Author Archives: zack

Infrastructure

Spent the last couple of weekends working on infrastructure for the garden. Using primarily wood from the property, built an overcoat for the little greenhouse to protect it from the weight of the snow… …and three raised bed planter boxes … Continue reading

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Rosemary Rooting

I’ve been doing a lot of “layering in place” experiments, which is I guess technically air layering.  I basically cut a slit in a plastic pot, wound the stem of the plant – in this case rosemary – wire the … Continue reading

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Felix Gillet Institute on NPR

Excited to hear a story about the Felix Gillet Institute on NPR today. I was just visiting with my Felix Gillet quince yesterday, and it’s looking well established, and will hopefully put on some good growth this year after all … Continue reading

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Burning Boards

Worked a little today on the raised bed project, using a propane torch to burn the cedar boards I milled over the summer in a yakisugi sort of way…

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Ladies and Gentlemen…The Beetles!

If you look closely, you’ll see Frank. It was a tough year for the garden, and a tough year for the forest as well.  Drought-weakened trees succumbed to beetles all throughout the county, including many in my little bit of … Continue reading

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Milling Cedar for Raised Beds

Spent much of the summer milling cedar for some raised beds.   I’ve got a pretty sweet bunch of boards stacked and drying, the largest being more than 14″ wide, and with more to be milled.   Once the rains … Continue reading

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Lots of Layering Lately

I’ve been spending long hours in the garden, puttering and propagating, and lately doing a lot of layering. This propagation technique seems particularly suited for plants that are inclined to root from cuttings, and for those that readily root when … Continue reading

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One of My Favorite Things

That is all.

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Graduation!

To conserve rooting medium, water, time and space, I typically root cuttings in gang pots, which depending on what I’m rooting might hold a few to as many as a dozen cuttings. For instance, when I prune the blueberries in … Continue reading

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Seeding Nettles and Others

Finally got around to seeding (a little late, I realize) stinging nettles (Urtica dioica), alum root (Heuchera richardsonii), creeping Oregon grape (Mahonia repens) and salal (Gaultheria shallon). The nettles I planted for pesto, the alum root because I’m intrigued by … Continue reading

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