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Written by Christopher Hapka
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Thursday, 06 August 2009 00:00 |
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Why not make this the year you preserve something in your garden? There are plenty of great canning or preserving books, but if you're just getting started, everything you need to know can be found at the web site of the National Center for Home Food Preservation, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Their site includes tested recipes, so you know you can process them safely, as well as basic information to help you get started. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 06 August 2009 18:11 )
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Written by Christopher Hapka
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Tuesday, 04 August 2009 00:00 |
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Many urban gardeners have limited space for edible gardening. In Seattle, many of them just gained a few extra square feet. In respone to requests from locals, the Seattle Department of Transportation has lifted a rule that required a special permit to plant anything but grass in the parking strips between the sidewalk and the street. Seattle gardeners are now welcome to use that space for anything that strikes their fancy, including of course edibles. It surprised me to read that a permit was necessary in the first place--when I moved into my house, the parking strips were already planted with (edible) day lilies, and this year I replaced one section with a horseradish patch. An area surrounded on all sides by concrete or asphalt seems like the perfect place for invasive or hard-to-remove species like horseradish or mint. Horseradish also made sense to me because it's hardy and salt-tolerant, a problem most Seattleites probably don't have. Next year, I may try seakale in another of my parking strips. So, urban and suburban gardeners, what's growing by your sidewalk? Let me know in the comments! |
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Written by Christopher Hapka
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Friday, 31 July 2009 00:00 |
 Next year, I need stronger twine. The hops grew so vigorously this year that the twine I used didn't hold, and most of the Cascade and Crystal are now on the ground. I'll see if I can hoist them back up tomorrow, but that's a short-term solution. Really it's time to pick 'em and dry 'em. |
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Last Updated ( Friday, 31 July 2009 21:47 )
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Written by Christopher Hapka
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Sunday, 02 August 2009 00:00 |
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The roundup for Grow Your Own #32 is up at Playing House. Everything looks delicious, as usual! |
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Written by Christopher Hapka
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Thursday, 23 July 2009 00:00 |
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 The first cucumbers of the season finally arrived the other day. The unusually rainy weather we've had here means most of my cukes are off to a slow start, and a couple of plants had disease problems and had to be pulled out. In once case, the cucumber seeds were literally washed out of the bed and started sprouting in a gravel path.
With what I have left, it may be tough to fill up my pickling crock this year. But since my dill is flourishing, I was still able to mix those three early cukes into a fresh preview of what I will hopefully be preserving this fall, which is also my contribution to the current edition of Grow Your Own, the cooperative web project for homegrown cooking. Read on for a picture and the recipe. |
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Last Updated ( Thursday, 23 July 2009 08:08 )
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