Finally got around to starting seeds indoors. I usually do it around March 15 but I just didn’t feel ready yet.
Here’s a list of what I planted today (grouped by family), the first batch of seeds to go into my indoor mini-greenhouse. It holds 4 standard flats, 3 with 72 cell trays and 1 […]

Cover crops, or green manure, are an attractive and effective way to improve soil. Choose one species or a blend to sow in a bare spot in your yard or in your veggie garden over the winter. Cover crop seed can even be sown now in the Northwest for a quick boost before planting heat-loving […]

Veggie_Garden_Plan_2010

Originally uploaded by mulysa_may

Dreaming of dilly beans.

Saccharum sp.
POACEAE, The grass family
Boy does the grass family cause a lot of trouble. And make us who we are right now: Corn (monoculture, destruction of the North American prairie and 10,000 years of topsoil, genetic modification, ethanol, Monarch butterfly decline, grillin’ out, high fructose corn syrup, corn bread, obesity, factory farming, tortillas, etc.), the […]

Beta vulgaris
AMARANTHACEAE, The Amaranth family or CHENOPODIACEAE, The Goosefoot family
What do we know about the sugar we eat every day?
The majority of sugar produced is from sugar cane, the rest, roughly 30 - 40%, is from sugar beets. Sugar cane is tropical, so in the US if you were looking for a domestic, regional […]

I cleared enough space under the cloche to put in some seeds:
Radish ‘Easter Egg’ (Raphanus sativus) These will pop up in no time.
Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum) Starting cilantro and parsley early when the weather is cool means a long season of harvest.
Lettuce ‘Salad Bowl’ (Lactuca sativa) A bright green variety with large, ruffled leafs […]

Inspired by Tom Ward’s vision of the urban forest, the theme of March’s plant walk is “Nostalgic Landscapes.” We’ll walk around two North Portland neighborhoods that are populated by plants that hearken back to early resident’s homelands, chosen primarily for their ornamental qualities and sentimental value. Which of these plants have multiple functions? What other […]

“At the end of the first month of spring, the yang ethers of heaven are said to waft down while the yin ethers of earth rise. They commingle harmoniously, and as a result the grasses and trees begin to sprout.”

— Lisa Dalby, East Wind Melts the Ice: A Memoir through the Seasons

Rhubarb

Originally uploaded by […]