Category Archives: Gardening

August garden update: Potatoes, garlic, pumpkins, canning, sunflowers, and more

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Sandy

I’ve been MIA from my blog lately because I’ve been busy. As Toni at Backyard Feast points out, it doesn’t feel as though there are enough hours in the day during the peak summer months. A lot has been going … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking & food preservation, Gardening | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

It’s all beginning

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Sandy

With the first blush of blueberries, the summer fruit crops are announcing their arrival. Everywhere I looked in the garden this morning, there was either new fruit forming or something in need of picking. The next few months will be the … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Solar | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Jam and this and that

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Sandy

Here’s my first batch of jam of the season. The kids are eating all the strawberries out of the garden as soon as they ripen, so we bought a half flat of strawberries from the Woodinville Farmers’ Market. I could … Continue reading →

Posted in Cooking & food preservation, Gardening | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Pretty as a peach

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Sandy

Even though I almost killed the peach and nectarine trees in the greenhouse last winter (I totally forgot about watering them for months), the trees rallied this spring and came fully back to life after a few weeks of watering. … Continue reading →

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Peas, tomatoes, roses, and an awesome water saving device

Posted on June 14, 2011 by Sandy

The peas are finally emerging! I planted these peas back in March and then they did a whole lot of nothing for a while and I thought I might have to start over. Germination was not great, so I recently added … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Playing footies with my apple trees

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Sandy

I’m trying something new this year to protect my apple trees from pests — nylon socks! I’m not a big fan of spraying my fruit trees. Even with the most organically friendly materials possible, spraying is a pain and I … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

The Mother Earth News Fair is this weekend!

Posted on June 1, 2011 by Sandy

The Mother Earth News Fair will be in Puyallup this weekend. Be there or be square! Derek and I will be taking the kids on Sunday and we’re really looking forward to it. Get all the details on the Mother … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening, Green Building, Homesteading, Livestock | Tagged | 1 Comment

Raised beds, greenhouse, and peaches in May

Posted on May 29, 2011 by Sandy

It’s May, but barely, and I’m still working on getting all my summer crops into the ground. In part, this has taken extra time because we’re still working on our big garden infrastructure project of the year, a few new … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The best Mother’s Day present and garlic potatoes

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Sandy

Derek provides the strong back in our gardening relationship. I dream up all sorts of projects and Derek gets roped in when something exceeds my strength or patience level. Today, without any prompting, Derek volunteered to power wash the greenhouse.  … Continue reading →

Posted in Gardening | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

For all the garden geeks out there – my “hot” bed

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Sandy

This spring has been cold and wet. We’re a few days away from May and it is still cold and wet. Fearing a year with wimpy tomato production (again), I took some drastic measures. I created a “hot” grow bed … Continue reading →

Posted in Electricity usage, Gardening, Solar | Tagged , , | 6 Comments