People come to gardening for many reasons. Have you ever wondered where you stand in the great big world of edible gardening, environmentalism and social awareness? Well not to worry, we’ve designed this Cosmo-inspired quiz that will lead you to greater self-awareness of your particular gardening caricature. Just answer the following questions and check your results [Continue Reading...]
No Place Like Home – Appreciating the Urban in Urban Homesteading
August 22, 2011 by · 17 Comments
I had a commitment in Eastern Washington this weekend which necessitated a little family road trip to the hot, sunny, dry part of the state. When we returned Sunday night, we followed I-90 west, eventually climbing up the Cascade Mountains to the summit at Snoqualmie Pass and returning back down to the cooler, greener side of [Continue Reading...]
Adventurers Of A Corporate Gleaner
August 16, 2011 by · 6 Comments
Location 47.58 degrees North by 122.155 degrees East: a top secret blackberry patch adjacent to the offices of a major mobile communications provider. Date Friday, August 12, 2011 Time 09:34 local, 16:34 Zulu Mission Initial reconnaissance by the operative codenamed “Homebrew” on Thursday, August 11 revealed an exceptionally large blackberry patch at a previously unsuspected [Continue Reading...]
Householder Haikus – My Weekend In Poetry
August 15, 2011 by · 14 Comments
Juice of two lemons To ensure a proper set I feel every cut. “Can’t finish the peach. The juice runs sticky, too far down my elbow, mom.” My apricots float They will do it every time Maybe more syrup? (big thanks to Harriet Fasenfest for this one) Met the orchard man Blushing fruit, picked by [Continue Reading...]
I Wish Somebody Would Have Mentioned…
July 14, 2011 by · 15 Comments
When you prune a hop vine, wear long sleeves. And a ski mask. Those things are mean. There is no such thing as weed free straw. It is possible to have a hard time growing zucchini. It’s not you; everyone had green tomatoes in late August. The best fertilizer is the gardener’s boots. There will come [Continue Reading...]
We Hang Together, Or We All Hang Separately
July 7, 2011 by · 16 Comments
Hey you! Yeah, you – the 22 year old barista with the excessive facial hair and the Che Guevara tee-shirt, riding around Portland on your Marin Point Reyes, wondering if you can make it to both rallies for raw milk that are happening tonight and still get your winter cabbage starts planted in your Urban [Continue Reading...]
Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy Neighbor’s Asparagus
July 6, 2011 by · 10 Comments
Seven Deadly Sins In The GardenPride “Looks like Sally hasn’t gotten her beans in yet. My beans are already to the top of the trellis. People are going to notice when I’m eating fresh beans three weeks before Sally.” Greed “I’m grabbing all the basil starts I can carry at the plant sale. Outta my way, [Continue Reading...]
Urban Homesteading for Corporate Tools
May 11, 2011 by · 12 Comments
For those of you transitioning from the corporate world to the homestead, I have prepared this helpful guide, dual homed with one foot in a Muck Boot and the other in a Wingtip Oxford. Though they may seem divergent, the core competencies of gardening and cubicle wrangling are not so different after all. The language [Continue Reading...]
What Moms Want, What They Really, Really Want
May 6, 2011 by · 17 Comments
Chances are good that if you are reading this you are a mother (much of my readership being female and of a certain domestic bent). Chances are excellent that even if you are not personally a mom, there is a mother in your life: perhaps your spouse or the woman who brought you into this [Continue Reading...]
Yuppie-Hippie Artifice
April 5, 2011 by · 42 Comments
There is this term I bandy about: YuppieHippie. As in, “I picked up my grass fed milk at the YuppieHippie market. It was on sale for $10 a gallon.” In my town there is a segment of the population that cares about the eco trendy trinity of local-organic-sustainable because they can. They drive their hybrid [Continue Reading...]
It’s Called Gleaning. No Relation To Glee.
March 8, 2011 by · 18 Comments
I have a friend, the Shoreline Fruit Lady. Today is her birthday, so in her honor I thought I’d talk about one of her favorite things: gleaning. Fruit Lady is a neighborhood gleaner. She walks around her ‘hood with kids in tow and if she notices a big overgrown plum or apple tree in someone’s [Continue Reading...]
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