Monthly Archives: August 2010

Rooting for Root Crops

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Recently, I harvested my first potatoes of the season. It’s one of my favorite gardening "chores." As silly as it may sound, to me it’s like a treasure hunt, running my hands through the dark earth in search of jewels. Digging for treasure in the potato bed. Yesterday I harvested my first potatoes of the season. It’s one of my favorite gardening “chores.” As silly as it may sound, to me it’s like a treasure hunt as I run my hands through the soil in search of Read more [...]

Charlotte’s Legacy

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We were sad to hear of the death of Charlotte Valbert, one of our Garden Crusaders, who lead the effort to reclaim a blueberry garden in South Tacoma, WA. There are more than 20 acres of lovingly reclaimed, mature blueberry plants, and every one of those berries is free for the picking. Charlotte and I with two of Blueberry Park's most dedicated volunteers. Each of our Garden Crusader winners is someone very special, doing something amazing in his or her community. In the fall of 2008 Read more [...]

So Many Vegetables …

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If you find yourself with more vegetables than time, read my list of super-quick, after-work solutions that I use to save some of summer's bounty for cold winter days. This year, we're growing an all-pepper bed as part of our Kitchen Garden Planner designs. This means we'll have lots of peppers to preserve for winter stir-fries, salads and sandwiches. Vegetables That Can Be Preserved Easily and Quickly Peppers Tomatoes Herbs Beets Carrots Read more [...]

Tomatillo Salsa

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A salsa recipe that's super easy and has a distinctive texture and flavor. The best part: It only has six ingredients. Tomatillo-Chipotle Salsa Most varieties of tomatillos are still green when they're ripe. Once the bottom of the papery lantern has split open, they're ready to be picked. It's not unusual for one tomatillo plant to produce as many as 100 fruits. Our gas grill was broken when I made this salsa, so I tossed the tomatillos in olive oil and then roasted them in a 425 Read more [...]

The Melon Bag

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We keep coming up with new ways to use our Grow Bags. Sarah, our display garden manager, wanted to try growing melons in the Potato Bag. Melons love heat, and she thought the black fabric of the bag would warm the soil. July 13: A melon ripens in the Potato Grow Bag. We keep coming up with new ways to use our Grow Bags. Sarah, our display garden manager, wanted to try growing melons in the Potato Bag. Melons love heat, and she thought the black fabric of the bag would warm the Read more [...]

Miniature Cutting Gardens

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If you can grow vegetables in less space, what about flowers? Our new cutting garden plans show you how it can be done. During the summer months, we like to keep a fresh bouquet of flowers in our reception area. I cut this bouquet from one of our two cutting gardens and just plunked it into a vase. No flower-arranging skills required! I planted the beds in early May, using the wooden planting grid from our Square Foot Garden Kit to measure out the rows. Poly-coated steel planting Read more [...]

A Good Hose

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A top-quality hose is a worthwhile investment. It ensures that you can get the job done efficiently and with ease. These sturdy hoses are made of rubber and have metal fittings. The hot weather this summer has meant lots of watering. I recently spent most of a day going to my landscape clients to make sure their gardens and new plantings were well-watered. Using timers, sprinklers, soakers and hundreds of feet of hose, I had four new gardens getting watered by 9 a.m. Tops on the list Read more [...]

Not for the Birds

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Our hedge of blueberries attracts birds from all around. Unfortunately, the birds leave little fruit for the gardeners -- until now. Our custom-made bird barrier ensures that the crop is secure. The border in springtime. The 2010 blueberry crop, safe under the Bird Netting. Several years ago, we planted a long row of blueberries to mark the edge of our display garden. The area had always been planted with daffodils, so it was glorious in springtime, but sort of dull after Read more [...]