I have already written (Feb. 13, 2011 Pea Sprout Shout Out) about the practice of pre-sprouting peas, and indeed I still heartily endorse the practice, but I have noticed something. Even though pre-sprouted peas have given an end-around to the cold soils of spring and gotten quite a jump on their germination, they still have to […]
Missin’ my Crew
I pride myself on trying to compost every scrap of food, but at this time of the year, my compost is bulging at the seams. The pile is missing that main ingredient which, though not an object of contemplation for the faint of heart, is truly the turbo thruster of the compost pile: the black […]
Garlic Goodies
Today’s pleasant spring weather found me well prepared to seize a window of time and give my garlic at the school garden a boost. Fortunately I had made time a few days ago to visit my adult version of a candy store – Concentrates, Inc. in Milwaukie, OR (close by to Bob’s Red Mill, which makes a convenient […]
Red Chidori WOWS on the runway
Kind of like the stars amazed us with their finery a couple days ago at the Grammys ( or underwhelmed, perplexed or even offended us, as the case may be), here we have a real eye-grabber moving down the runway of late winter. Red Chidori kale is resplendent in its winter finery, its deep fuscia […]
Nuclear Potatoes and Further Thoughts on Strawberries
OK, you may ask. What am I talking about? A new potato variety calledComrade Brezhnev? Or perhaps a potato produced in a place like this? Brrrrrrr….too scary to even contemplate (that’s Three Mile Island, in case you’re wondering). No, gardeners, I am talking about something that has just crossed my radar screen even after decades […]
Harbinger of spring, red-breasted….strawberry
Yesterday was a fine day, in fact I’m calling it the “First Day of Spring”! Now that appellation is somewhat arbitrary around here, given that spring-like conditions will come and go for some months, but as I was working on the rooftop I took off my heavier jacket and woolen shirt and actually felt comfortable […]
Thems some fines herbes
We’re going to start off here with some light banter about chervil, but by the end of the post we’ll have delved into one of the greater questions of organic gardening. Plus, we may also have resolved why I’m putting that darn -s and -es at the ends of words which don’t need it.So our photo, albeit not […]
No down time except what we create
I’m no fan of the 24-7, always-available lifestyle that we seem to be evolving toward more and more as a society, but I am a fan of Pacific NW gardening, where there are really no corners of the year in which to hide and declare, “I cannot do anything in the garden.” Here is some Red […]
Have It All In Readiness
No picture, just a word picture of what it means to be ready to move when conditions are right. In the Pacific Northwest our winter barely holds down the typical job description of that season (unless you count the potential personality-distorting effects of too much rain), and it’s likely to skip into spring at any time […]
Little things make me happy
Just got my hands on the 2013 Territorial Seed Company catalog today. With the Johnny’s catalog in my right hand and Territorial in my left, I feel there is little I cannot accomplish as a gardener, provided that I am also holding the Peaceful Valley catalog in my teeth (more on Peaceful Valley in a […]