“We’ve had 50 years of unusually stable weather… What do we need to do now, to garden in times that are less predictable?” Plant breeder Carol Deppe, author of The Resilient Gardener: Food Production and Self-Reliance in Uncertain Times, suggests growing a wider variety of … [Read more...]
Vertical Gardening for Small Spaces (303)
"There are wonderful ideas for what people are doing, working with small spaces. There's lots to get you excited about growing — anywhere." Stephen Hindrichs shows three approaches to growing vertically in limited space in his backyard garden. One is a south-facing wall made … [Read more...]
Seattle Community Farm — Growing Veggies for the Neighborhood (283)
"The veggies all go to people who have a hard time affording fresh vegetables. Last week we harvested 400 pounds of vegetables [for the Rainier Valley Food bank]…. It will last them about two hours. That's the demand." Farm coordinator Scott Behmer gives us a tour of a … [Read more...]
Join the “Eat-All Greens” Garden Revolution (282)
"I spent five minutes spreading the compost on the driveway, two minutes sprinkling the seed, and maybe five minutes to harvest the whole patch. And I had maybe twenty pounds of nutritious leafy greens." From this spur-of-the-moment idea, plant breeder Carol Deppe spent … [Read more...]
Handmade Tools Make Simple Work at Inspiration Farm (269)
Watch Brian Kerkvliet cut thick grasses easily and quickly with his hand-built scythe — a far cry from a noisy weed whacker! He demonstrates three tools whose design he has honed over the years: the scythe, grass rake and U- bar or broadfork. "It took a few years to get the … [Read more...]
Shaping Water and Soil at Inspiration Farm (267)
"If you grow good soil, everything else falls into place. You grow good plants, you grow good animals, you grow good people." Permaculturist Brian Kerkvliet shows how he gently shapes soil to form ponds which overflow into connected swales (ditches on contour). They slow … [Read more...]