Anyone in tune with popular media has heard that bee populations are dieing out and have been in decline for several years. In my own very diverse garden I’ve noticed a huge decline in honeybees. I use no pesticides, and I provide a diverse array of food sources for all bees. Still, this year my [...]

Last weekend I got my garlic starts into the ground. Well, actually, I got them into large containers. I decided to grow them in containers because of my limited space and long time it takes them to make it to harvest. Basically, they’re planted in fall and harvested early summer. That’s a long growing season.
Yesterday, [...]

Here we are on the other side of the middle of October, and I can say that the last of my veggie planting is done for winter. My seed garlic is all tucked into deep, black (heat absorbing) planter tubs. The last of my chard starts replaced fading summer annuals in a bed that gets [...]

One problem I see over and over with many clients is misunderstanding how to properly move edible plants from cellpacks into the garden. Many of my clients are just learning about gardening so starting everything from seed is a bit more than they’re ready to handle. Instead, they selectively purchase cellpack, organic vegetable starts to [...]

Fall is definitely here. My neighbor’s northfacing rooftop is covered with a light frost this morning, and there’s a moist chill in the air despite the crisp sunshine brightening the abundant autumn golds and reds. The race is now on to get the last of the summer veggies out of the garden and into storage [...]

A few weeks ago I ordered seed garlic. I haven’t grown garlic in years, so I asked my friend Willi at DigginFood where she gets hers. She suggested I contact garlic guru, Dan. I did as she suggested and was overwhelmed with the seed garlic to choose from, so I ordered some of each. Actually, [...]

Now that the rains are back in force, its time to get the last potatoes harvested. Some will say that leaving potatoes in the ground for winter keeps them protected and fresh. In my experience it leads to a potato patch that gets out of control and a bunch of diseased, sloppy rotten potatoes in [...]

Last month I was asked to submit to a horticultural trade magazine some photos of a favorite fall container planting. Sure, this is a tough choice. There are so many combinations to choose from and build going into the fall. I ended up submitting a container filled with edible plants that add interest and food [...]

Here in western Washington, the season has definitely taken a turn to autumn. Trees are showing brilliant colors. Wind storms are kicking up (and kicking trees over). Fog is settling in. Rain is falling and so are temperatures. As this happens, summer heat-loving food crops begin to wane.
Heat-lovers like tomatoes are about at their end. [...]

You know the tune. And, if you’re putting up fresh summer vegetables to enjoy over the winter, you may be singing a similar tune. I really did end up preserving close to one hundred pounds of tomatoes, or at least that’s what I bought with the intention of preserving them. We ate quite a few [...]