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Planting Garlic
In the Pacific Northwest, garlic can be planted throughout October and into early November, so if you are in this area you still have time! The way I learned how to plant garlic is that you should soak the cloves in a solution of water, seaweed extract or fish emulsion, and baking soda for a couple of hours before planting. This is not only to promote the growth of the garlic, but also to help prevent fungal diseases. It’s a few extra steps that aren’t that hard, so this is the way I have always done it and I always end up with healthy, nice sized heads of garlic. I…
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Seed Starting: Newspaper Pots
In the Pacific Northwest, it’s time to start your garden—or at least start thinking about your garden—if you haven’t already. Even if you aren’t ready to get outside quite yet, you can start by doing your garden planning and starting some seeds indoors. An easy, fun, and inexpensive way to start seeds indoors is in newspaper pots! Newspaper pots are great because you probably already have all the supplies you need at home and—because most newspapers now use organic pigments—they’re biodegradable and can be planted straight out into the garden. If you aren’t sure what kind of ink your local newspaper uses, check their website or just contact them and ask. To…
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Cotton and Steel Garden Apron
As I write this post, it’s a fairly typical rainy and windy Seattle day. I don’t mind this time of year because this is when I can stay indoors and sew and knit (and not feel guilty about it). It’s also when I can take time to plan ahead for the upcoming gardening season. You can read my posts about garden planning, seed ordering and seed starting to see what kind of planning and getting ready I usually do this time of year, but this year I am getting ready for gardening by making myself a garden apron! Pattern: from One Yard Wonders Fabric: Cotton and Steel Melody Miller Picnic Baskets Neutral As you…
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Urban Farm and Coop Tour Recap
Last weekend was my 3rd time being a host on the Seattle Tilth Urban Farm and Chicken Coop tour and I think it was my favorite year. It was certainly the biggest turn-out we had ever had! There was a steady stream of people from 10am when we opened until 4pm when we closed and that was a first for us. Matt estimated that we had about 80 people come through that day. Mind you, I don’t host every year. The first year I hosted was in 2010 and then again in 2012. I don’t like to host every year, because sometimes I like to go on the tour! It’s only been…
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Chicken Coop and Urban Farm Tour
“Rake and Make Ranch” (as I so dubbed it in this year’s application) was accepted to Seattle Tilth’s Chicken Coop and Urban Farm Tour, listing it as one of Seattle’s top 25 urban farms! I’ve been a host before in 2010 and 2012, but I’m especially excited about this year, as Matt and I have been working really hard on our coop and garden lately. The coop got a new fence, paint job and concrete pad and Matt built a new hops trellis, so everything is looking tip top. If you are in the Seattle area and have been wanting to see our urban farm in real life, now is your chance! For more info and to purchase…
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5 Trellis Ideas for Vining Vegetables
When I first started gardening, one of the things I struggled with was trellising. I was unfamiliar with the different climbing habits of vining vegetables, so I was intimidated by plants that needed trellising. Did what I was planting need a trellis and if so, what kind? There are many trellis options and the things to think about are how high something is going to climb and how heavy the vegetable is going to be. I have learned by trial and error, but seem to have settled on a few that work for me, and use them year after year. That knowledge is so nice to have, because it’s helped…
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Garden Tour
I love my garden this time of year, when all the beds are full and everything is growing like crazy. Awhile ago, I did a tour of my studio and figured this would be the perfect time to give a tour of my garden. I’ll start with the front yard, since that is where the majority of the beds are. Unfortunately, I don’t have any good “before” pictures of my front yard. When I bought the house in 2007, there was just one raised bed, by the front fence line, and it was all overgrown. The rest was all lawn. Over the years we have added to the garden slowly. One…
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Broadcast Sowing: My Favorite Way to Plant Lettuce
Lettuce has a fairly long growing season here in the Pacific Northwest. You can pretty much plant lettuce from Spring until Fall. It only gets tricky if it gets hot, as the seeds can dry out before they germinate. I tend to plant lettuce mostly in the Spring and the Fall. My favorite way to plant lettuce is to broadcast sow the seeds. Lettuce seeds are perfect for broadcast sowing, because they are small and don’t need to be buried deep in the ground. I think broadcast sowing seeds is fun too and quicker than making a bunch of tiny holes for a bunch of tiny seeds. I just put the seeds in my hand and scatter them evenly over the area where…
