle of the Bugs: It’s critter warfare out there

Beetles, worms, ants and aphids, oh my! I’m convinced that because my Pennsport deck is home to the only vegetables within, oh, most of the neighborhood, every pest in the ’hood sees my garden as an oasis of tastiness. Last year’s battles included all the garden-variety bugs you’d expect, plus whiteflies, cabbage loopers and brown

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Shoots & Ladders: Pestilence! There are big meanies out to destroy your precious little plants. There are ways to fight back.

One of the upsides to container gardening is that crops are less likely to succumb to soil-borne illnesses. Unlike traditional farmers and gardeners, container gardeners have the option of starting with fresh, sterile soil each year. If last year’s crops lost the battle against blights, wilts or mildews, then it’s smart to ditch the dirt,

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