Author: billthorness
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A Cloche for All Reasons: Season Extension Works for Summer Crops
If you think that your cloche is only for fall and winter gardening, you’re missing out. It is great for your summer crops too. A cloche is versatile. You can set it up over your heat-loving crops and get them growing more robustly. Sure, tomatoes will survive in our weather, but they are at heart…
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Seattle to Vancouver: A Great Summer Trip
A cyclist from San Francisco was looking for a fun summer bike trip to the shores of the Salish Sea and asked about cycling Seattle to Vancouver, B.C. In a Seattle Times article a couple of years ago I recommended a southbound version of that route, and that is the direction you’d go if following the…
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Favas & Garlic: Savory Spring Recipe
The garlic has just begun its sun salutations. Bouquets of fava bean leaves are catching the spring rains as they emerge on sturdy stems. The promise of these two early summer delicacies is just coming into leaf, but already it’s blooming in my mind. What awaits is a rich, savory saute of succulent beans and…
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Honoring Soil, a Gardener’s Greatest Resource
This morning, on the first day of spring, I took a walk through my garden, considering how to celebrate the occasion. One look at the planting bed I prepared yesterday gave me the answer: spring starts with the soil. Thsi time of year, much of my garden activity is amending, monitoring and making soil. When…
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Protecting Seedlings From Frost
Early this morning, I saw frost on my neighbors’ roofs, and a light smattering of it on my lawn. And my birdbath water had a very thin layer of ice. Should I be worried? If I have planted any vegetable seeds outdoors that are now breaking through the soil, yes, I should be concerned. A…
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Vegetables Tell Stories, and Catalogs Spread the Word
part 4 of 4 on seed catalogs Have you ever had a big dinner with extended family, perhaps at Thanksgiving when all the nice dishes are brought out of the cupboard, and discussion has turned to the history of the antique serving bowl being passed around? It’s the kind of hand-me-down that is accompanied by…
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Peering Over the Catalog Fence
part 3 of 4 on seed catalogs The rough-hewn wood of a wide field gate shields a broad garden of gently sloping rows ready for planting. Beyond are border herb and flower beds, white fence posts against a dark, protective tree line, and a beautiful sunrise peeking over the scene. The rays light up a…
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Catalog-ically Growing
part 2 of 4 on seed catalogs The year has begun with a series of slate-gray mornings and frosty nights. Even though the winter solstice is behind us, I still feel a bit boxed in by these short days, and a familiar sense of restlessness that comes from not spending enough time in my garden.…
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Catalogs Spark a Perfect-Bound Desire to Plant
part 1 of 4 on seed catalogs Sometimes desire is a tiger caught by the tail. It whips you around and sends you tumbling, arms outstretched. But in the coldest winter time, coasting through the short light of the after-holidays, it does not have to fill you with hot ambition. It might be enough just…