Share my passion for all things gardening!
I recently wrote a post on Growing apples organically, but wanted to do a follow-up today. I get a lot of questions from readers about how to do this, so this post should help. Last week, we decided it was high time we thinned and covered our young apples. The covers help protect them from the apple codling moth, which […]
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What’s bugging you? Chances are, there are a few insect pests in your garden that are getting the better of you. In today’s column, I discuss my top 5 insect pests and organic insect control. Here’s a link to it, in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review: Pests can be thwarted naturally. (or you can read my column lower in this […]
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We’ve been experiencing some unseasonably warm temperatures this spring. I felt it would be important to write about conserving water in our gardens. Here’s is a link to my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review. Save water by paying attention to soil, plant needs. (or you can read my column lower in this post) Much of it is about […]
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Tomatoes have got to be a vegetable gardener’s favorite crop! I mean, you just can’t beat the flavor of a homegrown tomato, right? Now that we’re into the middle of May, it’s time to plant these gems. I just filmed a video on growing tomatoes. Take a look: More thoughts on growing tomatoes In the video, I mentioned two types […]
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Some readers might take issue with my column in today’s edition of The Spokesman-Review. Here’s a link to it: Some plants set on dominating the garden. You can also read my column lower in this post. The topic is invasive plants that have done their best to take over my garden. I tried to approach it from a fairly humorous […]
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I just planted my pole beans. It’s exciting to see them in the garden because, to me, that really means the season is underway. Planting pole beans is pretty easy, provided you have a sturdy trellis for it. If you haven’t seen how I grow mine, I’m hoping this photo will give you some inspiration! Several years ago, I got […]
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This apple tree probably looks like it has a horrible case of powdery mildew. I’m happy to report it doesn’t! What you’re seeing are leaves that have been sprayed with kaolin clay. My husband, Bill, and I have been growing apples organically for several years now. This is one of the tools in our arsenal. Our goal is to keep the […]
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I’ve been excited to share with you what I’ve learned about alternative lawns. This includes other types of lawns you can grow and alternatives to having lawns altogether. For this feature story, I interviewed Spokane County Master Gardener Kris Moberg-Hendron for her expertise. Several years ago, Kris ripped out her lawn and replaced it with drought-tolerant plants. Don’t worry if […]
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I’m feeling pretty down in the dumps. We discovered last week that our favorite tree has died. It was a ‘Bechtel Improved’ crabapple and was the focal point of our backyard. As you can see by the photo below, it was stunning when it bloomed each spring and had a beautiful branching structure that rarely required pruning. Birds loved sitting […]
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It won’t be long before we plant our warm-season crops so I wanted to make sure you saw this video to help you get excellent germination rates. It’s all about proper seed orientation. What’s that, you say? Well, there are certain irregularly-shaped seeds that will germinate more successfully if they are planted in the correct direction. The types of seeds I’m […]
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