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Gardening… and life and death.
Let me start by saying, my mom is alive and doing well. We did have a hospital scare last week, that had me fretting, missing work (and some blog posting) and thinking a lot about this new phase of life us mid to late thirty-somethings seem to be heading into. Mom and I, when I was around 12 or 13. My mom is 70 and has never been sick, not as long as I can remember anyway. So my whole family was very scared and worried when my mom landed in the ER and then PCU last week. I ended up with most of the week off as a result.…
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Spring Garden Explosion
I’m breaking the rules already. I tried to work in the garden and Charlie was so upset that I left him in the house, so I had to bring him outside for a little bit. I put a towel down for him and took his cone off for a minute. Look how much happier he looks! Charlie convalesces. I have been gardening for years now, but I am still amazed when stuff actually grows and when it seems to grow quickly. Everything has exploded in the garden recently! Take a look!
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Change is good
Change is good,change is good, change is good, ohm…… this has become my new mantra. I have to touch back on this thought often these days. There are big things on the horizon for me. You see, I just sold my house. I purchased it six years ago and dove head first into the garden. I ripped up large portions of lawn, put in raised beds, and for the past six years have been growing (and killing) plants with glee! With the big move looming around July 1st, it has really taken some love out of my gardening habits. I am planting for someone else to enjoy? Selfishness has set…
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Transplanting Tips: The quest for homemade sauerkraut continues!
Remember the cabbage seeds that I started indoors back in March? Well, here they are now and they are ready to be transplanted in the ground! I hardened them off by bringing them outside during the day and bringing them back in a night for a couple of days. On the third day I left them out all night. I’m no expert at hardening off plants, as I haven’t done a lot of it. I would imagine some other plants, like warmer season crops, may need a longer and more gradual hardening off, but a few days seemed fine for the cabbage. This time of year, I try to do…
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Roasted Dandelion Root Tea
A cautionary note; if you are allergic to plants in the daisy family, take caution with dandelions. Also, if you are harvesting dandelions, be sure to do so from areas that are not sprayed with chemicals like weed killers or fertilizers. First off, I’d like to thank Lilly for allowing me to contribute to her awesome blog. After reading Lilly’s post last week in which she talked about her intense obsession with and dislike for dandelions, I couldn’t help but leave her the comment, “I <3 Dandelions.” I was being cheeky, but Lilly called me out and asked me for reasons why she should reconsider her stance on what…
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A sunny Sunday in the garden: thinning’s not so painful when you have chickens… and a short rant on weeds.
Everything is growing in the garden right now, including the weeds. I have been told that a weed is just something in the garden you do not want. I also realize that there are people that tolerate and even embrace dandelions. I know it can be used as food and medicine. I respect that. Maybe it comes from my own ignorance as to how to properly contain and utilize the dandelion, but for now I hate dandelions. I hate them because they grow so aggressively, in places I don’t want them and can be difficult to remove. So this time of year I am obsessed with dandelions. I want them…
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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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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…
