Windowsill Cozy

Here’s the follow-up to last week’s Toasty Pot Coaster project. This windowsill warmer is easily crocheted much like coaster using double crochets and shell stitches as a decorative edge. Start by measuring the width and depth of your windowsill. Make chains until the width matches the width of your sill. Double crochet into each chain,

Your Questions Answered: Tall and Floppy Seedlings

Question: I bought an all-in-one seed starting kit that is supposed to make the procedure a breeze. I’m new to this so I tried growing stuff like marigolds, pansies, and herbs but everything died! The seedlings grew tall and floppy with a couple of sad looking leaves.

Seven Years!

I have been so caught up lately in prepping for early spring presentations, working on site-wide changes, and other goings-on that I completely forgot that sometime within the month of February, this site reached its seventh year online! Every year I say I will remember, and every year I get so busy that the date

Rooting Begonias

Guest post by Amy Urquhart This morning on my blog I wrote about how we’re getting crowded out of our dining room by the sheer number of plants in there, so it seems only natural that the next thing I did this morning while drinking my coffee, and in my housecoat, no less, is root

Seedy Saturdays

It is no secret that Seedy Saturday is by far my very favourite gardening event of the year. It’s a great way to trade and purchase local, organic and heirloom seeds and support small gardening and seed suppliers. It is also a turning point in moving forward from out of winter and starting to think

Lilac FAQs

Guest post by Emira Mears I saw a comment pop up on an old post of mine from last May about Lilacs that I thought I would pull out and do my best to address here. The comment, or rather question was about a healthy seeming lilac bush that doesn’t seem to be producing much

Toasty Pot Coaster

Like many apartments mine boasts poorly insulated windows and baseboard electric heating. Yep, it’s a keeper. With the weather being in the high My Ass is About to Fall Offs I’ve been scheming ingenious ways to keep the plants that are stuck enduring their fate on the cold windowsill warm and alive through these dark

Portland 2007

I’ll be in Portland, Oregon next week to speak at the Yard, Garden, and Patio Show on the topic of growing an edible garden in just about any environment. Of course I also want to check out some local gardens, thrift stores, and make that trip to Powell’s (both of them). I hit three thrift

Super Mega Deluxe Apple/Pear Pie (with Spelt Crust)

This is a good pie to make during the winter since apples and pears are the only local fruits still available at the farmer’s market. I first came up with this recipe as a way to make apple pie sweeter and juicier. In fact it really began with the addition of ripe pears to apple

Is It Springtime Yet?

You know you’re suffering some major mid-winter gardening itch when you set out to spend a few minutes on a sunny Sunday morning bathing orchids and watering African violets… and then the next thing you know 4 HOURS have passed!! In a joyful haze you have repotted several plants, taken cuttings, showered tropicals, preened away

Seed Catalogues MIA

I had intended to write a post about seed catalogue arrivals and all of the exciting new things I want to try this year but so far only two catalogues have arrived (one of which I didn’t even order!) with rest of the usual suspects seemingly missing-in-action. I tend to shop online and don’t like

Red Mulch

It’s really far too early to start getting supplies or thinking about tomatoes but with the weather outside being in the minus kill-me-nows I can’t help but start peaking at the Lee Valley catalog. I’ve already decided that I’m going to sacrifice a couple of my tomato plants to “research” and give red plastic mulch