It has been a brisk, fairly dry weekend in Portland – the kind of autumn days when it’s quite pleasant to be outside bundled up. I took advantage of the fine weather by preparing the garden for winter. I pulled up the zucchini and broccoli plants, turning them over on the soil so they can decompose in place. The chicken coop has been cleaned out
Tomatoes, Basil, and Bob
One of the great things about sharing your love of gardening with friends is pooling the harvest together. We have some friends in the neighborhood that have had great success with their tomatoes this summer. Last night we were taking a stroll by their house and they sent us home with a lovely assortment of homegrown tomatoes. Such a treat, considering mine are a pretty
Gallery of Gourds
Where is my Indian summer in Portland this year? It feels like summer is long gone, but the autumn equinox isn’t even here yet… I think we missed out on summer this year in Portland all together. I remember one week in July that was hot and sunny, but that seemed to be the end of that. The rest of July and August were fairly
State of the Garden
We are now 6 months into our emerging garden and it seems like a good time to take a step back and observe the progress. There have been some disappointments, but overall not too many. Here are a few thoughts so far… Nasturtiums are a multi-functioning flower that I hope to always include in the my gardens. The flowers are edible, they shade soil to
Training the Upper Layer
I have this weird notion that I should not have to pay real money for certain things: rain gear, wicker, shelving, baskets, plastic storage bins, etc. It doesn’t really make any sense, and I recognize that. But it doesn’t make that feeling go away and so I avoid to great lengths having to spend real money on these items. And often times, they do end
It’s all coming together
This morning was one of those mornings that we all work so hard outside for, and I owe it in part to the Portland rain. It started raining last night and my garden is bursting alive this morning. I took my cup of Stumptown coffee outside in my muddy clogs and took a survey of things. It’s like the entire garden let out a sigh
Zen and the Art of Backyard Chicken Maintenance
I was at an extended family function this past weekend and there were lots of curious relatives asking about those backyard chickens of mine. One aunt in particular has been mulling over the idea of bringing in a small backyard flock, but she started worrying about the maintenance and upkeep. There isn’t a whole lot to backyard chicken maintenance, but I thought it would be
Backyard Harvest
The backyard food forest has been taking off the last month or so. The seeds planted in late June have been growing rapidly, which is exciting. I have some great examples of simple permaculture methods on display out back. The runner beans are climbing through the fruit tree branches for support, while they give back to the trees by fixing the nitrogen in the soil.
Life as an Urban Chicken
Having a small backyard flock of urban chickens seems like such a normal, everyday thing for me now that I haven’t really posted a lot about “the girls”. But some of my readers have asked that I share more stories on the blog about the latest chic news. Now that I think of it, there is usually some funny urban chicken musing I have to
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