Blog
March 19, 2023 I approached a bush bean plant last year and spotted an insect on a leaf. I waved my hand to shew it away! Then I saw another, but this time I looked closer. A lacewing! “Come back!”, I yelled to the first one, in vain. How thrilling to be hosting a lacewing, […]
Tried-and-True Tomato Trellising Technique
June 23, 2021 The Florida weave! Is it a type of shawl? A new hair style? Some kind of line dance? No. The Florida weave is used widely and is well thought of as a tomato-trellising technique. Rutgers has a fine explanation online. Sue’s tomato plants get big and weigh a ton. In the past […]
The Handy Dande
May 19, 2021 Dandelion – Taraxacum officinale – origin from Greek words meaning ‘disorder remedy’ – Asteraceae family. How did we ever come to hate dandelions? Well, who knows. In any case, Europeans thought them valuable enough to tote them to the New World in the 1600’s. In ancient times, the plant was valued as […]
You Need This Kind of Friend
April 25, 2021 An old pal and I were talking about different kinds of friends. We have friends who challenge us, helping us to be the best we can be. Hopefully, we also have a friend who thinks we are wonderful and that everything we do is amazing. Joan Davis. Everyone needs a friend like […]
Pruners Without Borders
March 15, 2021 FECO volunteers, Reid and Jacob, both well over six feet tall, used their height last summer to glean a few figs from a tree in Green Lake Park. They agreed that the tree needed care. This spring, Reid asked me if I might be interested in helping them prune the tree. I […]
Is Anything Happening in the Winter? Don’t yawn yet!
February 16, 2021 “Do ya need any help in the winter?” Visitors stop us from our work and ask this question, with some frequency. My response is, “Yes! But the winter tasks are not very sexy.” How lucky are we. During these winter months, an energetic group of volunteers kept their shoulder to the plow. […]
Find a Stone that Speaks to You: The Magic of Nature in Times of Crisis
January 12, 2021 I thought to blog about Horticulture Therapy, but the topic is sizeable. Instead, I chose to highlight two well-known authors who wrote about the therapeutic benefit of stones. Psychiatrist Harold Searles was troubled by the extent to which technology was interfering with people’s ability to relate to nature. “Over recent decades we […]
The Legacies of Five Pioneer Volunteers
December 1, 2020 One speaker, from a recent soil-related Conference of Hawaii Farmers Union (HFUU), declared that he wanted to leave a legacy. He aspired, during his tenure as a farmer, to create as much great soil as he could. Volunteers are needed! Please see our Calendar Page or email freewayestatescommunityorchard@gmail.com Our early volunteers shaped […]
Retirement Planning – Plants in the Spotlight
November 5, 2020 We are excited to introduce Karin Baer, our new intern. Karin is working toward a Urban Agriculture Production Certificate within the Horticulture Program at Edmonds College. She began helping in September and will be with us until the end of the term. Karin worked many years as a nurse practitioner, until 2019, […]
FECO’s 10th Annual Cider Fest – en vivo! A COVID-unfriendly event
October 8, 2020 Friends! This year’s Fest will be the best ever. Bring your raincoat, join us Saturday from 2-4pm, and enjoy the lineup: Saturday, Oct. 10, 2-4pm 6th Ave NE, just south of NE 63rd St rain or shine freewayestatescommunityorchard@gmail.com check calendar for details Three fabulous young musicians The best assortment of homemade pie […]
World Premiere Video – about FECO!
September 21, 2020 FECO World Premiere! Welcome to Freeway Estates Community Orchard Here it is friends – a video about us! We commissioned a very talented and patient producer/videographer, Carter Raaen, and we were privileged to catch the following interview with him. FECO: Did you watch movies/videos when you were younger? Carter: Yeah. I have […]