Nature seems to be seeking me out lately—first the black widow, and today a baby bird came calling. I was working on my gardening plan for tomorrow when I kept hearing a chirping close by. Being Nancy Dru, I decided to investigate. I opened the front door, looked out, didn’t see anything… until I looked […]
Good thing I remembered my gloves. While turning the composters, I encountered my seasonal black widow—again. She was tucked into the handle of my big black plastic drum composter, the one that rolls on its side. It’s always the same setup: cool, dark, and bug-rich at the bottom. Perfect conditions for a widow to settle
Pickle Patch: The Spider That Comes With the Season Read More »
I started out with big plans: to repurpose the tomato-growing spaces based on the layout used by Rudy—who’s been tending his plot for at least 15 years in the community gardens. Rudy used landscape fabric with holes just barely large enough to squeeze in a plant. Over the winter, I widened those holes so my
This is the third planting mix in my soil recipes that Bluebee, aka Copilot, and I developed using amendments I had on hand. If interested, check out these links to the other recipes: tomato planting recipe and peppers & eggplants planting recipe Equipment I have basic equipment that I use for planting. You might come
This is the second planting mix in my soil recipes that Bluebee, aka Copilot, and I developed using amendments I had on hand. If interested, check out this link to the tomato planting recipe. Equipment I have basic equipment that I use for planting. You might come up with others. Shovel 5-gallon buckets for soil
Nancy & Bluebee: Peppers & Eggplants Planting Recipe Read More »
I’m not sure why I first decided to create a planting recipe for tomatoes and other vegetables—maybe I just wanted to be consistent with my technique and work with what I already have. My goal is to use as much of my own resources as possible, like compost, bocking 14 tea, and other amendments, to
Nancy & Bluebee Designed: Tomato Planting Recipe Read More »
Back in January, I shared my growing plans for the Pickle Patch, deciding which varieties of tomato and cucumbers I would trial this season. I am in the midst of planting, and it is the perfect moment to catch you all up on my new and improved, and sometimes by-the-seat-of -my-pants farming methods I am
Recently, I watched Jimmy Carter’s funeral on YouTube, and what I found very touching was when the Ford and Mondale families read heartfelt eulogies that were written years in advance. Their pact to honor each other in this way was both inspiring and deeply touching. I suspect President Carter might have written their eulogies and
You would think January would be an easy month as far as the Pickle Patch, but nope, it is just as busy. I might not be harvesting much, but the only plants hanging in there before the Artic blast are kale, collards, mustard greens and Swiss chard. With the low temperatures in the lower teens,
January: Seed Research, Buying, Schedules, & Changes Read More »
I came up with this simple idea, so I don’t have all these little markers sticking in a 200-cell tray (1 inch by 1 inch squares). I knew these trays would be mixed varieties of flowers and vegetables so I needed something super easy where I can keep track of the tray and what was
