I have this bad habit of working so hard to preserve the harvest and then actually forgetting all about it until the next harvest rolls around… Amazingly, I broke the habit this past weekend when I remembered the bags of frozen berries stacked up in our freezer. I decided it was a good time to whip them out and into some tasty smoothies. My version,
Archives for January 2008
Gray Days
It’s been a long, cold weekend. The temperature has been hovering near freezing in Portland for a few days now. Friday evening we received an email that a friend battling cancer was in grave condition. So it’s been a weekend of waiting. During rain breaks, I have been running outside to try to finish spreading the shrinking pile of wood chips – the last load.
Calling All Coops
Growing Gardens, a local non-profit here in Portland, is hosting their 5th Annual Tour de Coops this summer on July 26th. I am on their email list and they sent out the following asking for local urban chicken-keepers to consider opening up their backyard for the tour (click the image for closer detail): This was a really helpful event back when I was pondering whether
Food Forest Final Design
I’ve come along way since last May when I posted my first phase of the food forest garden design for the backyard. Lucky for me, all the trees and shrubs I planted last year made it through the season so I can build off of that initial plan. The Great Sheet Mulching of 2007 went well also, so the garden is a blank slate just
Fruit Tree Pruning Tips
As mentioned earlier, I attended the Fruit Tree Pruning class this morning that was being offered for FREE through Portland Parks & Recreation. It started at 9:00 this morning, which was a little rough for me on a Saturday. Our power went out sometime last night too, so my alarm never went off. I actually made it there on time, but my hair was sopping
Pruning Calendar & Workshop
Portland Nursery has a helpful brochure that is a pruning calendar for the NW region. (If the link doesn’t load, try refreshing it once or twice…) Judging by their expertise, I should set in pruning my fruit trees and grape vines in February. I have done some pruning before but I tend to get carried away. This should be the first year my fruit trees
Old and Ugly
Typically after the holidays die down, my Spring fever starts acting up. It’s that time already! The seed catalogs for 2008 have started pouring in and I have spent way too much time with them. What a peaceful way to spend a cold, January morning though. I have decided a theme for my vegetable garden this year will be “Old & Ugly”. Anything warty, oddly-shaped,
Stranded
Although this is not gardening-related, I just have to share some details related to my last post. Sunday I decided to make a cannonball run to the beach, in an effort to entertain a friend visiting from England. Well, mission accomplished. We had some terrific luck in Cannon Beach as the rain subsided while the tide was out, allowing us to explore Haystack Rock. It’s
Cannonball Beach Trip
Quick! It’s blue sky outside! I’ve decided to drive to the beach today. The clear sky might only last the drive there, but that’s the Oregon coast for ya. It can be lovely in Portland and miserable on the coast. I have loads of yard work/chicken maintenance I should probably do instead… But no. Must seize the day!