May 8, 2015

testing…1,2,3.

Garden, Homegrown, Organic, Pacific Northwest, Soil Testing

Soil testing in Seattle - cultivatedrambler.com

You guys. Totally nerding out over here! This confusing pic above are the results of my soil test that I took about 4 weeks ago. As a King County resident, you have access to 5 free basic soil tests for properties you either own or rent. It’s a great way to see what’s going on down below before you start planting your flower or veggie garden. My COG class instructor said it’s great to do this in the fall and again in the spring so you know what sorts of fertilizer to add.

I always though having to add fertilizer to your soil was B-A-D ie. soil is totally natural and you shouldn’t add anything but water to it. Ummmm, yeah. That’s totally wrong! (Though adding non-organic chemically processed fertilizer is still bad, so don’t do that!) Growing plants all season long can strip your soil of all sorts of nutrients so it’s wise to continually monitor it so you can add the right stuff and keep your dirt healthy. Who would have known?! My mind was totally blown the day we learned that. Sheesh.

Since I’ve discovered all of this soil stuff, I’ve seen really healthy soil and let me tell you, it’s a thing of true beauty. I have total soil envy now and vow to get mine looking like that one day. A girl can dream, right?

March 31, 2015

an update.

Garden, Homegrown, Organic, Pacific Northwest, Straw Bale Gardening

Pacific Northwest Organic Gardening, 2015 Plan, Crop Rotation - cultivatedrambler.com

Because I know you guys are just as excited as I am about what’s in my garden this year 🙂 Here’s the final game plan for growing season 2015. The large square is the main bed and the three beige beds are the straw bales. I am also experimenting with a small section on the patio but it’s becoming more of a slug feeding station vs. a garden at this point. (more…)

March 29, 2015

les ocean.

Clam Digging, Family, Life, Pacific Northwest, Seabrook, Washington Coast

Another epic weekend at the Washington Coast! We were spoiled with a hizzle in the Seabrook community. It was a little TOO nice with TOO many kids running around. I prefer my visits to the coast to have a bit of grit to ’em. But, having a hot tub to soak in post dig wasn’t so bad 🙂

We had two days of early morning digs, which many of us weren’t super happy about. But once we were up and on the beach, it wasn’t so bad. Plus, there was plenty of time for naps and such in the afternoon. The sun even made an appearance on Saturday and we lounged on the deck with snacks and drinks in hand. It sure was nice.

The season is coming to a close in May so it’s time to put the waders and guns away until the fall. Sigh. Onto camping season!

The gang.

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March 26, 2015

bait.

Chicken, Garden, Homegrown, Organic, Pacific Northwest, Pests

UGH. F’ing slugs! They are the bane of my existence right now. I bought all of these lovely little starters from the edible plant sale the other week and they are being violently attacked by these slimy suckers. Every morning I walk out onto our patio to find even more clinging to my traps OR even worse, on my poor plants! I’ve heard they can eat their own body weight in a day. Cool, real cool.

So far, I’ve tried:

salting them
crushed up egg shells
crushed up clam shells
grapefruit slices THEN salting them
beer in a shallow dish

If you have the time, nothing is more satisfying than salting them. Not sure if I’m sold on the egg/clam shell route, which is suppose to give them too sharp of a surface to slim around on. Grapefruit works well, but a dish of beer is my new go-to method. Stupid things just drown themselves. I also read that it’s better to not change the dish too much as they actually are attracted to their dead comrades. That’s twisted.

This is making me really reconsider ducks and chickens for our yard……. 🙂

March 11, 2015

bale’d up.

Garden, Homegrown, Organic, Pacific Northwest, Straw Bale Gardening

Row cover, Burien, straw bale gardening - cultivatedrambler.com

We’re getting a little cray cray up in here! Officially planted round no. 1 in the main garden over the weekend with the help of my sis, Liz. Stuff that went in the ground: snap peas, snow peas, sweet peas, two kinds of carrots, romaine lettuce, butter lettuce and arugula. Phew.She also joined me in my trek out to Burien to pick up three straw bales for my attempt at straw bale gardening. I’ve got about two weeks of conditioning with these bad boys then they’ll also be ready to plant. For those of you who think I’m nuts…..straw bale gardening is a way to garden if you have crappy or no soil. My plan was to build a nice stone walled bed in this location, but other things took precedent this year. My plan is to build that bed next year then transplant my raspberries there so they’ll be nice and contained.

In the meantime, I’m doing my own little garden experiment with these. From what I’ve read you 1) need straw NOT hay bales 2) they need to be “conditioned” ie. hit with lots of water and fertilizer to get them to start composting 3) sprinkled with some good soil 4) and then planted directly into. Seems easy enough. Stay tuned to see how this works out for me!