Blog
July 22, 2024 Jennifer secured an appointment for a ZooDoo pickup recently so off we went, Philippa and I, to the Seattle Woodland Park Zoo even though the temperature was 93 degrees! We actually didn’t notice the heat much, mostly because we had a fascinating conversation with Aarin Wilde, the new Dr. Doo. Phillipa started […]
Consider Native Plants
October 18, 2022 We cleaned up and set out seventeen species of Washington’s native plants to sell at Saturday’s 12th annual Cider Fest. I found it interesting to listen to visitor’s comments and questions. Here is a sample: “I love seeing hummingbirds and pollinators in my garden!” Native plant growers say this is a big […]
Janet In The Background
September 10, 2022 On Sunday, 4/12/2020, Janet wrote: Being a conscientious citizen, I removed my license plates and am cruising around the neighborhood looking for people who are not practicing social distancing and blasting them with my super soaker. My cousin advised me to be extra careful because retaliation might come in the form of […]
Cover Crop Culture
August 28, 2022 Oh just throw some newspapers or burlap over the garden bed for the winter. That’s one approach, and it might keep the weeds down. On the other hand, you can think of your relationship to your garden bed as reciprocal, much like you might think of land in general. Your summer crops, […]
Jinxed in June
July 8, 2022 Who liked the June Seattle weather? The slugs, that’s who! We scorned them as they began to diet on the little green bean plants. Actually, the celeriac, parsnips and salsify, plus most of the cool weather greens were delighted with the Juneuary weather. But, here’s a strange twist. Soon after the brassica […]
Reverence for Wood
June 19, 2022 Reverence for Wood is an old book by the early American writer, Eric Sloane. This enjoyable book, with a soothing and thoughtful tone, contains amazing woodworking tips and I applied a couple while making a new garden bed of old-growth cedar. The project took a lot of time but was good for […]
Late Blight – Steps to Win the Fight!
May 29, 2022 Knowledge of plant pathogens is very useful in a community garden; your gardening practices can affect your neighbors’ harvest! Tomatoes and potatoes are the main hosts of late blight, a devastating disease caused by Phytophthora infestans (an oomycete protist that behaves much like a fungus). Even though tomatoes and potatoes are main […]
NANCY, PLEASE STEP FORWARD
April 30, 2022 Back in 2013, KING 5 came out to interview a representative from Freeway Estates Community Orchard. I pushed Nancy out to face the interviewer. She has a strong voice, a good memory and, she’s willing! Recently, Nancy has been interviewed three times about FECO. The first call was from an independent researcher. […]
Path Project Procures Power Players
March 17, 2022 Ken Yu Last Thursday was tough. We spent hours filling in ruts from the gravel truck. But, as we were getting ready to leave, Ken got out of his car. I smiled and my shoulder blades dropped down my back. Ken, always conscientious, wanted to look everything over, to be fully prepared […]
FECO Website Refresh
February 22, 2022 FECO’s old website had some bumps and bruises and we wanted to share new ideas and information. So, we went back to the drawing board! We hired professional help for layout and received support from the director of Zipcon.com (our website host). A chunk of volunteer hours were needed within a short […]
Whether to Wonder about Weather
January 25, 2022 Did my garden get enough rain this week? Will the seeds I planted yesterday need to be watered today? If I work in the garden this afternoon will I need my rain jacket or my sun hat? Or both? These are just a few of the weather-related questions a gardener might ask. […]