If it were up to me every part of my landscaping would be edible. Though my homeowners association may disagree with me but blueberry bushes looks just as nice as any ornamental plant/bush when you visit the nursery with the obvious bonus of free food. When selecting a blueberry bush, unless you are very patient spend about $10 a plant and get some more established ones (about 1/2 inch…
Because of a strange heat wave we had in June, I seem to be growing more seeds than vegetables this year. Now as they say when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. In that spirit I am planning on increasing the number of plants I will allow to completely go to seed this year. I have always saved cilantro seeds, the first time it was almost an accident my…
Last year I collected cilantro seeds and they were a great success in my garden that this past Spring I made a commitment to myself that I would try to collect more seeds this season. Though I wanted to get more I was able to collect seeds from my onions, jalapenos, and cilantro. The jalapeno seeds were pretty easy I set some seeds aside on a paper towel while…
The leaves are changing and falling the days are getting colder and I am personally coming to the end of my vegetable growing season. I do have a few post season activities before I completely call it a year. Remove plants: Now my plants have lived a good life but now need to be removed. I mulch my lawn so I am always lacking greens for my compost bin…
The trickiest part of harvesting sunflower seeds is timing. If you wait too long, the birds will let you know when you wake up to the head of the flower on the ground with seeds devoured. There are a couple of ways to get around this when the backs of your sunflowers begin to get yellow cover them with a paper bag or cheesecloth to inhibit the birds from…
Well hopefully in a another week I will have some nice blueberries. Blueberries need to cross polinate so early this spring I bought a Berkeley and a Toro, being a first year plant I should have pinched off the blossoms and let the plant use its energy for growth versus fruiting. Being impatent and wanting to harvest the two dozen berries I should get this year (unless the birds…
I see many blogs showing pictures of pretty flowers and cute little animals, when I was going on a nature hike today with my youngest daughter I came across some things that were interesting but not exactly beautiful which deserved some recognition. If I saw this guy in my garden I probably wouldn’t be an inclined to stop and take his picture. Uh, just a fly on a leaf……
There are many benefits of having birds in your garden. The most obvious being the songs they sing in the morning and throughout the day. Now if you are not a morning person this may be a negative, but there are definitely more obtrusive ways to be woken up. Birds can directly help your garden by eating weed seeds they find throughout your lawn and garden. Like singing, this…
Living in the Pacific Northwest there is no way to get away from these slimy creatures. Last year I only saw a few of these creatures but apparently my veggie plot must have been identified and they told all their friends since I am currently planting my second set of cilantro and lettuce seeds since they ate up my little seedlings. Now how do I deal with these creatures?…
My soil is consisted of a high percentage of clay, as a result I am required to aerate my lawn twice a year to avoid my soil getting too compacted. I am cheap so I purchased a $10 aerator from Home Depot which I walk around the lawn giving it a nice look of a goose bathroom until the next good rain or mowing. Of course nature has an…