With our short-growing season, I wasn’t sure I could get this to sprout, let alone grow, blossom, and fruit. So this makes me very happy.
26
Feb
2012
Free Permaculture Book
I happened upon this great-looking permaculture resource from Chris Evans and Jakob Jesperson: The Farmers’ Handbook. It grows out of years of experience in Nepal but could be helpful anywhere.Read More
21
Feb
2011
Urban Homesteading in Portland and Beyond
Urban homesteading is not usually the term I use to refer to what I’ve been doing for the best twelve years or so. I tend towards kitchen gardening or urban farming. And these days, I’m transitioning towards rural food production at Amaranta Farm. But I see those who do call themselves urban homesteaders as allies in the same movement, and I’d like to see that movement grow….Read More
11
Jun
2010
When Life Gives You Weeds…Eat ‘Em
With all the rain out over the last few weeks and the challenges of getting the summer garden in, I’ve been grateful for food that sprouts with no effort on my part. I might not want stinging nettles in my cultivated garden, but I like having a patch on a distant corner of our property. [...]Read More
04
Jun
2010
Gundruk Saves the Day
Rain. Day before last, it was relentless. We had a reprieve yesterday, and I got some planting done, but most of my garden is flooded and impossible to work. I’m already a week or two behind. In this short season, that could mean a lean year for vegetables. So when I woke at five this [...]Read More
23
May
2010
Domestic Challenges, Wild Beauty
I’m ecstatic to be back on our property in Northeastern Oregon. There’s lots to do: organizing inside the yurt to make cooking and storage more convenient, building a spring box and laying pipe to get potable water into the yurt, putting in the garden. And there are many challenges: a muddy road, cars that get [...]Read More
25
Dec
2009
Our Live Christmas Tree
I used to be the Christmas tree enthusiast in the family. I’d drive around Seattle for hours looking for the perfect tree, set it up, decorate it….Read More
03
Dec
2009
The Pardoned Potato
On Thanksgiving, we couldn’t bear to slice and roast this huge homegrown potato face. Nor could we boil and mash it….Read More
18
Nov
2009
Persimmon Joy
I love how persimmons hang on the tree after the leaves have fallen. Read More
10
Nov
2009
Ama: My Greatest Teacher
Growing food this summer in northeast Oregon, I relied on all that I’ve learned over the years from books, conversations, observations, and personal experience. But I probably heard Ama’s voice more than any other….Read More
31
Oct
2009
Ancient Lessons in Food Storage
One of the things I loved best about teaching high school social studies was shaking up students’ perceptions of history. And one of my favorite lessons was in Ancient History. I’d bring in a a jar of beans and a potato with so many sprouts it looked like an octopus (the fact that I always found one in my cupboard could have doubled as a cautionary lesson in the domestic arts)….Read More
24
Oct
2009
Revolutionary Potatoes
Like many who follow environmental and sustainable agriculture news, I woke this morning to tweets and retweets of a Michael Pollan quote: “A vegan in a Hummer has a lighter carbon footprint than a beef eater in a Prius!” I’m not vegan or vegetarian and suspect the statement glosses over vast differences in the way [...]Read More
05
Oct
2009
Five Lessons From My Inland Northwest Garden
The cool, clear nights that make autumn so beautiful here in the Blue Mountains also bring frosts that kill tender vegetables. With the harvest spilling over boxes and racks around our tiny yurt, it’s a good time to reflect on what I learned this summer….Read More
15
Sep
2009
Fermented Pickles
My mom made sauerkraut when I was a kid, and it was good. But during the years I lived in Nepal, I discovered a fermented world that went beyond cabbage….Read More
12
Aug
2009
11
Aug
2009
Northern Pacific Rattlesnake: Species of the Week
I had originally planned to post on another species this week. In fact, I have a backlog of species that have been inspiring and distracting me. But rattlesnakes have a way of making themselves heard above the din of all else [...] Read More
29
Jul
2009
The Princess Blooms
Some girls dream of being princesses. I’ll admit I dabbled in that too. I used to dress up in rummage store gowns and high heels and parade around with my friends through our Seattle neighborhood. Princess La Ratte blossoms Now, I have earthier dreams, like growing potatoes — lots and lots of potatoes. It’s not [...]Read More
26
Jul
2009
Harvesting Garlic
I planted fifteen pounds of organic garlic last October and finished harvesting it this morning. Given that my soil needs more improvement (mostly a few more years of working in organic matter), I’m pleased with the results. Two Northwest heirlooms: Inchelium Red Nootka Rose I’m curing some of the garlic under the roof of the [...]Read More
25
Jul
2009
Baby Bitter Melon
It’s kind of ugly and horribly bitter, but the years I spent in Nepal have made it into comfort food — and one I sorely miss. How shall I prepare my first harvest of these? Karela ko achar? Or fried in ghee? Imagining either makes me dizzy with happiness. Baby bitter melon TweetShareRead More
24
Jul
2009
Cauliflower and Broccoli
Now that I’ve set up a shady place to work, I hope I can cultivate more patience for my dial-up connection. After all, what’s the hurry? While I wait five minutes for a photo to load, I can listen to cicadas singing, wrens scolding, and hummingbirds hovering nearby, trying by to buzz me out of [...]Read More
22
Jul
2009
Missing My Yurt and Garden
I left our yurt and garden in northeastern Oregon a week and a half ago for a brief vacation in central Oregon and a few days in Portland to catch up on some work and see my son. I’m eager to get back, especially since our current gravity-fed water supply is not reliable in the [...]Read More
