January 2007

Oh, dear--I'm afraid I didn't do a very good job reviewing this book, because people are getting the wrong impression. I was in the midst of writing a very long comment to rectify the situation, and decided it would make a better post instead. First of all Mary Ann Newcomer commented: Good grief! I am [...]

Faithful readers of this blog will remember Rundy's struggles with the brush mower, his love of fruit trees, and his fist-shaking frustration with animal pests. Those of you who are relatively new to this blog can read all his entries here. I am happy to tell you that Rundy's first work of fiction, The Stuttering [...]

It probably would have taken me a lot longer to get around to reading Teaming with Microbes: A Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web if Carol hadn't suggested it for the Garden Blogger's Book Club. Partly because I would normally wait until my library got a copy, instead of buying it brand new. Partly [...]

In part 3 I showed how to put the finishing touches on a spreadsheet that calculated the potential cost of a plant order in progress. But because of its tabular format, a spreadsheet is often used in situations where a lot of information needs to be organized, even if no calculations are made. Below are [...]

In our last part we had finished entering data and were getting ready to sum up. Actually it's best to create this autosumming Subtotal before you enter much data. That way, you have a good idea how much your wishlist is costing you as you go along. The first thing you need to do is [...]

In part 1 we logged into Google Spreadsheets and got things set up. Now let's get this thing to do some work for us. We're going to teach this worksheet to multiply the price of a plant by the number of plants we want to give us the total price. The end result will make [...]

I mentioned in a recent post that I use a spreadsheet to plan my garden purchases. Others have mentioned using a spreadsheet to track their seed sowing. But that doesn't help you much if you don't know a spreadsheet from a tablecloth, so let's start right there: a spreadsheet is a computer program that arranges [...]

Don of An Iowa Garden gets the prize--uh, actually, there is no prize--gets the glory for the First Snowdrop of 2007, North American Division. Shucks, it's hardly any fun when it's over this early. If anyone had one blooming earlier in January than the 6th, well, did you get a picture? Special mention must go [...]

Spring-like warmth and an absence of snow have conspired to create irresistible conditions for working outside in the garden. But not much beyond a little cleaning, mulching, and pruning can be done, as the soil is soaked and soggy and, as tempting as it is, it’s much too early to sow seeds outside. I’m channeling [...]