Hip Chick Digs

City girl gets her hands dirty planting an edible garden and raising urban chickens

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When to Plant

February 18th, 2010 · 8 Comments

There are a few rule-of-thumb planting dates among the gardening community that we enjoy repeating every year. One is to sow your peas on President’s Day. Another is to plant potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day. These are general rules though which will not apply to you if you happen to live in sunny southern California [...]

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Tags: gardening · row covers · seeds · tips · vegetables

Winter Gardening

February 3rd, 2010 · 4 Comments

It is that time of year to start planning the coming season’s garden and get our seeds going indoors. I have to admit that I haven’t started a thing yet and I am already feeling really behind. Hopefully this weekend will allow me a sliver of time to get my seed starting organized.

In the mean [...]

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Tags: gardening · urban farm · vegetables · winter vegetables

Making Good Garden Soil

December 17th, 2009 · 7 Comments

A garden is only going to be as good as its soil quality, which is why we gardeners are obsessed with building better soil. Many of us are not blessed with perfect soil where we have planted our gardens. We also do not have the luxury of an endless gardening budget, allowing us to bring [...]

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Tags: compost · frugal · gardening · permaculture · sheet mulching

The French Kitchen Garden

November 12th, 2009 · 3 Comments

This morning I am frantically cramming for a midterm in one of my classes. In this particular class, we have been studying some of the greatest gardens in the world. Although taking tests is always a drag, it is a pretty good excuse to immerse myself in something I am completely obsessed with anyways: gardens. [...]

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Tags: design · garden art · gardening · school · vegetables

Ultra Urban Gardens

November 3rd, 2009 · 2 Comments

With Jay living in New York City this year, and me in Oregon, we are making many cross-country trips this year. This past weekend I was out visiting and was continually surprised that New Yorkers, as urban as they come, are still fascinated with things that grow. Did you know that New York City has [...]

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Tags: containers · gardening