Blog
April 24, 2024 “I can do this. I’ll take a seed tray of Western Columbine (Aquilegia formosa) home and watch over it,” I announced to the native plant nursery co-chair at Magnuson Park. It was late November, when we propagate native plants by seed. The nursery leader makes a delicate, moist seed-potting medium. You push […]
Harvest Highlights – Part I – Vegetables
November 30, 2016 The bounty from our seven vegetable gardens was spectacular and, beginning mid-May and ending mid-November, we donated over 300 pounds of produce to the University District Food Bank. Thanks so much to experienced gardeners Sue Hartman and Nancy Helm, sluggers in the batting lineup with Team Mother Nature. Nancy filled our spare […]
Moonlight Hunt
October 31, 2016 While cleaning up after sheet mulching under the grape trellis, I noticed the box cutter was missing. Yikes! The blade on that tool was open. I looked everywhere I could think of, then, I looked back at the six-inch thick layer of chips on top of overlapped bike boxes. Hmmm … under […]
Moonlight Hunt
October 28, 2016 While cleaning up after sheet mulching under the grape trellis, I noticed the box cutter was missing. Yikes! The blade on that tool was open. I looked everywhere I could think of, then, I looked back at the six-inch thick layer of chips on top of overlapped bike boxes. Hmmm … under […]
6th Annual Fest is the Best!
October 3, 2016 Half way through our 6th annual cider fest I strolled down the path and saw volunteers Jennifer and Liz sitting comfortably on the orchard bench, feet dangling. I realized then that the number and quality of volunteers at this year’s Cider Fest were so superb that these two hard workers were able […]
The Apple Sleuth
September 6, 2016 Lori Brakken, apple ID expert and landscape designer, volunteers tirelessly in her efforts to further people’s enjoyment of fruit. Last weekend, she graciously invited me to observe an apple ID session. Thinking that identifying apples would be an outdoor job, I donned my hat and sunglasses and paid her a visit. We did […]
Learning and Sharing
August 15, 2016 This morning, FECO volunteer Sue Hartman hauled over 10 pounds of produce to the food bank for the 13th time. Her walk is shorter now that the University Food Bank re-located to Roosevelt Ave N, just north of NE 50th St. Thus far, FECO has contributed the following foods to the food […]
Good Bugs Bad Bugs
July 29, 2016 Last month, I attended a class on Beneficial Insects taught by instructors from Xerces (http://www.xerces.org/) and hosted by King Conservation District . Conservation biocontrol is the new catch phrase and the focus is on increasing the numbers and diversity of naturally occurring beneficial insects. The idea is that nature does a good […]
Enjoy National Pollinators Week!
June 20, 2016 The morning was hot and getting hotter, so at a recent pollinator workshop (June 4 at 21 Acres) we took an early field tour, observing various bees, nest holes for ants (flat) v. bees (ringed by excavation “dust”), and some of the experimental plantings underway. We spent the rest of the day […]
The FECO Community
May 22, 2016 Hi! My name’s Lydia and I’m a nursing student at UW and one of your neighbors. I had an assignment for my community health class. The instructions were to take 2 photos from my community that answered the following questions: What is one asset of your community? What is the most significant […]
Ready for a Rest
May 3, 2016 April 30, 2016 was the last day to spend our Seattle Neighborhood Matching Grant funds. We accomplished so much this past 14 months (see prior blog post) but we were still missing a bench. Last year, there was no time to rest but, this year, there is! We made an effort, searching […]