The first year of the Timber Garden, my parents asked me how many peas I had planted. ‘Oh, almost a full bed,’ I said. They laughed. A month later I was furiously picking peas every day. Peas are prolific, but any pea grower experiences a sense of loss looking at…
I grew up in southern Idaho, where asparagus is so abundant it is called ditch weed. Nearly every roadside and canal bank down in the desert seems to grow asparagus. My sister still picks grocery bags of it each spring. My jealousy level is high. When we first moved in…
Rows of mustard, radishes, orach, and sunchokes in the back for shade. Whenever I read about an invasive garden plant in a seed catalogue, I order one. ‘Invasive’ in Zone 6 means ‘usually produces a crop and/or does not die’ in Zone 3. I went so…
If I had to pick ONE thing to grow it would be garlic. This is from the lady who buys fruit trees like they are shoes. But the benefits of garlic are many. Their spicy flavor complements many dishes, they store well, and they are easy to grow. That’s right!…
The straw bales and raised beds, spring 2015. The first year we had our garden was 2015, and we soon ran out of dirt to beg, borrow, buy, or steal (okay, we’ve never stolen dirt…only sand). Instead of a fourth raised bed we tried straw bale…
Long before I knew anything about square foot gardening or permaculture, I heard about the Native American gardeners and their historic companion planting – corn, beans, and squash. They called it the three sisters. Planted in the same mound, each one compliments the others and provides a better growing environment…
Hoarding food is a fun new activity we’ve gotten into. It started last summer when we took turns obsessively canning, freezing, or drying everything we harvested from the garden. I am embarrassed to say I had never canned anything before the summer of 2015! I had helped family in the…