Blogs - Sustainable Gardening

Prickly Pears

Here's a question for our group. I am thinking about growing prickly pear cactus in my yard. Does anyone have this plant in their gardens or have any advice/suggestions about growing cacti in the PNW? I am not sure where to buy my plants as well. Of course I LOVE making jams and preserves so of course prickly pear jam sounds great. Any input is appreciated. Continue

Added by Chholing Taha on September 8, 2009 at 3:37pm — No Comments

Equinox garden potluck Sunday Sept 20th @ 1pm

Autumn Equinox is almost here and time again to gather for potluck and exchanging our harvests. A couple of folks asked that we do a fall gathering. Hope you have saved some seeds from your garden to share!!! I am busy collecting some of the medicine and edible flower seeds from my garden to share with you all. Harvest McCampbell will be joining us to talk story and share from her personal seed bank box of gold. She has many heirloom and hardy varieties perfect for the NW. *Please bring your po… Continue

Added by Laurie on September 3, 2009 at 3:48pm — 1 Comment

Calling all shredded paper and old phone books... Needed

Hello one and all: I'm working on building a bio- sponge swale in my organic garden in Seattle. To accomplish this lots & lots of shredded paper and old phone books will be needed. So if you have a bunch of these materials, please let me know. We are working on a new permaculture design for our organic vegetable garden that will help the garden store water! We would be happy to do a show and tell about the process if you'd like to see. Thanks for your help Laurie, in Seattle 206 725 3324 Continue

Added by Laurie on September 3, 2009 at 11:29am — No Comments

Cardoon

I had no idea what a Cardoon was until I was trying to duplicate a stunning Italian recipe. The plant took two years before it flowered, but the bees were really happy when it did! The stalk grew to almost five feet in height and produced seven fruits/flowers. Love it! Another organic treat for the bees and me… Continue

Added by Chholing Taha on August 27, 2009 at 10:54pm — 2 Comments

Tomatillos

I also became very interested in traditional Mexican cooking. So of course a tomatillo plant entered into the garden. I couldn't believe how much fruit it produced on one plant. I cooked down 8 cups of green goodness that will be used to make homemade verde sauce this winter! Of course they are emerald green… Continue

Added by Chholing Taha on August 27, 2009 at 10:49pm — 1 Comment

Crabapple Pickles

My wonderful organic Crabapple Tree did a good job this year. I cooked up a batch of crabapple pickles for this first time, YUM! Here's the formula: SPICED CRABAPPLES 1 1/2 qt. crabapples with stems 1 qt. vinegar 4 c. sugar 2 sticks cinnamon 1 tbsp. whole cloves 1 tsp. mace 1 tsp. allspice Choose round… Continue

Added by Chholing Taha on August 27, 2009 at 10:30pm — 3 Comments

Organic Irish Eyes Seeds local Washington

WELCOME TO OUR NEW WEB SITE. Please have a look around and enjoy your stay! For registering within the first two weeks of January enjoy the benifit of getting a points reward to get you started towards those free seed packets. Irish Eyes - Garden City Seeds is a quality provider of potato, vegetable, flower and garden seeds. We have just the right seeds for your home garden, including heirlooms seeds, certified seed, and organic gardeni… Continue

Added by Laurie on August 23, 2009 at 10:03am — 1 Comment

4x4 potatoe patch

How to Grow 100 lbs. of Potatoes in 4 Square Feet. THE CAGE METHOD Grow a few potato plants, each or in their own wooden box, crib, barrel or wire cage. The container should be about 18x18 inches at the base, about 24-30 inches tall, and able to be gradually filled with soft soil or mulch as the vines grow. Set each container atop a well-prepared fertile soil. Plant one strong seed piece and cover lightly with 4 inches of soil. As the v… Continue

Added by Laurie on August 23, 2009 at 10:01am — No Comments

The Seed Site for saving seeds!

Seeds and Seedpods There are two parts to this section - one on Seeds, and one on Seedpods. The Seed section is a chart of 700 seeds sorted by size and shape. All the pictures are more or less life-size, photographed in a 1" circle. If you have some seeds with no name, this might help you to identify them. These pictures can't be entirely accurate. For one thing, seeds even in the same seedpod can vary a bit in size and shape, so the particular seeds I've scanned might be a little different f… Continue

Added by Laurie on August 14, 2009 at 10:34pm — 1 Comment

seed saving kits from seeds of change link

http://www.seedsofchange.com/garden_center/product_details.aspx?item_no=S14521">product_details.aspx?item_no=S14521arget="_blank"> Seeds & Supplies > Tools & Supplies > Seed Saving "Seed Saver Kit Item Photo "Seed Saver Kit Measures 6.5"x5.5"x1" This complete, attractive kit includes: Ten airtight, glass-topped tins; Glassine seed envelopes with labels; Seed collection & storage bags; Stakes for marking collection plants; Seed desiccant; Twine, bands, and pencil; See… Continue

Added by Laurie on August 14, 2009 at 10:28pm — No Comments

Silence of the bees

Link to this nature film on the Bees http://video.pbs.org/video/995224587 Continue

Added by Laurie on August 9, 2009 at 3:56pm — 1 Comment

Organic Bytes Newsletter

Thought you might find this newsletter interesting. It's free if you are interested in subscribing. Info is at bottom of page. July 29, 2009 Organic Bytes #184: Food Safety, Coming Clean & More Health, Justice and Sustainability News from the Organic Consumers Association Quote of the Week Everything I Really Need to Know, I Learned Growing Up on a Farm Faith. I've watched the planting of tiny seeds and had the assurance that they would sprout and make a good crop. I've watched a newborn c… Continue

Added by Laurie on August 1, 2009 at 9:14am — No Comments

getting ready to plant for winter

Garden has turned into a jungle! Even with the intense heat and garden growing into a tropical refuge am thinking about planting for winter... Have ordered winter hardy seeds and waiting for te sun to take a rest. Want to get seed in and baby started soon. Get their roots well on their way before the sun turns the other direction. Continue

Added by Laurie on July 31, 2009 at 5:44pm — No Comments

Earth Boxes making your own

have not tries this yet but a neighbor swears by these boxes and raising your veggies in a drought tolerant way! http://www.josho.com/gardening.htm to see the pictures Here's how I make a homemade "self-contained gardening system" in about 10 minutes, and for about $10 (instead of the $40.00-plus-shipping that the genuine article costs from various sellers). A GENTLE REQUEST: These instructions have become far more popular than I ever imagined they would. They are turning up referenced on gar… Continue

Added by Laurie on July 2, 2009 at 10:56pm — No Comments

Scary Eye saves My Cherries

Rarely do my trees set cherries. The spring storms seem to destroy the flowers or the young fruit. Then if the fruit does set and grow the darn birds eat them green or with just a hint of red. They have stripped the trees in a matter of days. bahhhhhhh Well a guy at the Drain Oreg… Continue

Added by Dr Tim on June 26, 2009 at 11:57pm — 3 Comments

winter garden varities from territorial seeds

Overwintering Seed see news@territorialseed.com Alliums Onion & Shallot Seed Garlic, Shallots & Specialty Onions Cole Crops Broccoli Brussels Sprouts Cabbage Cauliflower Collards Kale Kohlrabi Greenhouse Varieties European Greens Oriental Greens Legumes Lettuce Loose Leaf Butterhead Romaine/Cos Lettuce Blends Gourmet Salad Blends Root Crops Beets Carrots Parsnips Radish Rutabagas & Turnips Spinach Swiss Chard Flower Seed Fall Planted Bulbs & Bare Root Perennials Cover Crops Summ… Continue

Added by Laurie on June 26, 2009 at 7:16pm — No Comments

garden water filter

have been reading and thinking about de-natured water depleting the garden soil and nutrition to the veggies.. Found this filter in Territorial seed catalog. Thought you might find it interesting too. Laurie http://www.territorialseed.com/product/11131/277 Territorial Seed Company Phone Orders: 800-626-0866 Customer Service/Gardening Questions: 541-942-9547 Fax Orders, Toll Free: 888-657-3131 Irrigation Back to Product List » Hose Filter We've found the solution for absolutely crystal-clear… Continue

Added by Laurie on June 14, 2009 at 12:05am — No Comments

Seed Savers exchange

http://www.seedsavers.org/ Seed Savers Exchangeis a non-profit, member supported organization that saves and shares the heirloom seeds of our garden heritage, forming a living legacy that can be passed down through generations. Our loyal SSE members have distributed an estimated 1 million samples of rare garden seeds since our founding nearly 35 years ago. Those seeds now are widely used by seed companies, small farmers supplying local and regional markets, chefs and home gardeners and cooks, al… Continue

Added by Laurie on June 10, 2009 at 1:20pm — No Comments

Uprising Organic seed Co. in Bellingham

Uprising Seeds Organic and OP Seeds grown in and adapted for the Pacific NW [ Non-gmo seeds ] Address: 2208 Iron St Bellingham, Washington 98122 Phone: 360-778-749 WebSite: http://www.uprisingorganics.com Contact: Brian and Crystine Uprising Seeds We are a small but growing regional seed company serving gardeners and small farmers in the Puget Sound region and beyond with high quality, 100% Certified Organic seed. We offer about 75 varieties of organic, open pollinated, and heirloom vegetable a… Continue

Added by Laurie on June 9, 2009 at 4:04pm — No Comments

new girl in the blog

Thanks for the into Chholing! I do love gardening. My experience for Midwest gardening happens on my 40 acre hobby farm. I have grown heirloom tomatoes, all the regular veggies, broom corn and gourds. I also have a lovely young orchard of nut trees and fruit trees, grape vines and berries. I took Master Gardener classes for Wisconsin and then immediately moved to Arizona! Now I am learning all about Southwest gardening. I love the citrus, cactus, succulents and new decorative plants. I look forw… Continue

Added by Betty Wilson on May 29, 2009 at 8:46am — No Comments

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