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| Purple Mustard and little cleavers underneath |
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| Lots of cleavers and a few dandelions in the compost pile |
Showing posts with label vegetable gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegetable gardening. Show all posts
Monday, December 19, 2011
Eat your Greens!
Monday, September 19, 2011
Urban Ag Business Forum
I am off to the Seattle Urban Ag Business Forum (today at City Hall from 4-6) to see what new policies and opportunities for support with growing food in the city.
Sorry for the late notice (It starts in a few hours), but I will take notes and update the blog later.
Hope to see you there.
(http://frontporch.seattle.gov/2011/08/30/urban-agriculture-business-forum-at-city-hall-monday-919-at-400pm/)
Update:
Sorry for the late notice (It starts in a few hours), but I will take notes and update the blog later.
Hope to see you there.
(http://frontporch.seattle.gov/2011/08/30/urban-agriculture-business-forum-at-city-hall-monday-919-at-400pm/)
Update:
Well, I went to the Ag Business Forum and learned a few things from each of the speakers... I saw a bunch of urban farm friends I hadn't seen in awhile, and met a few more at the event. It was great to see city officials thinking about this urban agriculture trend as a business trend and not just some dirty hippies! It seems like they have lots of enthusiasm for helping facilitate teaching kids about food, bringing healthy food to corner stores, helping with business plans and even permitting issues pertaining to growing food on private or City/ Parks property.
I am grateful for the effort and thought that went into the forum and hope the City of Seattle (and Richard Conlin) will continue to support programs that promote food security. I look forward to finding out what this group of activist- business owners & policy makers can do together to help more people get access to great fresh food from their own backyards!
I came home and opened my email from Rodale Reporting on their 30 year Farm Systems Trial. They have run 4-5 different farms with the same food, but different inputs. Two completely organic, one with manure & the other legume compost, a conventional with chemical based fertilizers and gmo crops, and one more recent no-till project. Check out the results!
FEED THE SOIL!!!!! (she will feed you back!)
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Happy Summer Solstace
Yay Sunshine! My plants are happy you are here to grace us for at least this day in your honor...
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| Edible Calendula flowers |
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| Echinacea on Sister Sage Herb Farm |
Friday, June 10, 2011
Edible Landscaping Services
Specializing in design, installation, and maintenance of edible and medicinal gardens.
- Pick luscious strawberries in your slippers
- Eat fresh vegetables from your kitchen garden
- Treat yourself to an herbal tea garden
- Teach your children how to grow food
- Make your own home remedies
- Enjoy an Edible Oasis in your own back yard!
We do the hard work, and you enjoy the healthful benefits.
For more info email Jayne.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Vegetable Plant Sale in West Seattle
Hurray, It’s Spring, Finally!!!!!
Backyard Greenhouse
7939 28th Ave. SW
(between Holden & Thistle in West Seattle / 98126)
Cool Weather Veggies / Perennials / Herbs
Organically Grown
Sat., March 26, 9:00-4:00 / Sun., March 27, 10:00-3:00
Bring neighbors, friends and family!—Come rain or shine!!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Early Spring Edible Plant Sales
If you plan out your garden well, you can figure out how many plants to purchase before hand at the Seattle Tilth Early Edible Plant Sale - March 19th! check it out at http://seattletilth.org/. The good thing about buying plants there is that you can get plants that should be grown this season in our area such as peas, kale, chard, spinach, broccoli, chives, etc. Pretty much anything you buy at this sale, you will be able to put in the ground now or very soon, then you can go back in May to the next edible plant sale and purchase your next round of plants for the hot weather as well as more lettuces, etc.
A few things to consider:
1) How much can you or your family eat of a particular crop in a week? Ok, after you decide, plant a few for the slugs, etc. For head forming lettuces that are all going to be mature at the same time, I usually try to buy at least one kind of lettuce seeds that I like (or a lettuce mix) each season. I plant most unique lettuces I can find at the sale, then buy a reliable seed lettuce to sow in between the plantings so those plants that come up will replace the older ones. I make my lettuce seeds last a long time by putting only a small pinch exactly in the spot between the bigger plants and I have less thinning to do in the end.
2) How much space do you have? If you have good soil to start with you can put more plants than you think in the bed, especially when you can harvest lettuce at any age. If you do not, amend it with compost and/or amend with a nitrogen rich natural fertilizer. Make sure the leaves are not touching each other or especially the ground. If you stagger the plants by height so tall growing plants are in the back (North side) of the row, and short plants are positioned in front the plants will stay healthier, and there will be less chance of rotting leaves. I have grown kale really close together and it stays small and spindly, but makes a good tender stir fry mix, and also I have grown a few dino kales for three years (and they really did look like dinosaur chicken legs!
3) Leave space for your summer crops! You can grow things like peas where you will eventually grow tomatoes because they will probably be done by the time the tomatoes get big enough to matter (depending on the year, of course). You can also get creative with it and put food crops in containers with your spring flowers or herb containers, and you can also plant seeds indoors on a window to get them started, but use a cool part of the house so they are not too dependent on the heat- seeds like warm moist medium to sprout, but they usually do fine outdoors soon afterwards.
4) Watch the watering- We usually have a short time in the spring when we have a mini drought, so make sure the bed in moist and the seeds don't dry out before they sprout. But, do not water other areas until you check the soil. Dig a shovel in the ground nearby and see if there is moisture where you want it. If the seeds have sprouted, chances are the roots go way farther than you would think. Most roots have small hairs that extend way down. the more they have to reach for water, the deeper (and usually stronger) the roots will be. To check the soil easily, grab a handful and squeeze it in your hand. If it sticks together it doesn't need water (and may need compost added) and if it falls apart, you need to water.
I plan on making a couple more raised beds fitted with old windows to help the sun warm the plants and grow faster. During the spring I will use it as a seed starting bed, then transfer the plants out to grow in the regular beds or in a warmer hoop house in the case of my tomatoes and eggplants. Then, in August or so I will start more lettuces, spinach, and kale to hopefully last the winter.If it is hot, I may need to use shade cloth to start the seeds. I live in a low area with plenty of moisture, so I haven't had much luck with carrots, but I plan on starting a just slightly raised bed to grow yellow carrots in the spring and see if I can over winter some carrots, too.
A few things to consider:
1) How much can you or your family eat of a particular crop in a week? Ok, after you decide, plant a few for the slugs, etc. For head forming lettuces that are all going to be mature at the same time, I usually try to buy at least one kind of lettuce seeds that I like (or a lettuce mix) each season. I plant most unique lettuces I can find at the sale, then buy a reliable seed lettuce to sow in between the plantings so those plants that come up will replace the older ones. I make my lettuce seeds last a long time by putting only a small pinch exactly in the spot between the bigger plants and I have less thinning to do in the end.
2) How much space do you have? If you have good soil to start with you can put more plants than you think in the bed, especially when you can harvest lettuce at any age. If you do not, amend it with compost and/or amend with a nitrogen rich natural fertilizer. Make sure the leaves are not touching each other or especially the ground. If you stagger the plants by height so tall growing plants are in the back (North side) of the row, and short plants are positioned in front the plants will stay healthier, and there will be less chance of rotting leaves. I have grown kale really close together and it stays small and spindly, but makes a good tender stir fry mix, and also I have grown a few dino kales for three years (and they really did look like dinosaur chicken legs!
3) Leave space for your summer crops! You can grow things like peas where you will eventually grow tomatoes because they will probably be done by the time the tomatoes get big enough to matter (depending on the year, of course). You can also get creative with it and put food crops in containers with your spring flowers or herb containers, and you can also plant seeds indoors on a window to get them started, but use a cool part of the house so they are not too dependent on the heat- seeds like warm moist medium to sprout, but they usually do fine outdoors soon afterwards.
4) Watch the watering- We usually have a short time in the spring when we have a mini drought, so make sure the bed in moist and the seeds don't dry out before they sprout. But, do not water other areas until you check the soil. Dig a shovel in the ground nearby and see if there is moisture where you want it. If the seeds have sprouted, chances are the roots go way farther than you would think. Most roots have small hairs that extend way down. the more they have to reach for water, the deeper (and usually stronger) the roots will be. To check the soil easily, grab a handful and squeeze it in your hand. If it sticks together it doesn't need water (and may need compost added) and if it falls apart, you need to water.
I plan on making a couple more raised beds fitted with old windows to help the sun warm the plants and grow faster. During the spring I will use it as a seed starting bed, then transfer the plants out to grow in the regular beds or in a warmer hoop house in the case of my tomatoes and eggplants. Then, in August or so I will start more lettuces, spinach, and kale to hopefully last the winter.If it is hot, I may need to use shade cloth to start the seeds. I live in a low area with plenty of moisture, so I haven't had much luck with carrots, but I plan on starting a just slightly raised bed to grow yellow carrots in the spring and see if I can over winter some carrots, too.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Second Plant Sale of the Season!
Hurray, It’s Spring!!!!!
Backyard Greenhouse
7939 28th Ave. SW
(between Holden & Thistle in West Seattle / zip 98126)
Cool Weather Veggies / Perennials / Herbs
Organically Grown
Sat., March 27, 9:00-4:00 / Sun., March 28, 10:00-3:00
Bring neighbors, friends and family!—Come rain or shine!!
My friend Karen has this great business of starting plants from seed and selling them to local nurseries and to the Seattle Tilth for their plant sales. She started more than she needed for the Tilth Sale, and is having a sale in her backyard (in West Seattle). I helped her transplant last month and went over yesterday to pick out some plants for my garden. We got 4 flats of plants! That is quite a lot!!! I am really glad we had already prepared our beds. We mostly got lettuces, lots of different types of chinese greens, some cabbages and kales, and soooo many onions! We got most of the greens planted already, but only the Blue Leeks- Marc was amazed that each leek (about the size of a toothpick) had to be separated and put into the trench about 1 inch apart. We will thin them and eat the baby leeks and leave the rest to mature. I am not sure where I will put the red onions or the Walla Walla Sweets! We have one new bed this year already mapped out, but the soil needs to be turned again, and it probably needs to be amended before planting the hot weather plants like tomatoes, peppers and eggplants! There is a little room left in the back, and there is always space to squeeze them into the front among the herbs... Too much food, what a problem, huh?
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Start a Community Garden in your Yard!
We are very passionate about helping people grow food for themselves, and locally sourcing other foods they can't produce on their own. Even though we create gardens for personal use in your backyard, we are also interested in developing community projects for people to share their food and gardening experience. Jayne helped start Longfellow Creek Community Garden in her neighborhood, and so far we have grown a lot of food there. Jenn planned and supervised the planting of the Food Bank garden and farm space on Vashon Island.
Today I (Jayne) came across a great site at communitygarden.org that shows you step by step how to create a community garden. This year, I am planning the plot (on Longfellow Creek) and I hope it will be even easier to grow and harvest food there. Since we already have the site already prepped and some of the seeds, we have a head start. I plan to use the site through the season to ask questions of veteran community gardeners about the plan, the food, organizing community members, and whatever else comes up for us. I think it will be useful for inspiration this year. We have been wanting to grow food specifically for the food bank, and to grow enough to put some away for the winter. I hope this is the year we can make all of that happen- My winter food bills are way too much!
I hope to be included in a grant to create 4 more community gardens for low income folks in the Delridge area of Seattle. The criteria for having the garden at your house depends on the grant, but you have to share the produce, and maybe the work with your neighbors. If you have a large, sunny garden that you would be willing to transform, please contact us at goodfoodgardens@gmail.com so we can look at your space, decide how many people it could feed, and give you a quote on the hours/ money it would take to transform it into a Mini Farm or see if you are eligible for participation in the grant!
Today I (Jayne) came across a great site at communitygarden.org that shows you step by step how to create a community garden. This year, I am planning the plot (on Longfellow Creek) and I hope it will be even easier to grow and harvest food there. Since we already have the site already prepped and some of the seeds, we have a head start. I plan to use the site through the season to ask questions of veteran community gardeners about the plan, the food, organizing community members, and whatever else comes up for us. I think it will be useful for inspiration this year. We have been wanting to grow food specifically for the food bank, and to grow enough to put some away for the winter. I hope this is the year we can make all of that happen- My winter food bills are way too much!
I hope to be included in a grant to create 4 more community gardens for low income folks in the Delridge area of Seattle. The criteria for having the garden at your house depends on the grant, but you have to share the produce, and maybe the work with your neighbors. If you have a large, sunny garden that you would be willing to transform, please contact us at goodfoodgardens@gmail.com so we can look at your space, decide how many people it could feed, and give you a quote on the hours/ money it would take to transform it into a Mini Farm or see if you are eligible for participation in the grant!
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