HorticultureyStuff

Bee balm, what a queen you are! Planted as wee baby seeds last year and now towering over my head.

Resist, resist, resist the urge to plant a tree or large shrub directly in front of a window. They will eat your house and all the light trying to get in. This laurel isn’t great ecologically or practically and will be replaced with something suitable. #landscaping #landscapedesign #gardening

2nd year blueberries. Good pruning, low pH soil, NO nitrate-form fertilizer, plenty of wood chips (NO compost), nutrients, and just enough water results in amazing berries. #blueberries #gardening #horticulture #summer #pnwlife

Jack, I wrapped up a post-bacc degree in Horticulture at 42. It was an online program at a major land-grant university here in the U.S. It IS possible to go back, fill in the gaps, and crack on.

YAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!!

The peas grew. 😳 Last year, I had big issues with nitrogen tie-up with newly established no-dig beds. This year, I added two new beds but only planted them with peas and beans. I made sure they had plenty of micronutrients and let them take care of themselves. They did. #gardening #vegetables #nodig

It is an interesting process watching people sell their souls in real time. Marco Rubio’s capitulation is complete. These are the same people who sent their children to the trenches in WWI.

Say what you will about the lack of rain, it’s been the best berry season of my life. More perfect strawberries coming out of a 4X8 bed than I thought possible. Fresh, jam, freeze dried, in crisps, giving them away…can’t keep up! #gardening #berries #pnwlife

Ladle it off as it gently cooks. Keeps any gamey flavors low!

For me, most ornamentals need a stacking function such as ecological or medicinal value. Last time I checked, out of the David Austin Roses collection, only six are listed as able to produce hips. Here are The Lark Ascending and Tottering By Gently. I’m in love. #roses #davidaustinroses

I haven't given up on my OP cabbages but I may change varieties and even seed producers and see if someone has done a better job maintaining the vigor of the genetics. OP seed is only as good as the seed grower and seed companies don't always have control over the details.

If you struggle repeatedly with growing something, stop and try a really vigorous hybrid. I have been struggling with OP cabbage for a couple years now. Switched to a hybrid and had no problems. 'Tiara' from Territorial Seed is just lovely. (1/2) #gardening #horticulture #cabbage #springgarden

When you turn your irrigation on this spring, check everything, let it run a bit, and check it again. I turned mine on for the first time this spring, checked everything, and had parts spring free after about 20 min. Better now than if I am off-property mid-summer. #gardening #irrigation

A mountain of the last of the winter greens to be steamed, cooled, chopped, and put in the freezer. Eating kale for 6+ months is enough. If I don't harvest another kale leaf until mid-October or later, it'll be OK. #gardening #wintergarden #fallgarden #preserving

Overwintering leeks, rockstars. Other than a bag of storage onions bought off a market gardener friend, coming up on a year of not having to buy anything in the onion family. #wintergarden #hugelkultur #vegetables #resilience

Not only will they take advantage if the fluffy soil to smother your crop, they will cut down on available water. Given the bed is the water tank, in dry Mediterranean climates, there is no room for sharing with weeds and grass if you want a yield without irrigation.

The biggest challenge in a hugelkultur bed is weeds. If you don’t want to weed, don’t build one Whatever seed bank was in the soil you built it with, those are your weeds. Mine are thistle. Pernicious weeds and any running grasses HAVE to go. (1/2) #hugelkultur #permaculture

Hugelkultur garlic. Third year of saved seed. Every year, I worry about it. I worry I won’t have a crop Every year, it’s better than the last. I fertilize in early spring and May, keep it weeded, and harvest. 🧄 🧄🧄🧄🧄 #hugelkultur #gardening #permaculture #drygardening

👆👆👆👆 At my org, the goal was always to go out of business. Sadly, the need keeps going the other way but that IS the goal.

It's the first year I have enough garden space that I can get all my plants in and let the brassicas just go and go. They are taller than me and abuzz with both insects and birds. Having started balcony gardening on Capitol Hill, the space is a privilege, no doubt. #pollinators #bees #permaculture

I've learned the hard way to grow short-season varieties and skip the excitement of that "first" set out date and wait for the next warm window. I put my tomato and tomatillo babies out this morning. Beans from saved seed came up in the rain and look good! Need to get squash and cukes seeded, tho!

A start would just be getting a controller that either adjusts for the weather or adjust for ground moisture. They really aren't that expensive!

I grew up in a community with an intact watershed. Beaver dams, five species of salmon, moose splashing around, birds diving. Over time, I’ve realized a) how unusual that is and b) how much more unusual it should be to break one up. #alaska #watersheds

My app says lesser hop trefoil. Cute!

I'm just so grateful for the rain! 🌧️ 🌧️🌧️ We were already having to water trees, something I would like to not have on my to-do list until July.

Go see Sam Cho’s posts on this. He’s on FB, not sure if he is here. “No ships at the port” is turning into disinformation.

One year into a new garden with reliable water. It is amazing how perennials can root in and thrive if you give them what they need in Year 1. Strawberries, blueberries, currants, honey berries will all have great harvests in Year 2. Lesson learned. Conserve water but Year 1 really matters. (2/2)

Spring garden, Year 2. At our last home we were on a shared well. The way it was set up, running drip line could burn out the pump. Using larger volumes of water at a time also wasn't an option. I was always on the back foot getting perennials going. (1/2) #irrigation #perennials #gardening

Just saw that! My neck of the woods is planning something new as well. Small but a big step.

Bread was the last big one for me. Even my “good” bread was loaded with preservatives. I’ve started baking all our own, which is hit and miss but at least clean…