This is unpopular. If you like doing things that few will support, this is for you. It goes against all social norms, highlights you in your neighborhood as a radical, and will most certainly invite some to object, criticize, and politely complain. I’m sheet mulching my front lawn. The basic premise is simple in our case. One only needs so … Read More
Green Re-emerging. Slowly. As am I.
Like many others, I’ve been busy with hands in dirt. We’ve had a very mild winter up here, and my spring projects are a lot further along than I anticipated. The shot above is some asparagus I’m trying in flats from seed to bolster my supply long-term. So far so good. I’ve felt the odd pang of guilt for not … Read More
Hardcore Gardening in January
Perhaps it’s the days getting longer. Perhaps it’s that I’m cooped up inside. Perhaps it’s the lack of fresh food around the house. Whatever it is, I seem to be spending more time obsessing about gardening, here in the end of January, than I do in August. I’ve got to be close to having read all the books at the … Read More
Price Tagging My Produce
Yes, I am a geek, and I spreadsheet everything. I am aware of my geekness. This past gardening season, I weighed things as they came in the kitchen from my garden. I also weighed things as I picked from others’ gardens. I eyeballed prices at the market where comparable produce may be found. I ended up with an approximation of … Read More
Tasting Menu of My Garden
I’ve been waiting to post about this for a few days. Last Friday, my friend Yen was over for a visit and to eat. I was lacking inspiration for an ingredient to tackle, and eventually settled on the seemingly-good-idea of prepping nothing, and only using my garden as the source of inspiration to play with and put together a menu … Read More
What Grows Together Goes Together – Shaggy Parasols
There have been a few unanticipated joys of living in our new home over the past year – and this is one of them. Shaggy parasol mushrooms, growing aside my little leeks. Is it a hint? What grows together, goes together? I posted about their appearance last year, but with all the disturbance of soils, planting, etc, I had no … Read More
Die Kale, Die.
Yesterday we were served a lovely kale dish by some friends, which made me reflect upon the copious leafy masses that were now shading my newly planted grapes. Grapes need sun. Shading them is unacceptable. The kale had to die. I have to be honest, I’m not sure why I waited this long to thin my chards and kales – … Read More
Glut of Green
I’ve been enjoying other people’s posts about their gardens, and figured some posting about my own is long overdue. A success in this crappy year of gardening: leafy greens. How crappy? Frost warning tonight crappy enough for ya? Anyway, I figured it was time I thinned some of my copious greens this evening, and just finished washing a dozen or … Read More
Potato Joy – and I’m not even eating them yet.
Pride and food are a combination I’ve been giving an awful lot of thought to. More on that later, but for a quicky tonight I’m posting a photo of my first significant crop of potato plants. I’ve had the odd one before crammed into a bed here or there, but this is my first year with about 40 hills of … Read More