Maybe it started with visits to Vicksburg, where my Nana and I would gobble up tomatoes on Saltine’s and where I would drink her spaghetti sauce from a small mug, too impatient to wait for noodles. Flash forward a couple decades to my cramming far too many tomato plants into one raised bed...
Read moreStoring Summer’s Goodness
If you had observed me in the garden and row crop section over the last month or so, you might have dubbed me a stalker. I’ve been roaming the rows, peaking through leaves, examining fruit for growth and change in color, pruning lower branches and snipping excess flowers. Now my obsession has started to pay off, as we are finally(!) reaping the fruits of our labor.
Read moreThe Cycle of Life
Farm life is cyclical, filled with ups and downs. Some are planned, others take us by surprise. And some weeks are more of a roller coaster than others.
Read moreFull Speed Ahead?
Living through only our third “spring” in Washington has convinced us that weather here is certifiably insane. Snow in mid April, followed by rain, more rain, some cold, and more rain throughout May. Pay no mind to my salivation and crazy eyes, I’m just chomping at the bit to nestle plants safely into the ground.
Read moreHow Shall I Compare Thee?
Enough time thinking leaves me feeling inadequate as a farmer. Whether it’s comparing my current progress to our last garden or those of CA and MS friends or other WA farmers with better setups than ours, it seems obvious we’re painfully behind.
Read moreSowing the Seeds of Patience
T.S. Eliot wrote a poem almost 100 years ago that opened with the famous line, “April is the cruelest month.” I have to agree, at least since I moved to Washington.
Read moreOn Berries and Bunnies
With our recent bouts of rain, cold, rain, snow, and more rain, almost nothing seems further away than ripe berries eaten straight off the vine. If I close my eyes, I can almost envision that glorious day...sun-warmed juice staining my fingers. That is, if we keep the wild rabbits from gnawing down more berry canes and bushes.
Read morePreserving the Harvest
In this, the first fall after our first full summer here at Star & Sparrow, I have been striving to capture as much of our bounty as possible.
Read moreAnatomy of a Green Thumb
Truly, I can think of little more satisfying than watching a tiny seed grow into a small seedling, then on to a thriving plant and finally into produce to consume with gusto... While my path to that bliss has been filled with obstacles this year, we are finally watching our full garden grow.
Read moreAncient Bones from The Garden
One of the many perks we’re enjoying as a result of buying a home from an excellent gardener is the plentiful supply of horseradish. This persistent root crop, famous for the prickly effect it has on one’s sinuses and the weird way that sensation makes certain foods taste better, has been slowly taking over its designated area in our garden.
Read moreYellow Jackets Part 2: Squash - It’s What’s For Dinner
All who have planted zucchini know of its propensity to hide baseball bats under the scratchy umbrella leaves, waiting to surprise you with a daily doubling in size. Two such variegated logs sat on our back porch for a week or longer as we pretended not to see them daily. It was not for lack of inspiration in their use — Farley spent weeks putting their green flesh into nearly everything she cooked until we just couldn’t take it anymore and resigned ourselves to leaving the last few uneaten.
Read moreIn Search of the Great Pumpkin
By the time Bryon and I married in 2013, my pumpkin-growing process was a familiar tune. I’d start the seeds in January, then plant them in late March near the apple trees with lots of rich compost and natural amendments. The vines would wind their way across the long driveway to make the most of its radiating warmth.
Read more