A new instagram account

So, as folks who come here may have noticed, I've been pretty much offline for most of the year. I've been quite busy, but I've still had time to do lots of plant related things, including buying more plants I don't need, or growing interesting new things. But, I just haven't had time to sit …

Cool season crop planting – experimental methods

My garden this year has had a decent run, particularly tomatoes (beefsteak, grape, early girl, and Cherokee purple). My cooler season crops did poorly though, with the exception of the lacinato kale (a partial harvest pictured). My carrots are still going, and various leafy greens continue and will be harvest ready in a month i …

Propagating red alder + biochar

Lots of things have been happening here, but I've just lacked the energy to stay on top of posting. These cuttings are my first attempt to get back into it. My neighbor has a very large red alder (alnus rubrum) which tends to spread far and wide. I need to clean out a few large …

Building Mycorrhizea

I've often harped on the benefits of wood chips, particularly how it helps prosuce vast networks of fungal Mycorhizea. But this also includes my love of bragging about the high quality soil it produces as a result. I wanted to post some photos that give a bit more detail to what I mean.

Cardboard – a carbon sequestration and permaculture design tool

As of late I've been trying to decrease my carbon footprint, as well as reuse as much as I can, both in and out of the garden. This has led to two big things: Compost everything well, for me, anything that is not meat, dairy, oils, or processed foods (some exceptions like bread). I've been …

Six on Saturday- 03/23

Another "Six on Saturday" - thanks to https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com, the originator, for the inspiration! It's been quite some time since I've done one of these but I'm glad to get back into it - the weather plays a big role here! Weather wise, it's been loopy - from a crazy freaky cold winter to a very …

Spring catch-up

Looks like mother nature finally turned the dial to the right station - and now the volume has really kicked up! I was biding my time for nice weather - now I just need to keep my eyes open - it seems like it's gone in a blink. I've gotten all the detritus cleared - …

Indoor updates – nearly spring!

It was a beautiful day outside, and I've already gotten a load of wood chips delivered for free. We had a rare winter storm... ...that pummeled our area for all of February, giving us around two feet of snow. It's finally melted off, and I'm mostly impressed at how well my various plantings fared. I'm …

Recent updates – almost to February!

The star of the show - Baobob! (Adansonia grandidieri) Beautyberry I got this while visiting a friend in passing, and didn't really have any expectations of success. I soaked them in warm water for 24 hours, then sprayed with alcohol and water and put them in a petri dish with a moist paper towel. I …

Gearing up for winter – an update

In a previous post, I mentioned some new exotic plants I was growing from seed. They are coming along now, with some updates below. I also planted some more exotic seeds I got online since then. Adansonia grandidieri So far this is the prize of the show. It's a really fascinating tree that grows in …

Grow chamber cart ~v1.5

So lately, I have been focusing my efforts on creating a self-contained "grow cart" that I can use for more exotic plants. In my previous attempts at winter indoor growing, I mostly optimized for maximizing the number of plants I could grow in a given location. That is not as realistic, and not as fun …

Growing options for the winter, a conundrum

This post is meant to chronicle my journey and research, and perhaps inform others about what to expect when trying to setup an all year growing area. There are several options I've found, yet each one is lacking in a significant way, making it challenging to determine exactly what you should do. I'm not an …

Kangaroo paw fern spores

I removed some leaves that fell off my kangaroo paw fern and noticing the sori, thought I might try growing them again. I was able to grow some sword ferns from outdoors year before last, but I hadn't started the blog at the time. I got them to the gametophyte stage, but my setup was …

Gearing up for winter – seed experiments

It's down to freezing temperatures at night over here, and this provides a kick in the pants to bring all the tender perennials in, and wrap up the little chores here and there (some last minute pruning, cleanup of herbaceous perennials, and last bits of raking). But the desire to grow and to garden persists …

Divide and conquer

This giant hardy hibiscus (Hibiscus moscheutos), flowering in nearly plate sized blooms, has mostly died back for the year. having planted it in an awkward spot, i decided to dig it up before it went all mushy on me. This is the second year, but after the shoots die back and disappear, it remains busy …

Fatsia japonica cuttings – update

This is the progress from the most recent photos of several fatsia japonica cuttings I took this year. I grew them indoors during the cold and dreary days. These are a few months short of a full year of growth. The November photos reflect both of the two originals that rooted. They've grown pretty well …

Free and Unbounded

People that don't untangle roots when planting from containers are committing a crime against plants. I want to show you some great examples of how extensive and long root systems are when you bother to untangle them. There are several reasons for doing this, but i know of two big ones: root girdling, whereby the …

Vegetable garden redux

Those that have read my blog from the "Six on Saturday" following will probably have noticed I have not been on here for some time with the SoS posts. There are quite a number of reasons: New baby coming Lot's of home DIY remodeling (installed new windows, sliding glass door, flooring, painting, etc) Trying not …

Sequoia seeds

After visiting the Japanese gardens here in Seattle, I noticed some Sequoia trees near the parking lot. I took off and grabbed a few cones for later. Here, I have harvested and will attempt to grow them. I've had no success with seeds in the past (haven't yet tried cuttings), but here's to determination! Updates …

Fall bulb planting – the efficient way

Need to get those bulbs planted, but find the task too tedious? A power drill and spade drill bit is cost effective mini auger that makes it almost too easy. In fifteen minutes, I was able to plant about 50 bulbs. The great thing is, the depth is pre determined so you'll have a consistent …

Pruning and energy expansion

I recently wrote about my strategy for very targeted pruning to induce growth, but there was another thought I wanted to expand on - the relationship to root vs. shoot growth, and how that plays out in various pruning scenarios. Plants want to grow Plants want to grow and reproduce. They do these things at …

Epic transplant

I found a rare deal on the commonly used landscape tree, arborvitae 'emerald green', but it required i dig them up. In total I got these for $30 USD. transplanting a tree of this size requires quite a bit of labor and coordination when doing it alone, but I wasn't about to let this stop …

Six on Saturday

Another "Six on Saturday" - thanks to https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com, the originator, for the inspiration! The weather in the Seattle area has been hot, hot, hot, and dry, dry, dry. Today it's sprinkling off and on, a welcome reprieve. I've been pretty careful not to sound alarmist, but most of Eastern and parts of southern WA are …

Unexpected Laurel

(Note: this post is a few months old, but I forgot to finish it.) Propagating Laurel is both rewarding and not. The former because it's all successful, the latter because it's so successful. However, it is fun to see it happen in unexpected ways. Case in point - these laurel's were not meant to be …

Pruning for growth

Perhaps this seems counterintuitive? Well, not necessarily. There are so many ways to prune, but increasing growth is probably not the one most people think of. However, I am actively training many plants to take up a large space as quickly as possible. But the important distinction is where the space is. A plant can only …

Bamboo root division

I wanted to grow some more bamboo for privacy screens, but also for fun. my neighbor has an extensive grove and so let me dig some up. Generally, I always keep mine in pots mind you. I've never done bamboo rhizomes before, but I've done other root division propagation and had great success (Hosta, pitcher …

Six on Saturday – 07/21/2018

Another "Six on Saturday" - thanks to https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com, the originator, for the inspiration! This summer has been fairly mild, but there have been some pretty dry and hot bouts that have browned out many patches of grass and caused crisping of leaves here and there. I've watered every day simply because I've got so many …

Pleasing combination plantings from the garden

Here are some recent photos from the garden highlighting some combinations I'm particularly happy with. I'll hopefully try to add more and be a bit more regular with interesting landscape aesthetics, but for now these two caught my eye. Below is a festuca glauca 'Elijah blue' grass, sedum 'sunsparkler dazzleberry', and Berberis thungbergii atropurpurea 'Rose …

Six on Saturday – 07/07

Another "Six on Saturday" - thanks to https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com, the originator, for the inspiration! 1. Heuchera 'peach parfait' My first heuchera plant, bought last year. It hasn't really exploded, but it keeps on trucking healthily. The grass here is taking over. It's only been a year though so I'm sure it will get much bigger. 2. …

Six on Saturday – 06/30

Another "Six on Saturday" - thanks to https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com, the originator, for the inspiration! I'd like to start by whining - this weather is nonsense. Less than a week from Independence Day and I've caught a cold and am mostly shut indoors because it's drizzling and 65. This is a travesty - I feel robbed! 1. …