Francis Rosenfeld
Free
Gardening Expert

Francis Rosenfeld Quick Facts
- Main Areas
- Sustainable Gardening; Homegrown Harvest; Garden Writing
- Career Focus
- Author; Consummate Gardener
- Affiliation
- All Year Garden; The Weekly Gardener; Francis Rosenfeld's Blog
I started learning about gardening from my grandfather, at the age of four. Despite his forty years' experience as a natural sciences teacher, mine wasn't a structured instruction, I just followed him around, constantly asking questions, and he built up on the concepts with each answer.
As I grew older I applied this knowledge, experimented with new plants and learned a few things from my mistakes. That was fifteen years ago, and since then I was blessed with a thriving perennial garden. Half way through the journey, the micro-farm concept developed, a yearly challenge to figure out how much produce twenty square feet of dirt can yield.
I started blogging in 2010, to share the joy of growing all things green and the beauty of the garden through the seasons. Two garden blogs were born this way: allyeargarden.com and theweeklygardener.com, a periodical that followed it one year later. I wanted to assemble an informal compendium of the things I learned from my grandfather, wonderful books, educational websites, and my own experience, in the hope that other people might find it useful it in their own gardening practice.
The blogs contain many stories (I am a writer and couldn't help myself), but also practical information about plant propagation, garden maintenance, working with your site, making preserves and keeping the yard welcoming for beneficial insects and local wildlife.
Please enjoy!
Free Articles & Book Excerpts
Francis Rosenfeld Books
Terra Two
http://www.amazon.com/Terra-Two-Francis-Rosenfeld-ebook/dp/B00CXVVGNO/ref=sr_1_sc_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419003781&sr=8-1-spell&keywords=terra+twp
Generations
http://www.amazon.com/Generations-Terra-Two-Francis-Rosenfeld/dp/150033023X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1419003850&sr=8-1&keywords=generations+francis+rosenfeld
Letters to Lelia
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/541262
The Plant - A Steampunk Story
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/589740
Door No. 8
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/686506
Fair
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/687387
A Year and A Day
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/729775
Mobius' Code
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/807198
Between Mirrors
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/907277
The Blue Rose Manuscript
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/997384
Articles by this expert
SelfGrowth articles and saved writing connected to this expert.
Article
How to prune roses
Pruning is a simple and necessary part of keeping a rose healthy, strong and blooming. If you prune the rose wrong, you may not get a lot of flowers the following year, or none at all, but there is no wrong way to prune that will kill an established rose. If anything, if you can live with a couple of years of no flowers, the rose will get a lot of rest and renewed energy for new growth. Why prune roses There are four reasons to prune roses: remove old and diseased canes to make room for more growth, allow air movement, shape the bushes to your liking and encourage blooming.
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Herb Gardens
As a child I used to watch with fascination as my grandfather's hands gently teased apart leaves and flowers and spread them over paper towels to dry in the hot still air of the attic. That attic looked much like an apothecary's shop with dried hot pepper bunches, hanging herbs, long braids of onions and garlic and drying racks of chamomile and lovage intermixing their fragrances in an indescribable but immediately recognizable scent.
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How to grow vanilla orchids
Have you ever wondered what it takes to bring the sophisticated and aristocratic vanilla bean to you? I thought about it many times and figured if I ever had a greenhouse this would be the first plant I'd like to grow, so I wanted to learn more about it and this is what I found out.
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Create a garden for children
There are few things that match the joy of watching children take charge of little projects, and gardening projects are no exception. Set aside a little patch of dirt for your kids to plant seeds and watch things grow. Make sure it is reasonably fertile and in full sun, you don't want to make a starter project so challenging that it generates disillusionment rather than the pride of accomplishment. Stick to annuals. Turn the dirt at a spade's depth early in the spring, to ensure that most of the seeds will germinate.
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Enjoy radiant skin
Three major factors contribute to the health of your skin: good nutrition and general wellbeing, good conditioning and removing dead cells and impurities. Good nutrition and general well-being
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Roses for landscaping
It is amazing what special status roses have in gardens! A gardener will move a tree, completely restructure a flower bed and change the location of a patio before they decide to touch an established rose. New homeowners who inherit roses plan their entire gardens in ways that feature and complement them.
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Salves and creams
The difference between a cream and a salve is that salves always contain beeswax and they are a lot firmer (think lip balm). A salve is a blend of oil and beeswax in proportion of five to one more or less. Salves are often made with infused oils that extract the medicinal qualities of herbs directly into one of the basic ingredients.
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Planting fruit trees
I gingerly stepped out the door and a blast of cold air threw me back in. It's February. So much for my gardening enthusiasm, I guess I can stick to potpourri and fragrant sachets for now but since late winter is a good time for tree planting, let's talk about fruit trees.
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Keeping roses healthy
Having healthy roses is more about prevention than it is about cure. Give the shrubs plenty of space to prevent moisture from sticking to their leaves, make sure they have at least six, preferably eight hours of full sun a day, plant them in well draining soil with plenty of organic matter and try to water only their roots without touching their leaves. That being said, even after the best of efforts, diseases and pests sometimes get the better of them.
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Quince Jelly
All fruits are suitable for preserves, especially if they come in vibrant colors, but some, like apples, quinces, pears, plums and grapes, are naturally high in pectin and will gel beautifully without additives. Jellies must be firm and transparent like colored glass, in brilliant jewel tones, with no cloudiness or leftover bits of fruit. Quince jelly, a delicacy of the northern countries (quince trees don't thrive in warm climates), is the gold standard for this sugary confection.
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Growing Tomato Plants
Tomato plants are tough, their germination rate is spectacular and they will survive anywhere, but getting them to produce requires the right conditions and a little work. First, they need cultivated soil, slightly acidic, that contains a fair amount of organic fertilizer and they have to be watered generously, sometimes twice a day if the weather is hot, especially if they grow in containers. Try to water them at the base to discourage black spot. If they don't get full sun they won't produce at all. I know. I tried.
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Vegetable Flowers
When I first started growing vegetables, I worried the veggie plot would look too utilitarian, with its lined up rows and its pedestrian supports. Imagine my surprise when I woke up one morning to a tapestry of egg yolk colored trumpets, larger than my hand, which gleamed in the morning sunlight like a sea of smiles. I don’t like squash that much, but I wouldn’t miss out on its blossoms. So, who are the beauties of the vegetable garden?
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Favorite Quotes & Thoughts from Francis Rosenfeld
Sitting at the table under the tree canopy, a book in one hand, the other hand mindlessly rubbing your temples, you lose track of time. The splotches of light filtered through the branches above move slowly opposite the sun path while the day merges into evening. The light becomes gentler, more tired, almost horizontal. Around you two full walls, one half wall, a tree for a roof, and a balcony: your private outdoors.
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