There is one garden chore that doesn’t take a break in the wintertime: making compost. It’s a good excuse to get outside, get some exercise and prepare for the springtime garden. I have loved our three bin compost system, which gives us ample space to process all the garden waste, kitchen scraps and used chicken bedding our homestead produces. All three bins are just where
Cooking Winter Squash
We are up to our ears in winter squash! I decked out our front porch this year with some really fun varieties, in part so we could make some delicious meals with these beauties. There are so many fun varieties to cook with and luckily many of them will keep for weeks, or even months. Growing winter squash takes up some prime real estate on
Planting Fall Garlic
It’s not too late to get a fall planting of garlic in the ground. This easy to grow crop is adaptable to different soil types and is an incredibly low-maintenance plant. My dad shared some of his garlic harvest with us and we have been saving the best and biggest bulbs to plant this fall. Garlic generally produces the best crops when planted in the
Snapshots of Autumn
The wind and rains are rolling in on these late fall evenings – a reminder that winter is rapping on our door. Here are some snippets of what autumn has looked like on our homestead. Fall creates a mix of cool blues and gray-greens in the front yard, dotted with yellow leaves from our trumpet vine and quince shrubs. Scarlets pop up here and
Fall Plantings
Fall is a great time of year to plant new trees and perennial shrubs for two big reasons: it gives your plants several months to work on establishing roots and there are all kinds of crazy deals right now as nurseries close out their summer stock. Just be sure to get your new purchases in the ground well in advance of your first hard freeze,
Prepping Beds for Winter
The days are growing darker and there is a bite in the morning breeze. Before the first frost hits, which for Portlanders is around November 15th, the homestead needs to be prepped for winter. We have had some fierce rain and wind storms already, so when we had a clear weekend I jumped on my garden to-do list. As we all know, vegetable plants suck
October Harvest
October is giving us the last drops of warm-season harvests, but it’s time to draw the curtain for winter. Juniper helped me pick the last of the ripe fruits and veggies. Her way of helping has more to do with eating than actually putting anything in the harvest basket, but I enjoy the company nevertheless. Our cupboard is already packed with tomatoes for winter –
Botanicals of San Diego
Traveling with kids slows you down quite a bit, but we are learning to settle into a rhythm with Juniper as our regular traveling partner. This time our travels took us to southern California, a couple days of which were spent in sunny San Diego. An excellent, kid-friendly outing was spent at the San Diego Botanical Gardens. They have a fabulous Children’s Garden that includes a
September Harvest
It’s still summertime on our homestead in September. Let’s take a little walk through the garden together. The harvest basket includes everything from eggplant to green beans, or rather Dragon’s Tongue beans. They are long with purple strips that taste great fresh or sauteed with tons of garlic. Tomatoes are coming on strong and Juniper is learning that the green ones don’t taste so good.
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