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Keystone Native Plant Finder
While watching this excellent video, Garden For Wildlife – Episode 7: Nature’s Best Hope with Dr. Doug Tallamy, he points us gardeners to a resource we can use to find out which native plants give us the best bang for our buck. Most resources simply tell you that an individual plant is a “host plant…
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September Garden Calendar
What a wonderful month for us gardeners. 💚 The brisk mornings are so inviting and there are some summer crops still producing, fruit everywhere, fall crops to plant, birds and bugs are for company. I love seeing so much life in the landscape. The September calendar is chock-a-block with harvest tips, storage techniques, fall crop…
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July Garden Guide: Summer Garden Goodies & Fall Crop Planning
🌞 Good bye cool season crops, (lettuces, I’ll miss you!😩), hello garlic harvest, tiny tomatoes, and peppers! 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…
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Aphids Attack!
Aphids! I didn’t take this photo in my garden, but if I did, what would I do? Nothing! Why? Great question! When aphids attack, the plant responds by releasing chemical signatures that advertise to beneficial insects, “Free! All you can eat buffet!” Birds and spiders show up to the party too. Neighboring plants also pick…
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March Guide to Get You Sowing and Growing
March awakens with the promise of longer days, warmer temperatures, and lush growth. None of that is happening…yet. But it will—March crosses her heart and 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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Pruning Guidelines Refresher
Before heading out the door to do the long-put-off task of pruning our fruit trees, I decided to give myself a quick refresher. Pruning Primer Tool Rules I’m guilty of using the wrong tool for the branch diameter. Do you have any pruning tips to share? Let’s go! We’ve only got a few sunny days…
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Welcome 2025! Embracing the Feral Beauty of the Garden
January Calendar It was a fallow year for Second Breakfast Gardens in 2024. I returned to college in the fall of 2023. Whenever it wasn’t actively raining, I did my homework at the table in the garden. It was interesting to watch the garden go feral. Cover crops became mature crops, flowers popped up all…
Keep readingDecember, a Month for Rest and Reflection
❄Welcome December💙 🍪 My favorite December garden activity is wandering around our garden, marveling at all of the life. The sunny little flowers, shining their faces up at me, the chard tall and proud, a random daikon radish that is now the size of a summer sausage, hummingbirds zinging back and forth from their nectar…
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The November Shift from Production to Putting to Bed and Planting
November tasks in the garden and landscape. Now that the frenzy of the summer harvest and fall planting is mostly done, we can shift into putting the garden to bed, new landscape projects, planting trees and perennials, and sowing wildflower seeds. Remember: 🍂Leaves are nature’s gift to the gardener. Rake these up and keep them…
Keep readingSeptember Guide to Garden Opportunities
September rivals April in opportunities. It’s time to harvest and store, get those fall veggie starts and garlic cloves in the ground, and begin thinking about winterizing strategies. September Garden Calendar Please share your favorite fall garden activities in the comments!
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Free Seeds! A Primer for Saving Seeds from/ Your Garden
As I was puttering in my garden today, picking some grapes, eating some blackberries and strawberries, I noticed the seeds heads all over. Oh yeah! It’s time to share some seed saving info with you, my friends. This primer will get you collecting and saving with confidence. Stay cool out there and be sure to…
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August Harvest, Storage & 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. 🌱 This and so much more in the August…
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It’s a Cooker! How to Help Your Garden and Landscape Plants Survive the Heat
With temperatures soaring into the 100’s this holiday weekend, you’re probably not thinking about working out in the garden. Great! Now is not the time to plant, transplant, prune, or otherwise disturb your plants. Whew! There are a few things you can do to help them come through this intense heat, though. Shade ⛱ Providing…
Keep readingJuly Garden Tips: Maximizing Your Summer Garden and Fall Crop Planning
🌞 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…
Keep readingIt’s a Cooker! What To Do and What Not To Do on this Hot Weekend
Willamette Valley Oregon, Zone 8b The forecast on this Mother’s Day Weekend has temperatures soaring up to the nineties. Although we can expect relief on Sunday. 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…
Keep readingMay: What to do in the Garden During the Month of Transition
We’ll feel that shift too as the weather is predicted to jump about 20 degrees to the 80’s this weekend! ☀ Your cool weather crops should be coming on strong, and it’s a great time to harden off your summer crops to get them ready for life in the rigors of the great outdoors. The…
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Growing Greener Grass & Feeling Great About It
My Turfgrass Growing Guide details a holiday fertilization schedule to help you remember when (as well as how much) fertilizer to use, irrigation metrics, seasonal tasks, and mowing tips. It will take out the guesswork, and save you time, energy, and money. For example, it is a great time to aerate and dethatch, but wait…
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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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March Calendar to Get You Ready for Spring
March Calendar for Willamette Valley Zone 8b I know it doesn’t feel like it out there…do you have snow? But it’s not February 33rd, it’s March! Really, I promise. So that means lots of preparation for spring planting. Read more to find out methods for getting your bed ready, what to direct sow this month,…
Keep readingThe Perfect Time for Rose & Blueberry Pruning
Willamette Valley, Zone 8b Sunny and 60. Are there three more beautiful words after a long winter? Take advantage of the weather predicted for tomorrow and get your roses and blueberries ready for that first flush of new spring growth. Both plants are require heavy pruning right around President’s Day to ensure a season of…
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Let’s Help our Hummingbirds Through the Cold Snap
🌨After sorting through all the weather alerts and school closures this morning, I sipped my coffee and looked out at the bird feeders. Then my thoughts turned to strategies for helping my hummingbird friends. I made up a fresh batch of nectar, cleaned and replaced the feeders. This time, as suggested by my blogger friend…
Keep readingPruning Season is Upon Us! My Pruning Primer will Get you Cutting with Confidence
Pruning Primer for Fruiting Trees, Shrubs, and Canes Today, I took advantage of the dry-ish weather to get cutting. First, I pruned back and shaped the table grapes. I saved some of the lower cuttings for propagating for a friend. The branches nearest to the ground generally have more natural rooting hormone present. Next up were…
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Peppermint Lip Balm
Making your own body products is an excellent way to reduce exposure to toxins, and, TBH, I like them better. I whipped up a batch of lip balm yesterday morning and as my daughters eagerly took a couple tubes, I thought I would share my recipe and tips with you, my friend.
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Cheers to the New Year! Inspiration for the 2024 Growing Season
Our January Calendar is chock-a-block with inspiration, ideas, and resources for 2024. Dream big, my friends!💚
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December Calendar of Garden Tasks and Opportunities
❄Welcome December💙 🍪🍵My favorite December garden activity is wandering around our garden, marveling at all of the life everywhere. The resilient little flowers, shining their faces up at me, the chard tall and proud, a random daikon radish that is now the size of a summer sausage, while hummingbirds zing back and forth from their…
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🍂Four Ways to Use the Bounty of Fall Leaves in Your Landscape
Four ways to use fall leaves to improve the health of your soil and local ecology.
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What to do in November
November tasks in the garden and landscape. Leaves are nature’s gift to the gardener. Rake these up and keep them on your property. I also accept leaves from my neighbor’s yards as well. It’s amazing how many leaves my landscape (and composters) consume in a year. It is also a great month to winterize your…
Keep readingWelcome October! What to do in the Garden and Landscape
Welcome back rain.🌦Welcome cooler weather. 🌬🍃 Take advantage of the forecast for dry weather this weekend to get a jump on October tasks. Enjoy the cool brisk fall air as you bring in your harvest, plant overwintering crops, sow cover crops, winterize your beds and more. I would love to stay and chat, but you…
Keep readingSeptember Garden Calendar
What a wonderful month for us gardeners. The brisk mornings are so inviting and there are some summer crops still producing, fall crops to plant, birds and bugs are everywhere. I love seeing so much life in the landscape. The September calendar is chock-a-block with harvest tips, storage techniques, fall crop information, winterization techniques, and…
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Second Breakfast Gardens 