Category Archives: Gardening

The muscle car of tomato plants

Posted on May 20, 2012 by

About a year or two ago, grafted tomato plants started appearing on the garden scene. As Valerie Easton explained in an Seattle Times article last year, grafted tomatoes “have proved more effective at taking up water and nutrients, they are … Continue reading →

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Video: Flight of the Orchard Mason Bees

Posted on May 14, 2012 by

  The Orchard Mason Bees are doing great this year! By far, this has been the best year for the bees since we started hosting them a few years ago. The weather has cooperated well, with enough decently warm days … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Wildlife | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Mushroom mysteries: What do I have here?

Posted on May 12, 2012 by

We are not a mushroom eating family. Derek loathes them. I can tolerate them if they are a small part of an otherwise non-mushroomy dish. When I came upon pretty sizable mushroom colonies in the rhubarb and garlic beds this … Continue reading →

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Reject “stump” garden

Posted on April 17, 2012 by

On Pinterest, I’ve seen a number of postings lately in which people suggest growing new plants from the root stumps of the veggies they purchase at the grocery store. I’ve never thought about doing this, but it seems like such … Continue reading →

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Harvest: Swiss chard and baby garlic

Posted on April 15, 2012 by

This weekend I harvest a good batch of Swiss chard (Bright Lights) and baby garlic greens (Inchelium red). The Swiss chard in the greenhouse has been going gangbusters! It’s one of those plants where a few plants can quickly start … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking & food preservation, Gardening | Tagged , | 6 Comments

Grape pruning, bees, and an essential gardening tool

Posted on April 14, 2012 by

Grapes need a good pruning each year. They produce more grapes when properly pruned. While there are different methods for pruning grapes, I keep grape pruning pretty simple. I focus on a number of “lead” vines and hack pretty much … Continue reading →

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Potatoes & raspberries

Posted on April 8, 2012 by

It was a stunningly beautiful weekend so, of course, I did venture forth into the garden to do some gardening. I decided to pace myself and do just a few of the many tasks on my to-do list this weekend. … Continue reading →

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Photo album: Plum blossoms, peas, garlic, blueberries, and rhubarb

Posted on April 1, 2012 by

Our Shiro plum tree is our more prolific and reliable tree. The tree is about 7 – 8 years old now and produces heaps of super juicy yellow plums each year. What you see in the picture is the “after” … Continue reading →

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And back in the greenhouse . . .

Posted on March 25, 2012 by

The solar project has been the big exciting project of recent weeks, but it’s not the only project underway. In another effort to defeat moles and rats, we’ve decided to install a cement block floor in the greenhouse. Over the … Continue reading →

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Tomato seedlings

Posted on March 17, 2012 by

Unlike years past, my tomato seedlings are doing great this year! In the photo, you can see the tomato seedlings I just repotted. I lifted the lights up away from the plants just to take the photo. Normally, the lights … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Solar | Tagged , | 2 Comments