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It’s a Spring Plant-o-rama!
Remember the nice fluffy beds I got ready a couple of weeks back? All that hard work made for some very quick and easy planting. In my first bed, I planted three different varieties of beets; “Chiogga” (my favorite, cool stripey and delicious), “Early Wonder Tall Top” (they’re red, big and great for canning) and “Touchstone Gold” (yellow and small- perfect for roasting). While I do remember the general rule of thumb (from my gardening class), that you want to plant a seed about twice as deep as it’s size, I always just look at the back of the seed packet for how deep to plant the seed and what kind…
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Sew-along Tag-along: Pastille Muslin
There is currently a “sew-along” happening, where fans of the Colette Sewing Handbook, are “sewing along” with bloggers Rhinestones and Telephones and Miss Crayola Creepy as they sew all the projects from the book, in order. I had never even heard of a sew-along, but when I heard about it, I thought to myself, “I am a fan of the Colette Sewing Handbook and I have already made the first project, the Meringue skirt!” Unfortunately, when I found out about it, they were already moving on to the third project in the book, the Truffle dress, and I was just starting the second project, the Pastille dress. I do like the idea though, of…
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Getting Ready to Garden- Part 2: Preparing Beds
Q: What’s the most important ingredient in your garden? A: Your soil! The folks at Seattle Tilth, in my training and in the Maritime NW Garden Guide, have always emphasized the importance of good soil. They refer to it as a “living bank”. What I took away from that (and I am oversimplifying once again) is that you have to make deposits, by adding organic matter (humus) and nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium) to give plants what they need to feed and grow. Since different plants feed heavily on different nutrients, fertilizing (and rotating crops) helps keep your living bank from running empty. I make deposits to my living bank…
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My “Meringue” skirt- dance party tested, sewing nerd approved
For a long time, I have dreamed of making my own clothes, so this is kind of a milestone for me. Last weekend, I completed my first ever garment; the “Meringue” skirt from The Colette Sewing Handbook. First of all, this book is awesome. I read about it in a post on Seattle blog, Not Martha. It was perfect timing when I saw it, because I had just gotten my new sewing machine and was looking for a good book to learn from. I ordered it right away and was not disapointed when it arrived. It’s hard cover and spiral bound, so it lays flat and and stays open while you work. The…
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Starting Seeds Indoors and the Quest for Homemade Sauerkraut
I used to hate sauerkraut when I was a kid. I thought it smelled like boiling, smelly socks. Now I love it! When I started growing vegetables, I was so excited to plant cabbage, and tons of it, so I could make and can sauerkraut. The first year I planted cabbage, it grew really well and I successfully made and canned sauerkraut. It was a little salty, but still pretty good! It must have been beginner’s luck though, because the next year, I planted more cabbage, in a different spot (a completely different bed) and it got mowed down by cutworms. The year after that, I rotated it again and…
