Archive for the ‘books’ Category

Caring for Ornamental Grasses in Seattle

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009
'The Blues' Schizachyrium with Lambs Ear

'The Blues' Schizachyrium with Lambs Ear

Autumn is probably my favorite time of year to really enjoy ornamental grasses. And, by grasses I don’t mean lawn. I do mean ornamental grasses and grass-like plants such as sedges and rushes. Plants like blood grass are brilliant red and showy at this time. Seed heads on Miscanthus are shining and flowing in the breeze (and frost). Little tufts on bunny grasses hop along at the edges of borders. And, hairy carex shimmers, promising interest into the winter ahead.

Well, it promises interest if cared for properly. Too often, all ornamental grasses are treated the same by unknowning humans with scissoring tools in hand. This can cause permanent damage. So to help you wade your way through your grasses, here are some general guidelines. Of course, in each genus there may be exceptions to the rule, but these tips should help you avoid the big mistakes.

  • True Grasses:
    Miscanthus Seed Head Adorned with First Snow

    Miscanthus Seed Head Adorned with First Snow

    True grasses have “elbows” or “joints” where the leaves run down the stems to the ground. They may be clumpers or spreaders, and they do well when cut down at the end of the season. What you define as “the end of the season” is your call. If you enjoy looking at seed heads swaying in the autumn sunlight, then you might wait until after a frost or until mid-winter to cut the plants down. If you are concerned about the plants spreading in the garden after forming and spreading their seed all winter, then you might cut them down earlier.  Grasses like blood grass are easy to snip at individually to remove. Clumps of bunny grass are tight and with a sheet underneath are easy to shear and then pluck out brown old growth. Tall grasses like Miscanthus are best bundled tightly with string and then cut a few inches above the ground but below the tie. This way the bundle comes away in one bunch. Take care, these plants may have sharp edges.

  • Sedges: Sedges have edges and no elbows. They are often mop-like and spreading. Generally, their seed heads aren’t showy.
    Carex testacea intermingling with Euphorbia

    Carex testacea intermingling with Euphorbia

    They do not take kindly to being cut hard. Some will die back for winter. Most ornamental Carex, however, is an evergreen plant that should be combed and very lightly trimmed once or twice a year. I tend to comb mine out in mid-summer and again in fall or winter. After I comb out all the dead and stringy growth and remove any dead clumps, I then bundle the plant in my hands and trim off the dead ends, which should be around 2″ or so of the very tips. Its like giving the plant a little bob haircut. If the plant has been neglected for a long time, the center may be dieing out. In these cases, I dig out the plant to divide it and reinvigorate growth.

  • Rushes: Honestly, I don’t do much with rushes. If they have dead growth, I remove those shoots to the ground. That’s about it.
Carex flagellifera with Lambs Ear

Carex flagellifera with Lambs Ear

This is basic primer barely skims the surface of ornamental grass care. There are many, many more grasses to choose from and care for. Some are weedier than others. Some are sharper and harder to care for than others. And, many are just plain wonderful and not to be missed for their fantastic, unique forms, textures and colors they add to to the garden.  If you aren’t sure which kind of grass plant you have or if you have one that isn’t specifically mentioned here, get in touch for a coaching session for hands on plant care training and identification sessions. Or consider picking up a copy of one of my favorite grass books such as Grasses:Versatile Partners for Uncommon Garden Design or The Color Encyclopedia of Ornamental Grasses.

(This topic was originally published in October 2008 and updated in September 2009.)

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Gardener’s Epiphany Invokes Process Change

Friday, December 19th, 2008
Organic Cabbage Grown at Home

Organic Cabbage Grown at Home

Earlier this year, Bill Moyers interviewed Michael Pollan on the subject of Food, Health and Agri-business. In this compelling, two part interview Pollan discusses industrialized food, climate change, health care, petroleum costs and more as it relates to plain old food. A few highlight comments:

  • Vote with your fork!
  • The generation being born today is the first in history to have an shorter life expectancy than their parents.
  • Be prepared to cook & declare your independence from processed foods
  • Make yourself a producer, put in a garden
  • Pollan’s 10′ x 20′ veggie garden produces so much food he has difficulty giving away the extras
  • Cheap energy has allowed us to outsource so much of our lives & the time of cheap energy may be coming to an end
  • Gardening teaches us we can use our bodies to support our bodies.
  • Gardening teaches us we can feed ourselves — if we need to (someday).
  • It is empowering to know you are not at the mercy of the supermarket.
Teaching Children about Growing Food

Teaching Children about Growing Food

Please take some time to watch this segment and learn more about where your food really comes from and how building your own garden will empower your mind, body, and community.

If you’re interested in reading more of Pollan’s writings on food, please visit the Garden Help Garden Store where you will find all of his books — on food and otherwise in the novels, memoirs and more book section. And, if you’re interested in learning how you can put in your own edible garden, please get in touch to schedule a garden coaching session. You’re never too young or too old to start feeding yourself. And, really, it isn’t as difficult or as time consuming as you might think. Once you get started self-sourcing your life, you’ll be hooked for life!

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Lemon Verbena – How To Grow, Preserve and Enjoy All Year

Saturday, October 25th, 2008

One of my favorite blogs to read is Garden Rant. A few weeks ago a few of us got into a discussion about how to keep the winter blues away. I mentioned that preserving lemon verbena and enjoying its sunny, sunshine taste through winter was a way that helps me. Adding a splash of vodka to it to make a cocktail also helps brighten the mood. So, if you’re looking at your garden and wondering what to do with the last of the lemon verbena before your plant goes dormant, I suggest gathering up as many leaves as you can to save them for the dark months ahead.

Lemon Verbena in the Garden

Lemon Verbena in the Garden

But what if you don’t have a lemon verbena plant to work with or what if you’re reading this next spring to learn about lemon verbena? Well, here’s a tip. Buy a plant and put it in a sunny spot in the garden. This woody perennial may or may not survive winters in western washington, but I promise it is worth buying year-after-year for an unsurpassed lemondrop lemoniness fragrance and flavor.  Starts are readily available in nurseries and farmer’s markets beginning in early spring. Even a 2″ start will become a good sized shrub in the garden once the heat kicks in for summer. If your plants take hold and become a returning shrub, give them room to become a good 5′ tall and wide.

So, how to harvest your lemon verbena… I try to tip mine back regularly to encourage branching and more leaves during the summer. Pinch to a node and you should be good to go. Just don’t take out more than 1/4 of the plant at any one cutting, and don’t pinch below a point you pinched earlier in the season (unless you take out the entire branch). Leaves freeze well, make a great herbal sugar paste and a wonderful simple syrup. Some will say that the taste doesn’t preserve well in a simple syrup. I think its pretty great. However, I will admit that the herbal sugar paste is a must have in any good kitchen.

Lemon Verbena Simple Syrup

  • 1 big fist full of lemon verbena leaves, stems reserved
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water

Heat water and dissolve sugar in it. Add leaves and stir to cover. Remove from heat and let steep about 20 minutes. Strain leaves from syrup.

To store: Pour into airtight container & put in fridge for up to about 3 weeks or so. Or pour into ice cube trays and let set over night. I suggest using the smallest cube size you can find in a tray. The cubes will not get icy-rock solid because of the high sugar content in the syrup. It will be more like a slightly mushy frozen fruit pop. Using small cube trays means it will freeze up faster and better. And, your portion sizes will be appropriate for recipes. This stuff is potent!

Reserved branches are great tossed on a grill to add fragrance. Or add to a potpourri mixture. Or just crack one apart now and again to take a big whiff of lemon sunshine fragrance.

Lemon Verbena sugar paste: Well folks. I have to say you’re going to have to figure this one out for yourselves or buy The Herbfarm Cookbook. Jerry Traunfeld taught me to make this paste in his book, and I’m not going to steal it here. Really, you want the book…and not just for this recipe! He offers growing tips and many other ways to use this and other great herbs.

Lemon Verbena Drop: I will give another shout out to Jerry Traunfeld for the Lemon Drop he offers in The Herbal Kitchen, but this is one I “McGyver’d”, if you will, on my own. This recipe makes one large cocktail. Reduce or omit orange liquer to reduce sweetness. Or add more lemon juice to make more tart.

  • 2 Shots Vodka
  • 1 t. orange liquer (Grand Marnier or Triple Sec)
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 lime
  • 1/2 shot lemon verbena simple syrup or 1 tiny cube frozen lemon verbena syrup
  • 1 T. Lemon Verbena sugar paste
Lemon Verbena Martini

Lemon Verbena Martini

Spread Lemon verbena sugar paste on a plate. Slice lemon in half and cut off one lemon slice to reserve. Cut one wedge off remaining lemon. Run lemon wedge around rim of martini glass. Dip glass rim into sugar paste to create sugar rim on glass. Set glass aside so sugar rim will harden.

Squeeze all of the lemon juice and lime juice, less the reserved slice, into a martini shaker (Should equate about 1 shot of fresh lemon-lime). Pour in vodka and orange liquer. Add simple syrup (if using syrup and not frozen cube). Add pinch of remaining sugar paste to shaker. Fill shaker with ice. Shake hard. Strain into martini glass.

Float lemon slice on top. Drop in lemon verbena frozen cube on top of lemon slice (if using).

And, if you’re a t-totaller (or just love sweet tea), check out this great iced tea recipe from Willi at Digginfood. It’s another great way to enjoy your Lemon Verbena. And, I bet you could adjust her recipe to use your reserved simple syrup. Just remember, a little lemon verbena simple syrup goes a long way!

Enjoy the taste of summer all year long!

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Sharing Crops with Neighbors — A Community of Suburban Foragers

Monday, September 15th, 2008
Garden Mentor With Corn to Share

Garden Mentor With Corn to Share

September is the season of harvest. Today is the date of our harvest moon. It’s hard to believe summer is nearly gone, but so it is. A week from today is the autumnal equinox! During the harvest season I find myself sharing my garden coaching skills with neighbors. In return, I have the pleasure of sharing in their harvest!

Fresh Picked!

Fresh Picked!

Over the weekend, I celebrated harvest with many of my neighbors. I’m very inclined to work on building relationships within my community, so I don’t hesitate to introduce myself to neighbors I don’t know. And, really, it has paid off. My best friends live next door. We are as close as family (but perhaps we get along better than some families). We share meals together, which means this time of year we put together many fresh harvest potlucks.

On Friday we got together to share a meal and visit together around the the firepit after dark. Bob and I offered to bring fresh, sweet corn from our abundant crops. Just before heading over to dinner, I went into the garden and harvested one ear per person. So, by the time we sat down to eat, our corn had only been off the stalk for about an hour!

Fresh Blueberries

Fresh Blueberries

When I walked to our neighbor’s for dinner that night, I noticed that their blueberries were laden with ripe fruit. My friends are always generous with their fruit, so I didn’t hesitate to ask if I could pick some. The next day, I hit the bushes with a large bowl in hand and cleaned the bushes. Of course, I took half of the harvest to my friends before heading home to gorge myself on fresh, sweet fruit!

Fresh Apples!

Fresh Apples!

Later that day, while walking the dog, we stopped in on a neighborhood garage sale. One of our alley neighbors saw me and asked if I wanted some apples from her overflowing tree. Each year for the last 3 or 4 she has generously shared her fruit. The next morning, I grabbed the garden cart, a bucket and a ladder to harvest from her tree. First I cleaned up the windfallen fruit from the ground and then I worked on the fruit highest in the tree to save her the effort.

Dried Apple Rings for Winter

Dried Apple Rings for Winter

While I was picking, she came out teasing, “Thief! Thief!” We laughed, and she told me the tree had been planted in (probably) the 1930s. When she moved into the house about 20 years ago, she found just a stump that sent up a single shoot. Fortunately for her, the resulting sprout has turned out to be a tree that produces wonderful fruit. She keeps it organically, so there are worms in some, but the fruit is sweet-tart, making for great eating, baking and drying apples!

Native Huckleberries - Yum!

Native Huckleberries - Yum!

Later, I paid a visit to another neighbor who lives in a landscape containing almost all edible plants. I knew they had no idea that the strange black berries on their evergreen hedge were actually native huckleberries**. When I asked if they’d mind sharing, they were happy to learn about the bushes and to share the fruit. I spent at least an hour painstakingly removing the tiny, ripe berries from the shrubs. They’re a bit seedy and the skins aren’t as soft as their cultivated blueberry cousins, but the fruit is fantastic!

Fall Harvest Bowl

Fall Harvest Bowl

Over the weekend, I continued to pull tomatoes out of the garden, pick corn for pasta salads and pinch back basil to use fresh and to freeze. The harvest is abundant this time of year. I know that soon my fresh options will be much less interesting. Chard, lettuce, kale, evergreen herbs, cabbage, and peas are starting to kick in for the cool weather, so fresh foods will still be available. I’ve started germinating some fava beans to plant in a couple of beds that need their soil rejuvenated…more on that later…But, the big harvest season is on the wane. I intend to enjoy it for all it’s worth!

In addition to drying about 2 dozen apples yesterday, I also made a bisquit-style apple cobbler. I’ve decided that it makes a better breakfast than a dessert…maybe that’s because I was more hungry this morning when I ate it than I was last night. Decide for yourself. Here’s the recipe (adapted from Fanny Farmer Cookbook):

Ingredients:

  • 12 T. Butter, melted
  • 3 cups peeled and sliced fresh apples
  • 1 T. chopped, crystalized ginger
  • dash cinnamon
  • dash salt
  • 2/3 cup raw sugar (I use raw because I like the crunchy texture it imparts)
  • 1/2 cup 1/2 and 1/2 (or milk)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/2 cup flour
  • 2 t. baking powder
Apple Breakfast Bread

Apple Breakfast Bread

Preheat oven to 350F. Pour 4 T butter into deep pie plate and spread to grease the pan. Toss apples and ginger together. Arrange sliced apple/ginger combination in pan. Sprinkle dash of salt, cinnamon and 1/4 cup of sugar over apples.

Pour remaining butter into mixing bowl. Beat in half and half and egg.  Combine remaining dry ingredients in small bowl then beat into wet mixture. Drop in clumps over apples to completely cover.

Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. (Check to be sure top doesn’t burn; cover with foil if it gets too brown).

(**Just a quick note: If you don’t know what a plant is, don’t assume you can eat the fruit. There are many evergreen shrubs out there with little black berries this time of year. If you aren’t 100% sure that something is what you think it is, don’t take the risk of poisoning yourself by eating it.)

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Another Reason to Grow Your Own

Friday, August 22nd, 2008

Today’s headlines were pretty depressing…local trees have been poisoned with herbicide, mostly likely by a human who thinks s/he deserves to see some water in a lake more than the trees deserve to have life. Then I read that the FDA has okayed irradiating spinach and lettuce to reduce bacterial outbreaks.

I’ve got to wonder if the bacterial outbreaks really couldn’t be controlled through better growing practices rather than adding another step to processing the food. In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan illustrated that irradiating beef could be avoided by just feeding the cattle their natural diet briefly before slaughtering them. So, maybe by growing crops in a more natural environment they’d be stronger and able to withstand these infections? I’m not sure, and I do know that even home gardeners can cook up some nasty bugs…bacteria…fungi…etc…on their crops, but really people have been growing their own for as long as people have been cultivating food, and we’ve made it this long. Do we really need something applied at the end of the growing process to extend the shelf-life of our greens and make them look prettier? I have to wonder if the erradiation isn’t really just an easy-out to avoid changing what may be chemical-dependent growing practices.

I’m curious about the entire process and freely admit I don’t have all the answers…maybe that’s what scares me most. Each time humans start using another man-made/controlled process to control nature — whether to kill a tree in the name of a view or to mass produce the perfect-looking lettuce head — it seems we take one step further down the road in damaging our planet and ourselves.

As for me, this latest news is one more reason to get my little lettuce starts into the garden right away and my greenhouse (without erradiation equipment) cleaned up and ready to feed me this winter. And, it makes me just a little happier that I picked out a pair of tree-hugger winter boots yesterday. Oboz is committed to planting a tree for each pair purchased.  Perhaps my new shoes will help re-tree to mitigate others de-treeing.

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Listening to Plants Continues to Teach

Thursday, August 14th, 2008

Today I read that researchers are listening to the noises plants make to determine what kind of pollution they’re putting up with. Basically, the type of soundwave the plant puts out tells the scientists if there is a pollution issue going on and what kind of pollution is at hand.

Is this a surprise to anyone who works with plants or has read The Secret Life of Plants? In the early 1970s this book brought the idea of human emotion and talk having impact on the plants around them. Some say that it is this book that got housewives talking to their houseplant companions, encouraging them to grow through positive reinforcement.

I’ll confess I talk to my plants. Sometimes I tell them to quit growing into my paths. Other times I thank them for yielding up a beautiful salad before I chop the head to the ground. And, at other times I beg them to forgive me for my poor efforts at transplanting them, which, on occassion puts them under stress.

So, is this next study on plant “talk” going to give the home gardener more tools for successful gardening? Will it eventually yield tools that allow us to test our soil for toxic pollutants? I’m not sure. But as the climate continues to change and plants must adapt, we will be able to look to them (or rather listen to them) for indications that we might otherwise miss.

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Real Life Tree Adventures – The Wild Trees, Read it!

Saturday, August 2nd, 2008
Marki in front of Hoh Rainforest Tree Fall - 2006

Marki in front of Hoh Rainforest Tree Fall - 2006

As my regular readers know, I spent part of my childhood running around in the wild hills of Northern California. I spent a lot of time exploring redwoods near my home. I even had one tree that my sister and I called a horse. The poor thing had to endure the both of us bouncing away on one of its lower limbs. I’m sure my mom, Marki on the right, was yelling at us all the time to leave the poor tree alone. Fortunately, we never broke the limb. And, come to think of it, the tree may have been a Calocedrus decurrens rather than a Sequoia sempervirens. At 8 yrs old I wasn’t taking notes.

In any case, the point is, I grew up around these big, old amazing trees. When I’d ride my pony around town, I’d see logging truck after logging truck filled with cut trees cruising to the mills. We had a belief that you could make a wish when you saw one of these trucks and it would come true. I wish I’d wished the trucks would disappear. Frankly, there were too many opportunities to wish on these trucks in the 70s. Fortunately, some of the groves are protected and in more recent years explorers have been seeking out remaining old groves and exploring the amazing worlds within them.

Robin & Shiloh on California Redwood - 2007

Robin & Shiloh on California Redwood - 2007

Since taking up a professional career working with people working with plants, I have continued to study trees. I’ve taken classes with some amazing certified arborists, ancient tree rescuers such as Dr. Olaf Ribeiro, and plain ole plant geeks like Arthur Lee Jacobsen. But, I’ve never sat for the ISA exams. I’ve definitely thought about it, but each time I’ve considered it, I realize I know so very little relative to the big picture. I have enormous respect for trees or more specifically for ancient trees. These suckers have been around for hundreds of years in many cases. So, I cower in awe when I encounter them, and as much as I advocate for them and continue to learn about them, I realize I’m nowhere near ready to take an exam that will certify me as knowledgable enough to become their designated caretakers. I leave that to others and respect them greatly for their work.

In my work truck I have a postcard from one of the shops along Hwy 101 in the Redwood forests along “The Avenue of the Giants”. The postcard  has a cross-section photo of a large, old redwood that fell in 1987. The growth rings are intact and markers were inserted at various points indicating human history. At its center is a marker indicating when it began growing — 1148 A.D. The signing of the Magna Carta is another marker at 1215. I keep this postcard as a reminder that regardless of what happens in my day, in the big picture its probably pretty insignificant. What is significant is that I try to do the right thing like the 1919 marker for when the Save the Redwoods League was founded (unfortunately far too late to save most of the redwoods that had been growing for hundreds of years before clear cutting began.)

Robin in Front of Hoh Rainforest Ancient Tree - 2006

Robin in Front of Hoh Rainforest Ancient Tree - 2006

Recently, I picked up a copy of Richard Preston’s The Wild Trees. In this book he explores the people who explore big trees. He introduces us to the people who explore the ground, looking to find the world’s largest tree among the California Redwoods. He shares the stories of those who decided to climb and study the forests within the forests of these big trees (and other big trees around the world).

If you’re interested in learning more about big trees or if you are just looking for a good read that will keep you on the edge of your seat (or tree limb for that matter), definitely pick this book up. I couldn’t put it down. Now that I’ve finished it, I find myself looking up into canopies even more. Noticing the sway of trees and wondering if the Doug Firs declining in our area are actually going to withstand the tip dieback and send out new leaders, soaring to the heavens for years and years to come.

Oh, and yes, the book reinforced for me how little I know. It helped me learn more and reminded me of the one time I put on a tree saddle and did a bit of climbing — as curious as I am about the canopy its unlikely I’ll ever be a big climber. The 8-yr old tree monkey I was is no more. Of course, never say never…

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Sorrel — My New Favorite Leafy Green Herb

Friday, July 25th, 2008

Recently my pre-teen niece came to visit. She’s always been a picky eater, and as she approaches her teen years she’s at least tasting some new things. She never likes the new things, but at least she’s giving into my pleas to, “Come on…just one little bite. You don’t have to eat it if you don’t like it.” Rather than continuing to be frustrated with her phoo-phoo’ing of all the amazing flavors of the culinary world, I’ve started taking a different perspective of her situation.

As a kid I was willing to eat just about anything. That’s probably why I ballooned into a chubby teen when puberty hit. There were a few things I never enjoyed –okra, brussel sprouts, and beets come to mind. So, unlike my niece, I didn’t have much food discovery left to me when I grew up. I’d already experienced so many of the foods out there. And, as a foodie, I crave finding new tastes.

I was thrilled about eight years ago when I tasted a beet that I actually kind of liked. I’d always thought they tasted like sweet dirt, and, well, I guess I still think that. But, my adult pallet now craves that flavor! I’ve even had a few pickled okra in my adult years that don’t totally gross me out. The brussel sprouts, well, as much as those cute little buttery bundles look good, they just don’t work for me. So, sadly, my “to be discovered” list is still quite small.

Yes, I recognize that there are loads of foods around the world I’ve never tried. I’m not about to go dig up grubs in the garden just to see what those taste like, and I try to eat locally, so I’m not going to import a lot of crazy fruit from south america just to make my tongue happy. So, back to my diverse, but pretty regular diet. (Anyone else get sick of their own cooking now & again?)

Last weekend I was visiting our local farmer’s market and stopped at an herb booth. The vendor was offering herbal sodas and herbal teas. I ordered a nettle tea that looked and tasted like swamp water, but I know the stuff is amazing for me, and it was pretty refreshing. She also had a fresh, leafy green for sale on her table.

“What’s this?” I asked.

Turns out it was sorrel. She had me tear a piece off to taste. Wow! What a tangy, lemony plant. Now, its not a “sweet lemon” like lemon grass, lemon balm or lemon verbena. Its more of a “tangy-tart lemon” like the “lemon weed clover” I used to munch on as a kid in northern California. (Sorry folks, don’t know the name of the lemon weed.)

I ended up plunking down $4 for a small bunch of sorrel. She told me that its incredibly easy to grow, and it comes back after being cut to the ground. So, I knew getting a few plants was likely to be my next step. I certainly wasn’t going to pay that kind of price for a vegetable I could grow & likely couldn’t kill.

Sorrel is a member of the Rumex genus. If you’re familiar with Dock weed, you’ll quickly realize why she said cutting the plant to the ground won’t kill it. These suckers are tough! It’s important to tip out flowers to keep the sorrel from bolting and going to seed. And, leaves can be harvested, as needed throughout the season.

Today, I spent $3.49 on a 4″ pot containing 3 sorrel plants. The Herbfarm Cookbook indicates that 3 plants are sufficient for the average kitchen. Now I just need to find the right spot for them in my garden.

If you’re wondering what I did with the cut sorrel I bought at the farmer’s market, well I experimented. I tore up a few leaves into green salad and enjoyed the raw tanginess. I sauted several and cooked them into a tart with gruyere cheese, carmelized Walla-Walla spring onions, and fresh morel mushrooms. And, I used the last bit tossed with new potatoes roasted in foil on the grill. All were amazing!

If you haven’t enjoyed sorrel, consider grabbing a bunch at your farmer’s market. And, if you’ve got a picky eater at home, rather than get upset at what they’re missing, be envious of all the great opportunities coming to their tongue in the future!

And, if you’re just getting into gardening with herbs, read more about them in my earlier post, Herbs in the Garden — Some Thoughts.

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Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades – a Must-Read!

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008

Recently, a friend recommended Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades by Steve Solomon to me. How I haven’t read this book before baffles me. I mean, its been in print since 1981 for goodness sakes! Still, I’ve got a copy of the 6th edition sitting on my desk, and I’m finding it a wonderful read. Not only is it full of incredibly useful organic gardening for the region in which I live, particularly focused on growing edibles, but it is also full of tidbits that I knew nothing about prior to reading it.

I suppose part of the reason I never picked this up is that I grew up on farms raising edibles organically. I thought I knew plenty. But once again I am humbled. The teacher becomes the student. For instance, I farmed on the east coast where symphylan pests are not prevalent. This book introduced me to their existance and gives me sustainable methods to both test for them and work on beating them back. Have I tested yet? No. But I will.

And, I continue to do more research on them. I realize its important to keep in mind that most pest organisms from armillaria fungi to annoying vetch weed to these tiny symphylans are important parts of the ecosystem. They aid in soil health playing a part in decomposition, soil aeration, nitrogen fixation and much more. So, I try to keep a balanced attitude and a balanced garden. I have a high tolerance and appreciation for pests, but I also know that if it comes down to who gets to eat carrots in my garden or who gets to enjoy a big shade tree, I plan to win.

So, if you live west of the cascades, I highly recommend checking this book out from the library or picking up a copy of your own. It isn’t the only vegetable gardening book to have in your library, but its a good place to start!

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Garden Coach on Patio Water Garden In A Weekend

Monday, January 28th, 2008

8_waterf_topview_horiz.jpgRead on for the tale of how shopping for vegie starts in the summer of 2007 resulted in the installation of a new waterfeature for our patio .

Day 1, Act 1: The Morning Nursery Visit: I ask Bob if he’d like to go to a local nursery with me to spend some coupons & pick up a few vegie starts. I’d been to the nursery earlier that week & had seen some leggy but viable vegies still for sale. Bob accepts. We go to the nursery around 9am. All vegies are gone until fall. With soon-to-expire valuable 50% coupons burning a hole in my pocket, I feel the need to at least look around in case there’s some kind of “must have” in the garden center. I almost decide to buy a box of organic fertilizer I’ve been wanting to try. But, then, I see a waterfeature trickling & wonder what the price is for a small bamboo spigot. Low & behold, the “floor model” price was reasonable — $29.95 for a spigot with pump attached. With my coupons — OMG! How could I resist?! In other garden centers, pumps were retailing at $35-$40. Spigots & bubblers were that price as well. 1_container_before2.jpgI knew I had a container at home that I wanted to renovate. Sure, 11_waterf_pitcherplant_vert.jpgit had drainage holes, but I knew I could seal those with clear caulk in no time. So, we selected a couple of 25% off water plants, snatched up the bargain spigot & pump & headed home. We figured we’d have a waterfeature running in no time. We should have known better!

Day 1, Act 2: Preparing the Site: When we got home, Bob immediately began removing the plant material from the container. We knew that sealing the drainage holes in the pot would take a while as the sealant would need several hours to set up and harden. He got the plants out & all were in shape to be transplanted in new locations. I worked on getting rid of the roots by putting them in my worm compost bin; the worms will eat them. And, I distributed the soil into some garden locations. Bob then got the sealant out. Uh-0h, it takes 24 hours to 1 week to dry completely. Well, so much for soothing bubbling sounds on the patio tonight at dinner. Uh-oh #2, Bob points out that although we do have a plug available on the patio, it isn’t properly weatherproofed & it is mounted pretty high on a lamp pole. He wants to re-wire the pole to put a proper outdoor plug on it & hide the mounting as much as possible. We rinse out the container, grab a glass of iced tea & head to the hardware store around 11am.

Day 1, Act 3: Home Depot: Well, a weekend rarely goes by when Bob doesn’t have to make at least one trip to the Depot. We already needed to get a part for our BBQ, so having to go for the waterfeature just added more things to buy to our list. waterfall sealant in container drainage holesWe found a waterfall sealant foam spray that sets up in 1 hour and is sealed/hardened in 24 hours. After much digging through the electrical department, we were able to figure out how to put together, mount & seal a new outdoor plug & switch. (I say we, but mostly I mean Bob.) Of course, we had to buy a new drill bit to go with the electrical box and screws and washers as well. With all of this in hand, plus our BBQ racks, we checked out & headed home around 1 pm. (In case you can’t tell, the can of worms is wide open at this point.)


3_wiring_vert1.jpgDay 1, Act 4: Minimal Cursing from Bob the Electrician:
Right away, we fill the pot drainage holes with waterfall sealant. Its going to take 24 hours for that to be hardened and sealed. Between the drilling, rewiring, testing, and sealing, it takes Bob until around 4pm to get the electrical all set up so that we have power to the plug for the waterfeature. The lamp is now on an outdoor switch & the original “high up” plug is also charged. And, he managed this with very few 4 letter words.

4_wiring_sealed_vert.jpgDay 1, Act 5: Billy the Fish & Spot: All characters are exhausted at this point with no relaxing waterfeature to enjoy. So, we walk Shiloh to rent movies and stop at the pet shop to buy some goldfish for the new waterfeature. Goldfish are a great addition. They keep the waterfeature clean & they eat mosquito larvae!As I’m looking at the feeder fish (bargain priced at $.14/smalls & $.25/bigs), I think of the recent “Billy the Fish” posting. I can’t tell most of the fish apart, but two are white with orange spots. I named one “Billy” and the other, well of course, “Spot”. We return home & float their bags in the doggie swimming pool for the night.

5_container_filling_vert1.jpgDay 2, Act 1: Filling & Testing: In the morning, we set up the container in its location and begin placing containers & stones in the pot on which we will rest plants and decorative rock. In the early afternoon, we fill the container with water and insert the umbrella palm , water hyacinth and a bit of Duckweed we had purchased the day prior. We float the fish bags in the new waterfeature. Still, it seems a little empty.

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Day 2, Act 2: Finishing Touches:
Bob and I wanted a few more water plants, so we ran up to another nearby garden center that has some cool carniverous bog plants. Here we found some pitcher plants to add to the garden. I wanted a purple taro, but theirs were a little sad and spendy, so we left them behind. (I also purchased a chocolate cosmos, which is now planted with my peanut butter bush, but that’s another story.) When we got home, we spent about another hour adjusting containers and stones to get everything just right. 7_fish_release_vert1.jpgAnd, we released the fish. Also, I had some Acorus in the garden beds, which I dug & planted in the water garden after reading it does well in these spaces. (That was another can of worms as I found about a trash container of roofing material left from our roofers last year hidden in this planting bed – yuck!). 10_waterf_bobsmile_horiz.jpgWe are still doing some fine tuning, but we were able to relax on the patio with iced tea and beer and listen to our new waterfeature. We’re both happy with it & I’m glad Bob was still smiling at the end!

Day 2, Act 3: Celebratory Meal: Just before Bob and I sat down to an amazing dinner of Spicy Lemon Verbena Meatballs, Spicy Cilantro Slaw, (The Herbal Kitchen, by Jerry Traunfeld) Jasmine rice & Vihno Verde, we took a moment to feed Billy & his pals their first meal in their new home. They were timid at first, but soon were popping to the surface to grab goldfish flakes. Little do these “feeder” fish know how lucky they are. Oh, and gnats were gathering around the pitcher plants, destined to feed a beautiful part of this tiny ecosystem we love!

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