Project Weekly Posts

WEEK TEN: Summer is Here

Sprouting Sisters:

Is it a sunflower? Or is it a thistle? Time and warmth will tell. I also found that the calendula and nasturtium have sprouted, huzzah!

Duck Tales: Peace and Eggs At Last

After nearly two weeks of moody broody behavior, the ladies have finally gotten over their baby fever and territory issues and have gone back to napping together and laying eggs. Rejoice! I have made an effort to keep them entertained and well fed, as their daily gifts are quite delicious and appreciated.

Herb Garden is Complete!

We lent a final hand raking hedge clippings to use as mulch in the paths, while mint was planted. Now it looks like a real herb garden! I said hello to the white borage once more and will check back periodically to look for seeds. It was a such a cool opportunity to work in this space.

Keep the Gardens Watered!

With seeds in the ground in several places and (finally) warm temperatures, watering will be of most importance this week. Including for humans, so stay hydrated while you catch some vitamin D.

SeedLinked: Gathering Info

I have started entering in data to SeedLinked, such as the date the sunflowers were seeded. I am looking forward to having more time to spend on learning how to navigate SeedLinked better because it is really a cool website and tool. I am grateful for an introduction to this useful technology and see it being an important, relevant tool in the future.

Culinary Breeding Network partners with Log House Nursery!

Spotted in the wild, the Culinary Breeding Network has partnered with Log House Plants to bring varieties that they have chosen for flavor! All their hard work is paying off and reaching so many people! Now when people ask me, “What’s a good [insert any vegetable here]? I just want a good one.” I can look for these new tags and be sure, that this one is a good one. We got several trays of this selections in eggplants, peppers, kales, cucumbers, beans, and chard. I’m looking forward to seeing more!

WEEK NINE: Sowing Sisters

Long awaited, we have planted the corn! Hooker’s Sweet Blue Corn, and she is beautiful.

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Hooker’s Sweet Blue Indian Corn was supposedly developed, other sources say “obtained” by Ira Hooker in the 1920s near Olympia, Washington. I wanted to set myself up for the best success so a variety from this area and used to PNW weather sounded like a good idea. It matures early in 75 to 80 days, producing 4 to 4.5 foot tall stalks with 5 to 7 inch ears that start white and yellow and mature to a blue blush. I cannot wait to taste this corn.

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Evergreen Community Garden: Harvests!

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The brown bags are of spicy lettuce mix. The large bags have radish, turnips, and this gorgeous red and green head lettuce. We washed and bagged and distributed the harvest to classmates.

What a great way to wrap up the quarter! I enjoyed another week of salads and sandwiches, making for one happy herbivore!

A Spot of Earth for Sunflowers:

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I planted more sunflowers! I knew I had to get them in the ground soon so I just went for it and made several lines here for them.

The two varieties planted here are Velvet Queen and Tiger Teddy. Velvet Queen has a black center with deep red and orange colors, 7 foot tall stakes and 10inch blooms. The Tiger Teddy is a hybrid of Tiger’s Eye bi-color and Teddy Bear sunflowers, produce orange and sunset colored double petal blooms. Both varieties make for excellent cut flowers.

Buzz and Blossom: Corn, Squash, and Brussel Sprouts

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We got a lot of work done in Buzz and Blossom. We planted corn and squash, delicata and yellow summer squash, and a bed of Brussel sprouts. Unfortunately we lost a patch of the raspberry lines to mole tunnels. They dug huge tunnels right under and all the plants above those tunnels dried up and died.

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The radicchio I planted last fall has gone to flower! I am definitely going to collect seeds and try again.

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Fruit and Seedling Update:

The Schisandra Vine has doubled in size. I’ll need to add another pole to climb on soon for the other shoots. The plant mass itself has many vines coming out from the root ball. I’m wondering how tall it will be by the end of the season.

The snowbank blackberry has flower buds! They look pretty green but there are several of them! The cane has gotten twice as thick as well since I planted it. I am really looking forward to tasting these berries. Perhaps I’ll muddle them with gin and tonic for a summer cocktail.

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Seedlings are in okay shape. I definitely learned a lot of lessons here. I had some loss to birds and cold weather, as I brought them in and out and forgot them outside once or twice. Not a total loss though, I will have around 8 or 10 lettuce and 5 or 6 strong broccoli starts to sow at Buzz and Blossom. I need more warmth to have more success with seedlings.

This is a green spider plant! Sprouted from seed! I have 2 different kind of variegated spider plant and collected this seed from a non variegated spider plant. It worked!

I’ve noticed patches of wild violet in my gardens. I always try to keep clear of them because they are just beautiful at the beginning of spring.

WEEK EIGHT: Sharing, Side Quests, and Sunflowers

his approach
to love he said
was that of a farmer
most love like
hunters and like
hunters most kill
what they desire
he tills
soil through toes
nose in the wet
earth he waits
prays to the gods
and slowly harvests
ever thankful

“Land” by Palestinian poet Suheir Hammad

her approach
to love she said
was that of a farmer
most love like
hunters and like
hunters most kill
what they desire
she tills
soil through toes
nose in the wet
earth she waits
prays to the goddesses
and slowly harvests
ever thankful

variation on “Land” by Palestinian poet Suheir Hammad

Side Quest: A Friend In Need

I helped my friend make a container garden! After spending the winter mostly indoors, my good friend O was ready for some spring in her life and asked me to help her get some flowers and veggies planted in containers! I was happy to help.

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We planted lily, gladiolus, gerbera daisies, and milkweed and wildflowers from seed. We also planted broccoli and tomato, and cucumber by seed. She is looking forward most to the flowers and seeing how the vegetables progress. I am looking forward to watching her growing interest in gardening.

Sharing with the Community of Community Gardening:

On Tuesday, I shared with classmates some Bay Leaf from a tree in my yard. I was glad to see excited looks on the eyes of my peers. It’s a great tree, about 20 feet tall, probably 20 years old or more. It makes small white and yellow flowers that become hard black berries. It’s very fragrant and makes great tea. I also gave a student who is doing a cooking project a few ducks eggs to experiment with. If you haven’t tried duck eggs, I highly suggest it!

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I am a Lion’s Club member and a few times a month, I volunteer at the food bank for our plastic recycling project, sorting plastic to be recycled into building materials. We partnered with the food bank through the School Gardens Program to do this. So I have become friends with the coordinator and was able to donate to her some veggie starts form my work. Corn, beets, chard, cabbage, tomatoes, summer squash, and also 3 large grape vines! I made the suggestion of planting the grape vines there at the warehouse for employees and that may be possibility. I am a big fan of the program because I think it’s important to teach kids about gardening and growing food to learn that food doesn’t just come from the grocery store.

Yauger Park: Bloomin’ and Groovin’

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My Yauger Park plots are in spring mode! I’ve got lots of flowers on my strawberries, which I am really excited for. Calendula and nasturtium are coming up. Lettuce starts growing. The potatoes are coming up. I buried them a little deep so I was kind of worried but it’s looks like they will find their way up just fine. The sorrel is going to seed, I am looking forward to collecting them. Unfortunately I have a big problem with many tunnels from moles and voles underneath the beds, and so after harvest this year, I am going to dig everything up and out completely.

Evergreen Community Garden: Last Bed Dug!

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On Tuesday, we dug the last bed! It was such a cool feeling to see the whole plot finished and all dug out. We were only able to do it all as a team!

Thursday, we transplanted peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes. All the beds are planted!

Caleb gave me some microgreens, radish and alfalfa. I ate them on sandwiches and salads all week!

Sowing the First Sister: Tamahara Sunflowers

In the wet earth along the front and right side, the first sisters were planted. Tarahumara sunflowers grow 6 to 9 feet tall and produce 10 inch blooms that hold many white edible seeds that a great roasted. If we are successful, we will roast them in the fall. I also planted calendula, nasturtium, red bunching onions in spaces between mounds.

Second Side Quest/ Search for More Space for Sunflowers:

Another classmate has tended part of an overgrown herb and flower plot and planted mullein and other flowers for bees and pollinators. I see an opportunity for sunflowers and other gems as well, so I started clearing out the undesirable plants. I found many poppies, yarrow, oregano, mints, lemon balm, catnip, mullein, and potatoes in this patch of paradise. I planted rat’s tail radish, a kind of radish that doesn’t make much of a root and instead it’s big juicy seed pods are what’s eaten. I have had other radish seed pods and they are super yummy, with a cucumber or snow pea consistency but light fresh radish taste.

WEEK SEVEN: Ceremonial Radish

Tuesday! The first radish from our community garden! In true ceremony, we gathered, we spoke, and we ate radish. In it’s entirety, sweet with spring, lightly spicy, gritty, with fuzzy leaves but that is not a complaint.

The potatoes are mounded, and cabbage and lettuce are looking good too. We all dug a new bed at the untilled end. Almost done!

More Tastes of Spring:

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I made a lilac simple syrup from a bush in my yard. She smells very fragrant, deeply floral and sweet. The syrup tastes like what dreams are made of and candied flowers.

Thursday we wrapped up the week with helping again the herb garden. We all worked together to liberate the very middle bed that is front and center. It was great to see how much we could get done when we concentrated our efforts. We re-planted a chunk of chives, yarrow, and rosemary, freeing their roots from the choke hold of buttercup. The day was sunny and warm and almost perfect. I found myself envious of the garden snakes, bathing in the sun without thumbs, no bother to be busy.

Afterwards, we harvested the first salad greens! Bitter salad mix and spinach. It was so delicious. Caleb walked us through the whole harvesting and cleaning process, with insight from a large scale. I went home and immediately covered the greens in balsamic vinegar, added green onions, walnuts, sharp cheddar cheese, salt and pepper, and chowed down.

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Mounds Built for the Sisters:

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Sarah and I built our mounds for planting! There were many many snakes under the tarp but clear of voles and mice! We decided to split the space into two planting methods, Wompanog mounds and alternating rows of beans and corn, with squash in the back. We also intend on calendula, nasturtium, and SeedLinked sunflowers. It was so nice to spend time in this space together and I am so excited to plant.

WEEK SIX: Rains, Seeds, Weeds, and the Burnt Prairie Grasslands

We dug more beds in the untilled area of our plot. Making our way through! Lots of weeding too! I am really enjoying getting to converse with my classmates and teachers. Never a dull moment.

Seeds are popping off! Take a look!

Duck Tales: Bella turns to Beast

Broody and Moody, Bella, usually docile and shy, has turned extra territorial and mean towards Bossy after deciding to hatch the ceramic egg I stupidly placed in nest boxes to encourage them to lay in a place I could easily reach. After removing the fake egg and clearing out the bedding to change the nesting area, there was little to no change in behavior. Tis a fool who tries to reason with fowl. I put myself between them and it was perhaps the bravest moment of my life, as these miniature dinosaurs are quite intimidating while they work through nature’s calling. Here’s to hoping they won’t seriously injure each other.

Camas Harvest with Squaxin Island Tribe:

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I saw a flyer on social media that was an open invitation to join the Squaxin Island Tribe for a Camas harvest at the Glacial Heritage Preserve and I knew I had to take this opportunity. It was so humbling and amazing to be out there in a space that is usually closed to the public. There were around 30 or 40 people in attendance. I was a little shy and stayed to myself some but was able to make a few friends. I met a gardener for the tribe, Elizabeth, who invited me to visit their garden, which I certainly will. I also met Evergreen staff member, Sarah Hamman.

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WEEK FIVE: Going Up

This week we put trellis up for peas and beans!

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Using bamboo and twine, we gave the new vines support to climb. Caleb also dusted the starts with crushed eggshells and oyster shells to protect from slugs.

On Thursday, our group joined Alegra and weeded a bed in the Evergreen Herb Garden. What a neat space! Fabulous learning opportunities all around.

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A lovely surprise, right near the entrance, a beautiful white borage grows.

I hope I can return sometime later and collect seeds…

Update on sown seed experiment:

The seeds I sowed last week have begun to come up! The broccoli starts are very leggy, unfortunately, so I have been moving them outside during the day to get unfiltered sun and bringing back in at night to keep them warm. The tomatoes have also come up! All the seeds in Caleb’s mix came up first.

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I started another tray of broccoli and lettuce as well. Most of these I hope to plant in Buzz and Blossom Garden.

Buzz and Blossom: Beds and Berries

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These are three hügelkultur beds that we have begun planting in! We dug a trench and filled with woody debris, straw, big stalks of kales and other plants, and small debris and filled with soil and topped with compost. We decided to give the last bed, photo far left, walls to raise it up some. The area these beds take up used to be tilled every year and the owners of the garden would like to move away from those practices and when they researched more about hügelkultur, it was decided to add some to the space. I am happy to be here for the journey and I think it will be a good addition to the ground in the long run.

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The line of berries in the left photo is a unique blackberry cultivar created over 50 years ago by my neighbor’s uncle Otis, so we call them Otis berries. They seem similar to Logan and Tay berries, with the vines being very thorny, very vigorous, and tons and tons of berries. We have to prune them heavily in the fall or they will literally take over the world. The berries themselves are kind of tart and sweet and super delicious, with a very deep red and purple color. Right now, they are about to burst with flowers and it is a real treat to watch the many bumble, honey, and native bees at this buffet. I think it’s the most wonderful time of year when they become ripe. We always make an event of picking the first flush and try to get as many as we can. We freeze them as we pick them and after they’re through, we make a big batch of the best damn jam ever. It has become a most treasured tradition for me since I made friends with these wonderful people. When we prune them in late fall, there are always many shoots and the last two years, I have managed to pot up quite a few each year, and we sell them to raise money for the garden.

Sister’s Garden Coming Soon:

We are still planning which varieties we would like to grow together. So far, we like the idea of acorn squash and zucchini. Now to ponder beans.

WEEK FOUR: The Garden Grows

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We started weeding, as our seeds have begun to germinate! Dr. Dirt dug two beds lickety-split like it was cube of butter, showed us kids how it was done.

We ended the week planting potatoes! Productive Fingerlings that Caleb had kept from last year’s crop, fabulous.

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A Space for Sisters: Prepping the Earth

We are almost done digging out weeds and unwanted plants from our plot. We are covering the bare Earth with duck soiled straw from my ladies, to suppress weeds and add nutrients. We will leave the straw on the surface, as a mulch, rather than turning in because doing so would withhold nitrogen from plants in order to break down the straw.

SeedLinked Member: I am ready to compare and record my experiences growing sunflowers!

Latest Additions to my personal gardens: New Fruit

The Schisandra Vine is a cold hardy perennial native to Northern China and Eastern Russia. The berries are said to be nutritious, have a tart and lemon-like flavor, and makes tasty tea and juice. There are many medicinal uses as well and it is popular in Chinese medicine. It is sometimes called the Five Flavor Berry because its complex combination of flavors described as salty, pungent, sweet and tart skin with bitter seeds. This vine is a variety called Eastern Prince and is self fertile.

I also added a White Blackberry! This berry will be translucent and milky white, with a pink hue, and have all the taste of a blackberry. I am guessing it will be on the sweeter side. The plant doesn’t have huge thorns and I am hoping this 18in deep pot will be enough space for at least this year.

I don’t have much full-sun space to put perennials in the ground at my current living situation, but there is some space I can use, so for now these plants, and a few other goodies like a Reliance Peach, are in big pots in sunny spots until I find a bit of Earth to make their home.

Sowing Saved Seeds: An Experiment

Last year, I saved many different seeds from flowers and herbs. I’m not sure how viable most are, but I felt the need to do so in my own bones, and so I sow.

This round, I will sow rosemary seeds I collected from a 30+ year old rosemary plant, Hidalgo Stachys (I am particularly excited about these) seeds I collected from plants at the nursery I work, non variegated spider plant seeds just for fun, petunia seeds I collected just to see what happens, columbine, and an ornamental variety of echinacea. These are all seeds I have personally collected. I will also sow orange bell peppers, indigo rose tomatoes, and De Cicco broccoli that I purchased.

I want to compare a bagged seedling mix from Four Corners Farm and Garden in Castelrock, WA to a seedling mix that Caleb made and gifted me. His mix is a blend of coconut fiber, compost and some of the same bagged seedling mix from Four Corners.

Just 4 days later, the broccoli popped up in Caleb’s mix!

WEEK THREE: Gardening Through Chaos

Meet the ladies, Bella and Bossy!

Bella, aged 2, and Bossy, aged 3, are female Muscovy ducks who were gifted to me and my neighbor in Fall of 2020 when their original owner moved and couldn’t keep ducks at their new house. Bossy first came with her sister Bluey, but sadly Bluey flew away in October, shortly after they arrived. My neighbor found Bella on the internet from a big farm near Shelton shortly after that because ducks are flock animals and we didn’t want Bossy to be unhappy. They mostly get along, but Bossy often lives up to her name and tries to take the dominant position. This is our first spring together and we are learning a lot! They started laying eggs in March, they are big and delicious and have very thick shells. We let them forage, and feed them peas, greens, dried grubs, and feeder fish, along with grain as they wish. The soiled straw from their coup is a great addition to the garden. These gals are really smart and have started warming up to us, even asking for pets!

Evergreen Community Garden: A lesson in communication!

I had a conflict on our usual Tuesday meeting, but was able to meet our fabulous TA the next day, Wednesday, and helped prep a bed for planting!

On Thursday, we made Fermented Plant Juice! FPJ is a fermented plant beverage of sorts, made with plant scraps and brown sugar. The solution is nutritious for plants and boosts soil health! For our FPJ, we used nettle, a small amount of dead nettle, comfrey leaves, bamboo leaves, grass, and angelica, cut into chunks, layers with brown sugar, and muddled until juicy. We will leave it in a dark place for about a week and check for small frothy bubbles.

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We also planted a bed and sowed more seeds. The space is getting fuller and fuller!

Yauger Park: Potatoes

This week I planted more potatoes in the community garden plot. I chose two different varieties that I really wanted to taste: Purple Viking and All Blue.

These early season potatoes have a beautiful marbled pink and purple skin with white flesh. They are supposed to be versatile in cooking, with a firm texture. I should expect a harvest in 60 to 80 days, sometime end of June beginning of July.

These heirloom potatoes are high in antioxidants and are said to keep their beautiful color when cooked. I love eating purple vegetables, especially purple potatoes, so I am particularly excited to grow these spuds. They mature in 90 days, so around July I should have a good harvest of beautiful blue babes.

Seedlinked: Sunflowers Have Arrived!

We have 25 seeds of each variety! While pondering where to plant these seeds, an opportunity to collaborate with a classmate lends solution!

Three (Four? Five?) Sisters Garden: Traditional Indigenous Ecological Knowledge: Collaboration with Sarah Dyer

Sarah Dyer and I have decided to collaborate on a space that is about 10′ X 28′ and grow Three?(Four, Five, several) Sisters! We have begun prepping the space to build mounds and have been discussing many design options. I drew up some ideas and will make modifications to our design before we dig out our paths.

WEEK TWO: Intros and Seed Sown

#1 (4.5) First In-Person Tour of Evergreen Community Garden!

Tuesday we were introduced to the community garden and went over housekeeping and procedures. Thursday, we built a bed and planted peas!

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We are off to a great start!

SeedLinked: Sunflowers

We await the arrive of the sunflower seeds, while I ponder where to plant them….

We will be sowing two ornamental varieties of sunflowers: Velvet Queen, a deep purple 8in beauty with a sunset of colors. Tiger Teddy: a double bloom bicolor flower with shades of orange and bronze.

We will also sow a variety called Tarahumara, which is good for roasting and eating the seeds and with success, we can roast and eats these flowers in the fall!

WEEK ONE

My Journey of Garden Stewardship

During Week 1, I was able to help finish up a hugelkultur bed at my neighborhood garden.

Buzz and Blossom Garden was curated by my wonderful neighbors more than 30 years ago. I have been lucky to help them tend for the last 3 years, this summer being my 4th! The garden grows lots of beans, greens, onions, broccoli, garlic, corn, squash, tomatoes, and lots of flowers. There are also 4 beehives, and this last winter all 4 hives survived! Most recently, we have built 4 long hugelkultur beds, planted some broccoli and lettuce, and are preparing to plant lots more!

Community Garden at Yauger Park!

I have 2 plots at the Yauger Park Community Garden.

The raised beds are 5′ X 10′ and about 12in deep. In one bed, I inherited an everbearing strawberry patch that takes up half the space, and the other side I filled with flowers, such as calendula, nasturtium, hyacinth, wallflowers, and lettuces. The other bed, I inherited Yukon gold potatoes that keep making potatoes and seed potatoes and collards. I also add lettuce, sorrel, and broccoli. This year I will be planting new varieties of potatoes.