Attempting urban agriculture

So many people in the Rainier Valley have incredible gardens: flowers, vegetables, Japanese, zen, you name it. I have a rather small garden in comparison to so many of my neighbors, but I attempt to do a lot with it.

I am currently making a solid effort at some fruit, veggies and herbs of my own. I have planted three different types of strawberries. I've got Rainier, Mt. Hood and Northwestern Native varieties. As of today, the Mt. Hood and Rainiers are doing amazingly. They've taken root and are spreading across the rocks. There are some blossoms on about half of them, and you know what that means? There will be berries! I'm still waiting to see what becomes of the Northwesterns; they were a tough transplant.

I've always wanted to have a kitchen garden. With a small yard and minimal garden space, one has to be creative when you want to do a lot. I happen to be blessed with a balcony that has a wide ledge. It's just perfect for some planter boxes. To make the boxes pretty from the street, I've planted some nice, low maintenance primroses, but between them, I'm growing some useful herbs from seed. The chives are fun to watch grow. As they continue to get taller, they still have the husk of their original seeds on their tips. It's like they're wearing little top hats. The basil and oregano aren't have as cute, but just as prolific; the basil, more so.

My final agro attempt as of late is my feisty peas. That's right, they're called feisty peas. I've planted them around an odd little pyramidal bamboo structure. It's pretty intense when you see how tangled their little graspy arms are. My hope is that they'll continue to grow up the tower and be both visually stimulating as well as well as a tasty contribution to this summer's meals.

I'll keep you posted as they all progress.

An exciting discovery!!!

I have some irises in my garden that I had virtually given up on. I had decided that I would never see blooms from them and that their sole purpose in life is just to be nice, tall, green foliage, but never make blooms. I am happy to announce that these ancient garden spires have two large buds on them.

This might not sound very exciting, but I've been irritated and impatient with some of my plants. With the irises, I just figured that they were too old to blossom, but I've been proven wrong. With my ranunculus, I though that the bulbs were just going to produce some fun, parsley-looking leaves, but low and behold...they've got some buds too! It's almost like Christmas, but I'm the only one getting presents.

Now for the kicker and the one item that I wonder about: the Calla Lillies. In the corner of the east bit of garden, there are some enormous leaves that are the richest, most incredible green. Two years now I have seen these quiet residents peek through the soil, but not show a welcoming flower. As of yet, there are no stalks or unfurling buds. Maybe soon...

Throwing rocks: get up out the way y'all

Every stinkin' time that I till the soil only a little bit, I uncover the most ridiculous rocks. Yeah, that's right, I have some pent up frustration. You see, when we bought our house, we were the first ones to live there, to start improving it, to work in the yard since the developer threw in some plants and called it good.

Well, going on summer #2 now, and I've done a ton of work. I have expanded the original flower bed from an r shaped garden to a C shaped one on one side, and a J shaped one on the other with a Tetris shaped one down the slope from the J... Is that confusing?? Anyways, with each new bit of soil I move around in, I am delighted to find more rocks...and huge chunks of cement.

How am I dealing with this, you ask? Well, every time that I water the garden or it rains, another few rocks show up. I've started some nice rock collection areas that are both functional and make everything look a tab bit nicer. There is a cottage stone wall that goes around the lower part of my garden and to prevent soil from washing through the cracks, I've been filling the in-between area with the rocks I pull up. I also have an area that collects water. To keep puddles from forming and unsightly clouds of gnats/mosquitoes from enjoying the area, I've started to make a shade area rock garden. This part has only just begun, so there'll be more to this as the summer goes on.

I have also uncovered some huge chunks of concrete. Most of these are too large for me to pull out of the ground, we're talking, like, 2' x 4' x 1' in size...ridiculous. What I have pulled out, I've disguised as stepping stones or hidden support rocks. I just have to find more ways to be crafty if I ever want to pull up the rest of the "buried treasure". Thoughts??

In the mean time, I'm going to keep plugging away at the disaster that is soil input by a careless contractor. I will keep adding compost and potting mix (my fav for gardening) and eventually, I'll have created dirt heaven.

From the alley to my home

My phone buzzes; it's a text message from my pal Erin. "There's a dresser in the alley. Says free. You want?" I pick up my phone and call her right away. Erin tells me that it seems pretty solid, good bones. I ask "is it real wood or...veneer?" She says that it's real, it has good structure, two small drawers and some large ones, and nice, wood knobs. I'm intrigued.


Even though at this moment in life I don't really have the need for yet another dresser, I can't pass up the opportunity to turn this beat around. We drove to a dark, back alley of Capitol Hill, here in Seattle, loaded up the dresser and got it home. The next day, I attacked it with my nail gun and some wood glue. The bones were good, just like Erin said, but the joints were aching. Re-securing the sides, both and the top and bottom, to the cross bars within the dresser, it was no longer shaky, but sturdy.


That was just step one. Step two involved fixing up the drawers. They were not rickety at all, but their undersides really showed the wear and splintering from years of open/close action. A little wood glue on the non-contacting surfaces is all it took to stop some of the splintering and ensure that the drawer bottoms would last another 40 years.



Step three: removing the old finish. I've stripped away the years from lots of pieces of furniture, but none have ever been as easy as this dresser. Oddly, it needed no stripping agent, just sand paper and elbow grease. It took just under an hour and a half to take away the

stain and lacquer and turn it into a blank canvas. I'm very happy with it. The wood is very soft to touch even though it's been sanded so smooth. It's ready to take on a new color and a stand-out design. PS: I only needed 100 grit sand paper and then for good measure used some 150 grit to make it a tad nicer.

I haven't yet decided on the final fate, both style and function, of the dresser. Any thoughts? I'm going to do some research today. I'm leaning towards a bright, Mexican, hacienda style...

Being Eager: saving spring bulbs...a little early planning

This is the first year that I've had tulips. I know what you're thinking: tulips are so greenhorn and cliche and so...everywhere. Well, so what. I was so excited to plant them last fall and even more excited when they first broke through the soil.

It's now been almost five weeks that my tulips have been blooming. I've gotta say, they've impressed me. For some reason or another, I was expecting that my bulbs would bless me with about, ehh, two weeks' worth of flowers. I was pretty fortunate though. These bulbs seem to be the Duracell of the plant world. "What type are they?!?!" you must be thinking. Sadly, I bought them, planted them and thought nothing else. Now I feel foolish.

Anyways, in an effort to ensure that I am "wow"ed again next year, I've formulated my plan: save the bulbs from the wretched world that is a soggy bed of summer rot. I've done my research and talked with my garden buddies and have decided that it'll be well worth my while to pull up the amazing bulbs and protect them for next year.

How am I going about this? Once the blooms are done and the foliage is browning/yellowing, I'll carefully tip-toe through my tulips and pull up the bulbs. I already have my old wooden crate, a cool, quasi protected place to store them, and the resolve to find and save every bulb.

Why do I feel the need to remove the bulbs from their beds? Well, I have planted some summer bulbs in the same beds and would like to pop a few annuals in there too...and those are all going to require watering...all summer long.

Tulips originated in the dry climates of southern Europe, North Africa and the arid mountains of Kazakhstan. Sooooo, yeah. Knowing this, soaking bulbs all summer seems a bit like volunteering to be wasteful, hence the need to protect the bulbs. To do this, they will slumber the summer away in a wooden crate mixed with some soil and sawdust and getting just enough water to keep them from drying up completely. It's gonna work like a charm...I just know it.

Anyways, when all is said and done, I'm going to make sure that my spring garden next year is just as beautiful as it was this year, if not more stunning.

Rescuing Forsaken Plants: don't leave 'em to the wolves

I have decide that my garden and its story need to be shared. It's one of my favorite past-times and it's my way that I can give back to the neighborhood a bit (even if it is a seemingly selfish act to till your own soil).

Before I started my garden, Golda had told me that I was welcome to grab what I needed to make my plot of land a bit more put together. I rarely took advantage of her generous offer…and then it happened. Winter ended and before Spring woke everything back up, Golda was gone; her garden, now without a keeper. I seemingly had no choice. There were too many sprouts and buds needing attention, needing to be thinned, to be relocated.

As was my neighborly duty, I went with my trowel and my bucket and started to make room for all of the new growth that was starting. So many plants needed to be moved into better light. Some needed to be pruned so that the speckles and spots that were starting to take over wouldn’t overwhelm the little paradise that is the overgrown garden. With some research and a lot of care, I moved what I could into better homes and have been able to rescue so much that was going to fade into next year’s mulch.

Hostas, some small off shoot roses, lambs’ ear, irises, poppies: I’ve welcomed them all into my fold. It’s been really great to see them thrive and start new life. As the spring continues, I know that there is more work to be done, more lives to save. I’ll keep the world posted with the work that I do and what I’ll want to do…there will be pictures to follow.

Happy gardening…and don’t be afraid to rescue some friendly little plants!