Author: Amy SBG
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Free Seeds Anyone? How to Save Seeds from Your Garden
I was out picking blackberries this morning and came in covered in seeds. They were stuck to my sweaty skin, in my hair, and on my shoes. After a cup of ☕, it occurred to me that it’s seed saving time! If you would like to give this a try, check out my seed saving…
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🍂Fall Dreaming on a Summer Day🌞
First thing in the morning, pre-shower, pre-coffee, I dash (OK shuffle) outside to beat the heat. I have been harvesting summer crops, blackberries, strawberries, onions, beets, Makah ozette potatoes, carrots, as well as seeds. I have been removing played-out vegetables as well. What do I find myself with? Space! What ever shall I do? Fill…
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August Harvest & Fall Planning
August has arrived! 😎 As our hottest month, the garden will need plenty of water and mulch. It will reward your care with bountiful harvests. It is also time to summer prune any vigorous growers like cherry trees and blackberries, and begin planning for fall planting. 🌱 Read more in the August garden calendar.
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Time to Harvest Garlic and Potatoes
Garlic 🧄 Are your garlic stalks mostly golden? This means your garlic is summer-dormant, which is ideal for harvesting. Go ahead and lift one or two out of the soil and see if the bulbs are well formed. If they are good-to-go, turn off any irrigation and let them cure in the bed for a…
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How Green is Your Grass? July 4th Fertilizer Application
According to our holiday fertilization schedule laid out in the greener grass growing guide, we are due for our second fertilizer application. But, it is just too HOT out there. I’m going to wait for a few days until it cools down, so I can apply and water it in without fighting heat and evaporation.…
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July Calendar: What to do in the Garden and How to Plan for Fall Season Growing
🌞 The July Calendar has tons of tips for getting the most out of your summer garden as well as mulching, water wise tips, and summer lawn care. It’s also time to plan for fall crops. See what can be direct-sowed as space opens up and what can be started indoors for later transplanting. Grab…
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Tea Time! What It Is & How to Grow Your Own
🫖 /tē/ Noun: 1. A soothing preparation of hot water infused with herbs. Tea may consist of tea plant (Camellia sinensis) or any number of herbs for flavor or medicinal purposes that provides comfort and warmth to Amy year round. 2. Early afternoon respite including tea and light fare such as biscuits and cake. Usually…
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June Calendar of Timely Tasks to Keep you Ahead of the Game
Welcome June! 🍓🌼 The softest month of the year. This month is full of sweetness, aroma, and the flavor of those first harvests. It is also time for sowing, transplanting, thinning, irrigation, and pest management.🐛 Let’s get started! Read the June Calendar for inspiration and tons of tips.
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How Green is Your Grass? What to do this Memorial Day Weekend
Soft, cool grass is a staple of suburban landscapes everywhere. Lawns have a reputation for being soaked in toxic chemicals and heavy consumers of water. With a few easy adjustments, you can make your lawn greener and greener. First Fertilizer Application Irrigation If you haven’t already begun to water your grass, it’s a good time…
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It’s a Cooker! What To Do and What Not To Do on this Hot Weekend
The forecast on this Mother’s Day Weekend has temperatures soaring up into the nineties. We can expect this to continue through Monday. Sun Protection for Cool Season Crops Water and shade is in order for any cool season crops in direct sun. I’m watering deeply in the morning and shallow in the afternoon. To keep…
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Welcome May! What to Do When
Good morning! ☕ The May calendar is here to guide you through the possibilities and opportunities of this busy month in the garden.
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Hello Sunshine! What To Do and Not To Do on this Nearly Ninety Degree Day
This warm, sunny morning must have triggered my gardener instincts, because I am fighting the urge to transplant out my warm season crops. The cucumbers, melons, peppers are all leaning towards the sun saying, “Please, please can we go outside?”🌞 But I’ve been around the sun enough times to not be tricked. Today is about…
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Growing Greener Grass & Feeling Great About It
New! Turfgrass Growing Guide I am a reformed anti-lawn snob. Not understanding effective lawn care, I firmly bought into the idea that lawn was a status symbol of the old aristocracy that we imported to the new world to the detriment of our naturally diverse ecosystem. To me, perfect grass meant toxic chemicals, excessive irrigation,…
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April is the Perfect Time for…Just About Everything in the Garden
April Calendar for Willamette Valley, USDA Zone 8 During the sun breaks🌤, work on bed prep and clean-up. When it’s showering🌧, do indoor sowing of warm season crops. (Cucumber, squash, tomatoes, peppers, etc.) It’s still chilly, so don’t worry if you haven’t gotten your cool season outdoor sowing done yet. There’s still time to get…
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Saint Patrick’s Day is for Potatoes…Usually🥔
The temperature of my beds this morning ranged from 36 degrees to 40. Potatoes like a temp of 45 degrees or more, so I’m going to wait another week or so to plant. But it’s tough to wait. It’s the one thing I grow that my whole family loves. The buttery soft potatoes are wonderful…
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March Tasks to Get you Sowing and Growing
March is an awakening with a promise. A promise of longer days, warmer temperatures, and lush growth. None of that is happening…yet. But it will—March promises. This month, there are warm season seeds to sow indoors, and cool season crops to plant outdoors. Garden beds to prep and your lawn to prepare. It’s also a…
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President’s Day is Perfect for Pruning Roses & Blueberries
Willamette Valley, Zone 8b Roses and blueberries are almost ready to burst forth with new spring growth. To get them growing and producing beautiful blooms and berries they both require heavy pruning. To get you cutting with confidence, check out my pruning primer that has how-to steps, links to videos, and OSU Extension documents. The…
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How Long are My Seeds Good For?
Now that my new seed orders or rolling in, I’m feeling the need to go through my seed storage box. How Long do Seeds Last? Seeds lose vigor with age, some faster than others. According to the Sustainable Gardening Handbook here are some averages on how long seeds remain viable. Caveats: Fluctuation in temperature and moisture stimulate seeds…
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February Calendar to Get You Ready for Spring and Growing like a Pro!
Spring is…not just around the corner, according to our pal Punxsutawney Phil, we have another full six weeks of winter. Part of me is shaking my fist at winter, but the other part of me says, “More time to get things ready for spring.”🌱🌷💚
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Weekend Tip: Prune Your Trees, Shrubs, & Canes like a Pro
Willamette Valley, Zone 8b Perhaps you can work around the showers🌧, but if you prefer, stay in today with some ☕ and 📚 and get a plan in place for tomorrow. Sunday is looking dry and cold; perfect pruning weather. Skip to the pruning guide. What to Prune December through January February Need some confidence…
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Front Yard Makeover — Native Plant Edition: How to Plant Perennials so They Can Thrive
In this article you’ll learn pro-tips for getting your long-lived perennial plants off to a good start. AND I’m sharing with you the my native plant list along with the most important details. Project Progress: Rules of Thumb for Planting Perennials For the longer lived, massive plants like trees, these rules are critical for establishing…
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Front Yard Makeover — Native Plant Edition: How to Choose Perennials that will Thrive in Your Space
I accepted the challenge of using Oregon native plants, (Willamette Valley specific) for several reasons. First I wanted to generate some good PR for our Oregon natives and showcase their beauty, resilience, and their innate ability to thrive in our climate. I also like taking the opportunity to slip in a few ecosystem value points…
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Leverage January for Growing Season Opportunities
January is a month of renewal, dreams, and opportunity. Now that the winter solstice has past and 2023 has arrived, the growing season feels almost touchable. Scan the January Calendar for inspiration to get you ready for spring. 🌱🌷 I would love to hear your plans, dreams, and goals for 2023! Please comment below or…
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Front Yard Makeover — Native Plant Edition: 9 Steps to Planting a Tree
The focal point for our small front yard will be our Vine Maple (Acer circinatum). I wanted a small deciduous native tree; that way we get summer shade and winter light. Vine maples top out about 20 feet tall and about 15 feet wide. (Depending on what source you check.) They have pretty little red…
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Front Yard Makeover — Native Plant Edition: Moving Mountains of Mulch
I’ve been working on a implementing a redesign for our front yard to replace our turfgrass with Willamette Valley, Oregon native plants. This will seriously up my square footage for my Backyard Habitat Re-Certification coming up. 😁 This is the third article in the series. Here are articles one (retaining wall construction) and two (digging…
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Simple Tasks For December to Get You Growing Next Spring
December is a light duty month, (finally!) with a few opportunities to get ahead of the game for spring. It is a good time to test your soil. There is adequate time to amend for pH before the growing season, and to be able to prepare for any missing nutrients that you can add just…
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Five Tips to Help Hungry Hummingbirds Survive Winter
Yesterday morning I brought out the hummingbird feeder and there was a little female Anna’s Hummingbird hovering near the ant-moat. She flew right up to me and hovered a few feet from my face. “Hungry?” I asked as I offered her the feeder. She went right to work, and even perched while I held it…
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Front Yard Makeover — Native Plant Edition: Digging for Me, Lots of Rain Garden Info and Resources for You
Check out the ugly phase of my native plant front yard redesign project. I’m digging out the rain garden and conveyance trench, making a huge mess in the process.
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Front Yard Makeover — Native Plant Edition: Retaining Wall Building!
Phase 1: Build Retaining wall for vine maple area. Complete! Hoo-yeah. What Project are you Doing? Goal #2 for 2022 was designing a new front yard landscape dedicated to Willamette Valley Native plants. Also managing storm-water and weeds are of paramount concern. Also, it’ll add lots of square footage to “area dedicated to native plants”…
Second Breakfast Gardens 