Adventures of an urban homesteader growing greens, preserving the harvest and tending a backyard barnyard
Juniper and I just returned from a long week in Eugene. I presented my graduate thesis yesterday to a great crowd of faculty, classmates and friends. The feedback I received was all very positive – almost surprisingly positive – and it felt great to share my research with the outside world. I’m pretty under the weather, as I came down with a horrible virus promptly
Recently I was approached by a local company, Naturalyards, about doing a product review. After careful consideration, I agreed to it because they met my criteria: 1) they are a great company, 2) they make a quality product 3) it’s a product we need for our homestead and 4) it’s a product you might actually be interested in. In exchange for receiving their product, I
A look back at May shows a lot of life and budding fruit on the homestead. This is a photo-heavy post of the spring sights I have been enjoying: flowers, veggies and Baby Junebug! My favorite spring flowering bulbs, Allium giganteum, came out in full force. The purple petals are fading away leaving what looks like a green pincushion behind. They will dry out and
My family has been enjoying the same hike through the Columbia River Gorge, a national scenic area, for decades now. My parents began hiking this easy trail in the early 70’s and continued to use it as the family grew. Years are marked in family photos with each child taking our turn riding in the baby backpack carrier and up through our restless teenage years.
“Is this a weed?” I get asked that question a lot from gardeners and my answer is always the same: A weed is simply a plant in the wrong place. So before you get out for this long holiday weekend and start pulling everything in sight, here a few weeds you might want to reconsider throwing in the compost bin. Comfrey is a noxious weed
There are three general categories of tomatoes: sauce, slicer and cherry. Sauce tomatoes have thicker, meater fruit with less water which makes them ideal for marinara. Slicers are the big beef steak types that you want on sandwiches. And cherries are the little, sweet gems that are great for popping in your mouth while you water the garden. There are hundreds, probably thousands, of tomato
It was years and years ago that I built an herb spiral in our backyard, but a reader recently asked me for an update on the project. But first, what the heck is an herb spiral? Our original herb spiral design An herb spiral is a popular permaculture project that incorporates micro-climates into the design. You begin by creating a mound of soil and then
Springtime means pruning and our grapevines were more than overdue for their annual haircut. We love the Glenora and Himrod grapes growing on old bed frames on either ends of our raised beds. But each year they grow so long that they get tangled into the nearby trees and shrubs. Pruning them back keeps their growth under control and also gives me the chance to
St Patrick’s Day is usually my cue that potatoes need to be planted. You can still get your spuds in and have a decent harvest, but it needs to happen soon! Potatoes can be easily grown in something as simple as a bucket full of soil with drainage holes in the bottom. Although they are adaptable to lots of growing methods, the double-dig method has
Four ducks plus three chickens equals a huge amount of eggs on the homestead. Surprisingly, we are keeping up with the supply pretty well. The secret? Garden frittatas. Frittatas are the perfect egg dish. They use at least a half dozen eggs at a time, are quick to make, you can put anything in them and they are great at any meal. Alice Waters gives
