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 or frigid Canada. To properly time your planting, it really
Beet Leaves
You can enjoy your beets before they are even big enough to pull from the ground. Their leaves are really high in vitamin A nutrients, along with vitamin C, iron and calcium with a taste similar to swiss chard. Although you can eat them raw, I prefer to saute them in a little olive oil. I also tend to drop them into most dishes I
Vegetable Beds Planted
The raised vegetables beds have been planted periodically since early March. The cold weather spinach and kale went in first and I used thick plastic as row covers to keep them toasty. A few weeks later I added carrots, lettuces, beets and parsnips. The plastic have given all those vegetables a great start and they are flourishing! We’re eating kale chips and salads almost every
Building Fort Knox
One giant compromise of letting the chickens free-range in our backyard is allowing them to ravage our vegetable beds from time to time. They scratch up seeds, eat young shoots, and sometimes decide a newly planted bed is a terrific place for a dust bath. Every year I get a little smarter with how to protect my loved green things from the girls, and this
Fall Preparations
The last two weeks have been filled with travel – some for fun and some for work. I left town as summer was wrapping up and hints of Fall were settling in, but there is no mistaking the season now that I have returned. Portland is filled with brilliant shades of crimson, gold, blazing orange and muted purples. The trees have all turned and the
Spring Vegetables
“We come from the earth, we return to the earth, and in between we garden.” -Anonymous My grandfather had a good day today. He was lucid for most of the day, which was wonderful, and I was able to have a nice, short visit with him. We talked about our normal subject: how the garden is growing. Between these ups and downs, it’s a really
Cat-Proof Raised Vegetable Beds
We adopted our cat, Lionel, from the Oregon Humane Society a couple years ago. OHS is a wonderful organization with some of the highest adoption rates in the country and our cat has been a wonderful addition to our home. I have never had a cat and a garden before though, and sometimes that combination can prove frustrating. Although he spends most of his time