Author Archives: zack

Busy Bees

Posted on May 30, 2011 by

Bees are busy working the lavender this morning.  Some days, there are a dozen varieties of insect nectar-seekers on this bush – European honey bees, native California bees, moths and butterflies – but this morning just the one.  I wish … Continue reading →

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Planting Non-native

Posted on May 28, 2011 by

Walking the property this evening, looking at the forest and planning in my head, I noticed a few new instances of Cutleaf blackberry (Rubus laciniatus), which is non-native, bears delicious fruit, and doesn’t bother me all that much (though I’m … Continue reading →

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Summoning Spring

Posted on May 27, 2011 by

Another cold, cloudy morning, and rain and snow possible for this weekend.  Spring seems to be shy this year, but the promise of bright peppers gives me hope that things will someday warm up.  This is a picture of peppers … Continue reading →

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Gardening in the Dark (Minus the Bear)

Posted on May 27, 2011 by

Raise your hand if you’ve ever wandered your garden or even checked on your plants at night, with a flashlight.  That’s what I thought.  It’s 47 degrees F and clear tonight, and having been at work all day, I missed … Continue reading →

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Food Forest Cloning

Posted on May 26, 2011 by

Michael Pollan, in the documentary film The Botany of Desire (perhaps also in the book?), calls cannabis growers “the best gardeners of my generation.”  Indeed, when I set out to research building a DIY cloning system to populate my food … Continue reading →

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The Food Forest Concept

Posted on May 25, 2011 by

I’m in the early stages of a long-term food forest garden project on my property, starting with a wooded area adjacent to the garden proper.  Forest gardening is a system that involves planting communities of food plants to exploit various … Continue reading →

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Bolivian Sunroot

Posted on May 25, 2011 by

In addition to the standard spring and summer vegetables, I like to grow things that are a little bit more unusual – Bolivian sunroot, or yacón, for example.  It’s a perennial from the Andes, and I ordered my original crown … Continue reading →

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Annuity Crops

Posted on May 24, 2011 by

Perennials are an investment.  That is, you put them in the ground, and then sooner or later – two, three, five, ten years down the line – you hope to have fruit or flowers.  So it is with many plants … Continue reading →

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Snow in the Shade, Late May

Posted on May 24, 2011 by

In this part of the world, folks plant out their spring and summer vegetables on Mother’s Day.  For the past two seasons, Mother’s day was followed by at least two weeks of cool, wet weather, making the tomatoes happy on … Continue reading →

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Blueberry Bee

Posted on May 24, 2011 by

One part of the garden is devoted to a patch of things Vaccinium, in this case blueberries (evergreen and deciduous), lingonberries, huckleberries, and cranberries.  The ‘blueberry patch’ is basically an inverted aviary – if the fruiting plants aren’t protected, the … Continue reading →

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