Share my passion for all things gardening!
I recently wrote about using “vernalization” for starting artichoke seeds. There are two other seed-starting terms that you might find both interesting and useful. Those are stratification and scarification and they apply to the seeds of different plants. I thought it might be helpful to define and elaborate on all three terms here. That way, so everything is together in […]
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For the past couple of years, I have been growing microgreens. Why? They supply us with fresh salad greens during the winter months. I’ve had quite a few readers asking me how to grow microgreens. I decided to shoot a video on the entire process. But first, what are microgreens? Growing them involves thickly sowing seeds that will be later […]
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Do you grow artichokes in your garden? I’ve been growing them for quite a few years now and have noticed that the plants can vary widely in productivity. Here in Spokane, Wash., which is in USDA zones 5 and 6, artichokes need to be grown as annuals. Each year, I start the seeds indoors around the first of March. I […]
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Did you grow a fair amount of garlic last year? Are you wondering how you’ll use it up before it becomes bitter? Well, here’s a simple way to preserve garlic for future use. When garlic is put into storage, the cloves eventually develop a sprout in the center, which can be quite bitter. One solution is to trim it out […]
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Have you ever noticed how we humans tend to focus on the things we have done wrong? Yet we neglect than all of the things we’ve done right? Well, we gardeners are no exception. We often fixate on our “failures” rather than learning from them, which ultimately leads to success in our gardens. As a garden writer, I often hear […]
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Last year, while looking through a seed catalog, I saw a listing for something called “solar mulch.” Hmm, what’s that, I wondered? I learned that solar mulch is a green plastic sheeting that will do two important things for a vegetable grower like myself: If you like growing warm-season crops such as melons, cucumbers, eggplants, tomatoes and peppers, it’s important […]
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I did a recent post showing how my winter garden is doing. I thought a video would be even more helpful. I’m a very visual learner and perhaps you are, too! This little garden is located inside our hoop house. So let’s jump right into the video, then I’ll give you some additional background: During the video, I mentioned a […]
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As a lot of you know, I grow vegetables in my little unheated hoop house every fall and winter. I’ve been doing this for 4 years and have been fairly successful. That always amazes me since my garden is in USDA zone 5! I started out very simply by putting hoops over a raised bed. I covered it first with […]
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I’ve been growing vegetables for a very long time. Because of this, it can be easy to overlook how to do certain tasks, such as preserving the harvest. I suddenly realized you might like to know how to harvest and store your potatoes. So out came the video camera! This year, we grew our two varieties in our main potato […]
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On July 20th, I reported how my friend Corinne and I were engaging in a pumpkin-growing competition. Well, the contest officially ended yesterday and you have to read this to the end to find out who won! (no peeking) Now for some quick background, Corinne and I have been friends since the age of 4 (the black-and-white photo below shows how we’ve […]
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